2023 Gold Star - Entry List [1956 series]

Car Booking Rules

For the 1956 series we will use the same method for car booking as we did for the 1955 one : the entry list is reset and drivers have one week to post their three choices of cars :

• From Monday September 25th to Saturday September 30th drivers can freely test cars on the server.
  
  
• For this first week of testing, the server will be set on Zandvoort, a short and well known track ideal for testing purposes.
  
  
• During the week and up to Saturday September 30th 9:00pm, people can post their three choices of cars in order of preference.
  
  
• For example : #15 David Brown Corporation / #46 Ecurie Francorchamps / #3 Briggs Cunningham.
  
  
• At 9pm Saturday the window for posting your car choice is closed, and the admins start working on making the entry list, trying as much as possible to give each driver a car as high as possible on his wishlist.
  
  
• At any point during the week a driver can change their choice of cars. However please do not edit your original post but make a new one instead.
  
  
• Once the admins publish the official entry list, drivers have to stick to their assigned entry for the entirety of the 1956 series.
  
  
• Newcomers and drivers who would have missed the booking week can book one of the remaining free cars at anytime during the series.
  

61 1.5 OSCA MT4/1500 ->> 37 1.5 Porsche 550 ->> 39 1.5 Porsche 550

Je reste si c'est possible avec la #45 4.5 Ferrari 375MM

8 Jaguar Cars
5 Scuderia Ferrari
14 David Brown

As the 1955 season comes to an end at the famous yet treacherous Targa Florio, Darren Andrews with a stunning victory for Bristol, 'silly season' as it's being called seems to be starting for 1956. Rumours overtake any meaningful chatter in the paddock during these times.

Austin Burchfield is the driver we've been watching very closely over the course of 1955 here at Orlando Sentinel. The driver is Florida's favourite, having been born right here in Orlando. Burchfield is a character some may call mediocre, while others say he's shown good improvement both in his 1954 stint at Mercedes-Benz, and this year in 1955.

Having joined up with the North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T) for the '55 season, and taken the car off the hands of Luigi Chinetti, Burchfield seemingly struggled at first but picked things up towards the end.

• At Spa-Francorchamps, it looked like he was on for a good points finish until a 'gearbox problem' caused his engine to overrev and then break apart in a fireball. He was quickly nicknamed, mockingly, 'The Meteor'. He had this to say "Look, I'm gonna be honest, I don't know what happened. Everything was running smoothly and then all of a sudden BAM. It's like it just fell out of gear or something. It was instantaneous—nothing I could do about it. We'll get this issue fixed and come back stronger."

• At Bathurst, Burchfield again looked good. N.A.R.T. having fixed the gearbox problem, Burchfield managed a good qualifying that brought him towards the front. An excellent start put him past the slow-starting D-Types and passed Franeck Godrecki in his Squadra Italia Gordini at turn 1. Later on in the race, it looked as though he would be racing for Ferrari as a whole, as he was the sole remaining Ferrari. All others, works and customers alike, fell to DNF. Burchfield eventually succumbed to this too. Having a spin at Forrest's Elbow, he hit the wall and it bent the steering in his #47 car. Burchfield elected to simply retire the car rather than continue on.

• The next race came around to Crystal Palace. Austin was handed the keys to the #26 Works Maserati to participate in a smaller class race (2L) as well as his race in the +3L class. The 2L race, while hectic was good for him. He managed to fend off Alex Hutchinson and secure P6. Garnering him his first point of the season. The +3L race was far more orderly, and Austin again found himself in P6. This time fending off the #40 Ecurie Rosier sister Ferrari of Tom Dee. Once again, garnering him another point.

• Hockenheim was up next, Burchfield had another good qualifying and was in a good position for the race. Lights out and he gets a great start, passing the Jaguars. Turn 1 approaches and he dives into the inside to overtake Martin Bayer in the #6 Works Ferrari, but his poor exit leaves him vulnerable and Bayer takes the position back. Coming up to Ostkurve every +3L car slams hard on their brakes. Ricardo Mendes in the #8 D-Type locks up his brakes and hits the back of Burchfield! The N.A.R.T. car is completely out of control and it goes rolling into the grass outside the corner. Many people thought this would be the end of not only his car but his career. Miraculously, Austin got the car right side up and continued on! Burchfield reported to us after the race that the car had no steering damage—only aero. To everybody's shock, he came from last and finished the race P6. Securing him another point in the Gold Star hunt.

• Not long after that came Dundrod. The sweeping lefts and rights and elevation changes was a feeling sorely missed by Burchfield and many others in the paddock. However, the technical and mechanical changes to these cars over the past few seasons have made Dundrod significantly bumpier than it was during Burchfield's time in the Historic Road Racing Championship (H.R.R.C) he, and many other drivers from that time, were having difficulties adjusting to the changes. He seemed to cope better than others. Qualifying comes around and takes an excellent P4, outqualifying the always-quick Rhys Gardiner. Race day comes around and Ricardo Mendes breaks down on the start line. Niklas Kirsten starting behind Ricardo, is bogged down, and allows Austin to get through. A solid P2 coming out of the franticness. Erwann Burguiere is up ahead in his #7 Works Ferrari, but even with Burchfield down on power compared to him, he manages to keep up. Eventually, the pressure of Rhys behind gets to Burchfield however, and coming out of turn 1, understeers wide hitting the fence. The #47 spins out of control and nearly takes out Rhys in the process. Once again Burchfield is lucky. Minor steering damage. It's driveable. He surprisingly finishes P3. His first podium since Goodwood 1954. We followed up with him regarding this podium "It feels good, you know? I mean... sure there's always going to be that what-if now. Knowing both Erwann and Rhys had their moments, maybe I could've won the thing. I'm just happy to have brought it home."

• The final race of the '55 season. Targa Florio. Much like Dundrod, with the regulation changes, this track too was far more bumpy than it used to be for the drivers. This is unfortunately where Burchfield's luck seems to have run out. Reports came out that he had caught a sinus infection and missed many days of practice for the race. Still, Targa isn't known to be kind. All he needed to do was finish and he'd be in a good spot. Race day comes around and Burchfield is still reeling from the effects of the sinus infection. While it was in the early stages of leaving, reports came out from his camp that he still had a sore throat, cough, and headache. It would take a miracle for him to finish this race. Burchfield, still, continued on. Being one of the last to start his lap, he made his way to the start line and began. Making it throughout the whole lap at a respectable pace. Many fell on lap 1, Burchfield included. Coming down to the Buonfornello Straight, Austin understeers off the slight left kink, hitting the mile marker on the outside and causing the N.A.R.T. car to go careening into a hidden stone wall. He manages to get the car going again but it doesn't look good. There's smoke coming from the engine and the front right tyre as it's not facing the correct direction. Burchfield limps down the straight and makes it to the Cerda station straight before the engine gives up. 3 turns away from the pits. Austin was visibly frustrated by this, hitting the car, and honking the horn, eventually getting out and kicking the car. His race, and the '55 season, was over for him.

After a devastating Targa Florio, reports came out that Burchfield was taken back to the N.A.R.T. factory and shown the '56 car as a confidence boost. However, that was quickly soured as it came out N.A.R.T. did not listen to his feedback regarding handling issues surrounding the car. N.A.R.T. reported to us that it's an issue they're unable to solve, it's inherently a Ferrari problem. Burchfield seems to disagree. After spending two years in a customer Ferrari, some speculated that Austin may move up the ranks into the Works team. Enzo quickly put an end to that stating he wants "nothing to do with him".

Rumours began spreading about where Austin may be heading next. There's talk all around the paddock, but here at Orlando Sentinel, these are the three we feel are most credible.

• Jaguar (D-Type)
Burchfield has been spotted on numerous occasions around Coventry as of late. He's been very vocal about their performance and believes he could challenge for the Gold Star if given the opportunity. Particularly with '56 being agreed upon unanimously by drivers as a season of speed. Burchfield nearly signed with Jaguar for '55 before eventually joining N.A.R.T. and doing another stint in a customer Ferrari car.

• Works Maserati
Having seen his performance at Crystal Palace, Maserati has been keen on signing Burchfield, they believe he could be a good and stable driver to build the team around. Maserati is always a solid choice for drivers looking to win in their class or even the Gold Star as evidenced by 2x champ, Niklas Kirsten. Burchfield has never seemed to show interest in a class lower than 3L. Has his stint at Crystal Palace changed his perspective?

• Gordini (T24S)
Amédée Gordini has been following Austin's performance since 1954 in the Mercedes-Benz. Amédée believes his car would be better suited for Austin's driving style, and is an 'untapped gold mine'. Burchfield has previously tested with Gordini, though no significant contract talks came out of it.


That's all we have for now. We'll be sure to keep you updated on any more information coming out of the paddock and Burchfield's camp.

#20 or any Merc #24 or any works Gordini or #40 Equipe Rosier.

Hope to attend the events more frequently this season, family life got in the way of the previous one.

See you all on track!

Rob

Mod Update!

We are pleased to announce that a HSO 1954 mod update is available! The following changes have been made:

-Revised rear suspension geometry. All cars (every car except the Porsche and Mecedes) that had a live axle and De Dion have been changed to 3-link & long Panhard bar arrangement
-Raindrops are now cleared by airflow (no wipers, though)
-Handbrake works!

Thank you to Jukka and Mantas for identifying issues and applying the fixes!

Installation instructions:

1. Uninstall any versions of the HSO mod you have
2. V1.30 of the 1954 Endurance mod is required as the base for our HSO Mod. If step 1 also uninstalls the 1954 Endurance mod from your machine, then:
2a. Unsubscribe from the 1954 Endurance mod on Steam Workshop
2b. Resubscribe to the 1954 Endurance mod on Steam Workshop
3. V1.55 should now install when you join the server. If it does not, then you can download the package here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hF77dDOnA6-DBB7kfRtnKHW4EQvbmlnl/view) into the "Packages" folder of your rF2 install and install when next in game.

Please let us know if you identify any issues! Also please don't be shy with any feedback you have on the changes!

I’ll do #33 OSCA, #3 Ferrari, and #21 Gordini

#41 Ecurie Rosier / #57 Ecurie Monte-Carlo / #58 Gilby Engineering

Embracing my garagiste spirit, I refuse a works entry this season.

Perhaps it's because I'm too hard to work with, a bit of a drama queen, or just plain can't wheel with the big dogs


Edit: see updated choices

Jaaag #10
Dini #22
OSCA #33

(of course any other number of the same car is preferred over the next pick, unless it's Hamilton's car )

#35 OSCA (2 liter if possible)
#26 Maserati Maserati A6 GCS/53 (or any)
#57 Gordini T24S

I want to go for a higher class car this season, trying to get out of my comfort zone

I don't know if it is possible to choose a car depending on another driver's assignment - I'll try it anyway:

ONLY IF HILLEBRAND GETS THE #5 FERRARI:
- #6 Ferrari
- #9 Jaaag
- #34 OSCA

ELSE
- #34 OSCA
- #9 Jaaag
- #23 Gordini

Thank you  

Maserati has decided to let me go for attempting to set fire to their garage "again" after some contract disputes. Maybe it's time to go back to something non-Italian.

1: #10 Jaguar D-Type (or its partners #8/#9)
2: #21 Equipe Gordini (or its partner #22)
3: #60 Porsche 550 (or any other Porsche)

#63 Scuderia Lancia
#54 Kangaroo Stable
#9 Jaguar Cars

#56 Ecurie Yankee, no other picks.

1. #64 Lancia (or sister cars #62, #63)
2. #7 Ferrari (or sister cars #5, #6)
3. #3 Briggs Cunningham

My car choices, in order of preference:

#27 Bristol
# 6 Ferrari
#24 Maserati

My car choices, in order of preference:

#59 Porsche 1.5L
#1 OSCA 1.5L
#60 Porsche 1.5L

Choices time!

1) Any factory Porsche
2) Either Sonauto Porsche
3) #2 C4R

1: #57 Ecurie Monte-Carlo
2: #58 Gilby Engineering
3: #41 Ecurie Rosier

1) Any factory Porsche
2) Any Sonauto Porsche
3) Any T24S Gordini

as an addendum to my earlier post: could I state my preference for a works Gordini drive, if still possible? I have never driven that car in competition.

Rob de Vries wrote:

as an addendum to my earlier post: could I state my preference for a works Gordini drive, if still possible? I have never driven that car in competition.

Certainly Rob,

Thanks for clarifying the priority of your choice, which is for factory Gordini. Certainly a more competitive choice than the Mercedes anyway. We will try and accommodate you!

#22
#1
#42