2009 Signups

Ok, time to get the ball rolling...

Invitations to enter the 2009 season are now being sent out. As discussed in November's post, things are going to be a little bit different this season - players now have a say over which teams they compete for, and every win gets you one step closer to where you want to be.

In simple terms:

- when signing up, players list their teams, first choice through to last

- seats are handed out in order of reigning champion*, then wins, then rounds entered

- players who finished in the top eight of last years championship, or scored two wins or more, have the option to keep their seat

*Yup, that means me first, but since everybody is taking the piss out of Brawn GP I guess nobody will mind...

A needless complication? Maybe! But basically you list your teams in order of preference and get the highest available.

So what do I need from you guys? Well, to sign up for the 2009 season just send me an email with the following:

- Your username
- Your password
- The ten teams ordered from 1st (top choice) to 10th (last choice) OR if you are eligible and want to, you can state 'Keep seat'

Those eligible to keep their existing seats are:

Montie (Red Bull)

IceMan (Renault)

Badboy (Williams)

Karan (Ferrari)

Fisichella (BMW Sauber)

UnclePeJa (Red Bull)

Wooze (Brawn)

LoudHoward (Toro Rosso)

And thats it. You're in. Have fun choosing your teams; it looks like Ferrari, Renault and Williams all have a spare seat...

I'll get the site all updated and 2009ified pretty soon, but with the season looming large I wanted to get moving with the sign ups. I'll keep an updated list of players that have signed up in the panel on the right.

So thats it. Over to you lot.

2009...

Montie asked in the comments if there was any news on the 2009 teams line up, so I thought I'd just make a quick post to say that an update for 2009 (with sign ups) is due shortly. I think I'm going to go ahead with the new team allocation system.

At the minute I'm working on back-dating the blog with past results so the lunatics entering their 5th, 6th or 7th seasons can look back and see where their efforts have got them.

It's shaping up to be a great season and I can't wait to see which teams emerge at the front in this new era. Time to get thinking about where you want to go for 2009...

Team Allocation for 2009

Ok, I've been having a think about how the team seats are allocated for next season. Up until now I've shared them out based on a mixture of rewarding success, time spent in game, similiarities with real drivers, personal requests etc... you get the idea.

But I'm looking for a change so that players get more of a chance to end up at their favourite team. I'm not sure exactly how to do this but a general idea I have at the moment is that next year when people sign up, they'll fill in a form listing their preferred team, their second choice and so on, down to their tenth choice. Then I can assign the seats (in order of, for example, wins) giving everybody their highest available choice, so if people don't get their favourite, they will at least find themselves at one of their preferred choices.

The idea is that when somebody has a good season and increases their win tally, such as Montie this year, they move up the order and closer to where they want to be. I also thought that finishing in the top eight of the championship and/or getting more than one win in a season could give you the option to hold on to your seat for the next season.

A step in the right direction or just making things overly complicated? If you've any other ideas let me know. Either way, its definitely time I stopped playing Bernie and gave people some damn freedom! :)

Round 18 - Brazil Results

(Click on image to view full size)

And there we have it, the season is over! Click here to view the final championship standings. Thanks again to everybody for playing. The game will be back next year for Predictions 2009 for anybody that wants to take part - I'll be posting more info on that in the coming days.

Cheers!

Farewell Hoellsen!

Well the 2008 season is over and the final results of the year will be posted tomorrow. Tonight though, I just wanted to wish a fond farewell to a Predictions veteran - Hoellsen.

Hoellsen informed me recently that he would be 'retiring' from the game after the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix as he no longer has the time to follow F1 as closely as he'd like. And for someone who has entered every single round of the game's history, I think he deserves a little send-off! So from the High Gear Forum days to the current blog, here's a summary of the career of the guy who never missed a Grand Prix in seven years:

2002
Team: Ferrari
Team mate: Revs
Result: 2nd in Championship, 161pts, 4 wins (including winning the first ever Predictions Grand Prix)



2003
Team: Ferrari
Team mate: Revs
Result: 3rd in Championship, 116pts




2004
Team: Ferrari
Team mate: Revs
Result: 7th in Championship, 155pts, 1 win




2005
Team: Ferrari
Team mate: Revs
Result: 3rd in Championship, 146pts




2006
Team: Ferrari
Team mate: Revs
Result: 12th in Championship, 130pts




2007
Team: BMW Sauber
Team mate: SGP
Result: 4th in Championship, 158pts, 1 win




2008
Team: Ferrari
Team mate: Karan
Result: 15th in Championship, 115pts




Career Statistics:
Grands Prix: 123
Wins: 6
Australia 2002 (Ferrari)
Belgium 2002 (Ferrari)
Italy 2002 (Ferrari)
Japan 2002 (Ferrari)
Australia 2004 (Ferrari)
Belgium 2007 (BMW Sauber)
Points: 981
Positions: 119
Best Result: 16pts (Turkey 2005)

One of the most successful competitors ever and Ferrari's longest serving player. As far as I'm concerned mate, you're one of the cornerstones the game was built on. Its a shame to see you leaving and you're welcome back any time!

See you around, friend.

Cheers!