Well here we are - down to the final race of what has been a greatly entertaining F1 season - which has been reflected here in the Atlas F1 GTG Challenge - where we have one of the most open championships in years. It might be more fun guessing who will win it than the actual race!!
Its all down to the wire at Suzuka! A few drivers have their eye on that coveted GTG championship - held by past greats of the likes of Merlin (1999), CrushedDreams (2000), Pit Babe (2001) and the reigning champ Mikael!
Now Mikael is spending his last week as GTG Champ - for a new champion will be crowned on that Saturday afternoon in Suzuka. Who will be THE ONE?
As all the past champions have failed to show much this year - a few promising young players are in a heated duel for supremacy. One can't go past Kismet who is attempting to stay ahead, keep his nose clean and crush the competition. He leads the championship by a mere 3 points and needs to keep his cool in this battle of the gladiators. However, Full Course Yellow and co are breathing down his neck and will do anything to stop him. Also in hot contention is Scheivlak who was last years runner up - he will fight hard to make this year his year. He stormed home to a strong 2nd place last year, cutting away at Mikaels iron hold on the championship, and may be able to do the same this year - but with the aim of going one better! He is a crowd favourite and so is the mercurial Bex37 who was a strong 4th last year and is currently in 3rd only 5 points adrift of Kismet. Other strong contenders include Jonas A , Vincenzo, Flash (in another strong performance from last year), Jomaizta, Jimmino and Luky Will - who are all in the top 10. Ric Bol has a vocal fan club at the track all shouting Go Ric Go! Will he prevail or will the hard charging ray b sneak another win to put himself atop of the podium. This guy is a late charger and bookies have him as a dark horse who could take the GTG glory.
Incredibly the top 10 are all within 11 points of Kismet - so anything can happen. The next 20 or 30 ( I wish i could mention you all) or more all have a good chance - but some will have to do a Kimi and win while the leaders stumble. It could happen......
I wish you all luck! Choose your selections carefully! And have fun!!
Thankyou all for playing GTG this year. Id like to thank garth_b for doing the real hard work and doing the calculations for this game. Great Work!
We hope to be back for a better and more exciting year in 2004!
GUESS TO THE GRID 2003 CHAMPIONSHIP
INSTRUCTIONS - IMPORTANT - READ FIRST!!!
ROUND 15 - GUESS THE GRID IN THE JAPAN
Here are the Rules and Scoring system for Round 16:
1. List your guess of the top 10 qualifiers (on Saturday) at Suzuka.
2. Please follow the below instructions for the way in which to post your guesses.
How to place your guesses:
When posting your guesses please post them in the following manner - put your user name and then your selections as follows (these are examples only)
gerry nassar msch/mont/coul/fisi/fren/raik/rsch/trul/webb/pani/
garth_b msch/raik/mont/rsch/trul/dama/butt/fisi/sato/vill
Please do it in this way so that Garth_b can calculate the scores quicker. Make sure that you use only the first FOUR LETTERS in the drivers SURNAME . For the Schumacher brothers - you can type them as MSCH and RSCH .
3. Post your guesses anytime before Full Field Friday First Practice(FFFP) . You can change your guesses as many time as you like as long as its done before Friday First practice. Any posts or changes made after THURSDAY first practice will be INVALID! Please get them in by Full Field Friday First Practice (FFFP) at the latest as it makes it easier for Garth to calculate the scores. Late entries made on the friday will have to receive approval from Garth and myself to be allowed in the game. So you will have to plead with us for mercy - we may even accept bribes.;) Entries received after PRE QUALIFYING ON FRIDAY will not be accepted this round.
4. Scores will be calculated as follows:
* + 3 points for being spot on . (ie. Selecting Coulthard in 4th and he actually qualifies 4th)
* + 2 points for being one position away from where the driver actually qualifies (ie. Selecting Raikonnen in 3rd and he qualifies either 2nd or 4th)
* + 1 point for having a driver you selected qualifying anywhere in the top 10 (not spot on or one away) ie. Selecting Firman 5th but he qualifies 9th
* + 5 points if you manage to correctly pick all positions in the top 10. (Note – no one has done this in the last 3 years)
AND JUST TO CLARIFY some confusion - for example if you pick Button 10th and he qualifies 11th you get 2 points, ie 1 position away. The fact that he is out of the top 10 makes you lose no points because you picked him one away at 10th.
5. The grid the result will be calculated on is that which is announced by the FIA immediately after saturday qualifying. Therefore any subsequent penalties will not be taken into account.
6. If a driver you selected is replaced during qualifying – his replacement will be substituted in his place in your guesses unless you change it before Full Field Friday First Practice.
7. Results will be calculated soon after Qualifying is completed. Look out for a results thread to be posted by garth_b. This thread will feature the round’s results, a championship table, commentary and links to beautifully designed league tables by garth_b. The results thread can then be used as a results discussion thread by you all.
8. Decision on the 10 postion penalty is forthcoming....stay tuned....
Garth's fantastic GTG, GTR and Fantasy Manager site can be found here
If you have any questions - PM me and I'll respond as soon as I can.
PLEASE NOTE: If a driver you choose unable to qualify and race for whatever reason - you can ammend your selections as long as it is before Friday First Practice. If you dont get a chance to ammend your guesses - then we will calculate your score based on whowever replaces him
Here are my Guesses:
gerry nassar msch/mont/alon/rsch/raik/trul/barr/vill/butt/coul
Good Luck!
Then again, I could be very much mistaken. 
