Thursday Night Championship 8

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Thursday Night Championship 8, often abbreviated TNC 8, is Race Department's eighth Thursday Night Championship, a Formula One racing league contested on Codemasters' Formula One game series. It is being contested on F1 2013, over 15 rounds between February 27 and June 5, 2014.

Victor Ivanov went in to the season defending his third Drivers' Championship with Ferrari, but has since stopped paticipating. Force India are defending the Constructors' Championship, and are currently leading it, though last season's runner-up, Mark Saunders, has retired from the outfit. Their other drive, Mekkes, currently leads the championship, though him, Mekkes and (previously) Saunders have been exchanging the lead all championship.

Calendar
On November 21, 2013, Kaido Pärl, administrator of TNC, announced that five tracks ("like Spa, Suzuka") would feature in both TNC 7 and TNC 8, and that the remaining seven of TNC 8 would be the tracks that did not feature in TNC 7. On February 12, 2014, Pärl announced he would try to make a new thread (presumably with a provisional calendar and sign up list) the following week, and seemed keen to the idea of adding the two classic tracks included in F1 2013 standard edition to TNC, Jerez and Brands Hatch. He also announced TNC 8 would "probably" begin on 27th of that month.

On February 17, Pärl created the TNC 8 sign up and calendar thread. In addition to the twelve previously-implied tracks, he added Brands Hatch, Jerez and a "Drivers Favorite" round at the end of the championship, in which the drivers will "vote what track to drive".

Victor's departure mid-season brought about the need for a new backup host, behind Mekkes. Pärl elected to stay as second backup host due to the fact that his connection is "not the best". Emil Praga was selected as first backup host due to his good connection.

Teams and drivers
As usual, all teams (of which there are eleven in F1 2013) were available to drive for, and there were sixteen seats available, as per the limitations of F1 2013's multiplayer games. For TNC 7, drivers who drove in TNC 6 were given priority in choosing teams. This was not the case for TNC 8, and was only the case for TNC 7 because of the transition between F1 2012 and F1 2013.

The sign up list was created on February 17. * Rounds the driver was signed to the team or drove for them, not just rounds they attended using that team

Exceptions:
 * In round two, Ola Severinsson of Sweden was allowed to race, helped by the fact that he also participated in Racedepartment's Wednesday Night Championship. He drove and scored points for Marussia.
 * Kris Lawton drove for Lotus instead of McLaren in round eight, but moved to Lotus permanently for the next round.
 * In Spa, Jamie Fluke and Wouter van der Giessen accidentally switched cars, and Fabio Unverdruss raced for Red Bull without being signed up.

* Rounds the driver was on the reserve/sticky reserve list for. ** Which rounds the driver played. *** What teams the driver played as during their time on the list.

New additions included Nathan Hather at Lotus and Rijul Takkar at Williams. Danijel Pesa and Mike Partington promoted themselves from sticky reserves to full drivers at Williams and Mercedes, respectively. Rami Saidy and Hristo Milushev did not sign up to TNC8, and did not attend any races. Zoltan Hadadi, Scott Tanner and Robert Eady were part of the sticky reserve of TNC7, but would take part in no races in TNC8. No explanations were given for any drivers leaving.

Before round two, Takkar was removed from the driver's list due to not attending any races and not responding to requests. Scott replaced him from the reserve driver's list.

Just prior to Monza, Partington decided to become a sticky reserve again, after announcing it would be unlikely that he would be able to attend any future races in TNC8. Defending champion Ivanov and Bas Lefebure left the league on the day of the Italian Grand Prix, while Gruszka joined the leagues of the sticky reserves. Simon Rizzo and Filios Antonopoulos stepped up from reserve drivers, though they didn't select their cars in time, and didn't attend the race.

On April 13, the Sunday before the Indian Grand Prix, Parl cleaned up the list of drivers. Hather and Scott were removed for not racing in the past six races they were signed up for, Davidesco was allowed to step up to full driver, but hasn't selected a car and implied he felt the field was too fast for him, while Fraer, Rizzo and Antonopoulos were approached for not racing the past 2–3 races. The former two responded saying they would attend the next race, but didn't. The latter responded the Tuesday after India, stating he could not race.

For Belgium, two new members applied: Jamie Fluke, who was granted a place in Williams, and Fabio Unverdruss, who was not granted a seat due to not being a licensed member. Parl asked all TNC members if they had raced with Unverdruss prior, and that he could thus race before being granted a Racedepartment license. No one responded except another unlicensed member of the forums, who had raced alongside him in the Saturday Night League. Parl denied Unverdruss entry, but Mekkes, without reading Parl's posts, talked with Unverdruss and agreed to allow him to race without a license. Mekkes later apologized for the incident on the forums.

Race summaries

 * '' Please note, summaries are written based solely on results screenshots, player monologues written on the forums, and videos, so any bias on the detail of events is due to the amount of material available.

Round 1 – Malaysia

 * ''Forum page: TNC 8 1/15 - Malaysia (27/02/14 @ 20:30GMT)

The season began in Malaysia. Everyone but Lefebure and Takkar participated, and sticky reserve Eaton was allowed to participate. Qualifying saw light-rain, requiring intermediate tyres all the way through. Mark Saunders took pole from Pesa and Ivanov. The start of the race saw Pesa drop to the back of the field due to a spin. Other than that, position changes were small in number. After a few laps, Saunders pulled away from the pack. Ivanov, Mekkes, Pesa, and Sinik were battling for second. Najda had a brilliant start from the back of the grid, and was battling with Eaton, Lawton, and Praga for 5th. Saunders and Lawton used two-stop strategies, while the rest of the field used three. Saunders took victory by a comfortable 17 seconds, while Lawton struggled to maintain second, and dropped to fourth. Ivanov was the highest place three-stopper in second, followed by Henri Sinik. Two days after the race's finish, a stewarding decision had found that Pesa, who clawed his way back up to fifth, overtook Mekkes, sixth, by leaving the track. It was decided that the positions would be swapped.

Round 2 – Brazil

 * ''Forum page: TNC 8 2/15 - Brazil (06/03/14 @ 20:30GMT)

Victor Ivanov could not defend his title at the Brazilian Grand Prix due to it being his birthday, while Takkar failed to make his second race and Hather didn't give a reason for his absence. Severinsson made a one-off appearance, being a proven competitor in Racedepartment's Wednesday Night Championship. Ivanov's nonattendance allowed Pesa's strong pace in Malaysia to materialize in to results. He took pole position by half a second, and won the race by another 7, ahead of the two Mercedes cars, Mekkes behind Partington. Saunders and Force India retained their championship lead, scoring a 4th and 6th, though it was reduced. Takkar was removed from the signed drivers for failing to respond to his lack of attendance. Scott replaced him at Williams.

Round 3 – Korea

 * '' Forum page: TNC 8 3/15 - Korea (13/03/14 @ 20:30GMT)

With Ivanov, Partington and Pesa not attending round 3, championship leader Saunders took pole from team mate Sinik in the Force India. Further absences included Hather, Najda, Pärl, and recent addition Scott. Unfortunately, Saunders and Moody were disconnected at the same time during lap one, while then–race leader Lawton disconnected during lap 17. Korea saw the first rain of the season, with light rain starting and ending before the end of the race. Mekkes took the win and the championship lead. He crossed the finish line with Praga behind, and then an off-pace Sinik, while Sauber scored the fastest lap with Lefebure in fourth.

Round 4 – Italy

 * '' Forum page: TNC 8 4/15 - Italy (20/03/14 @ 20:30GMT)

With Ivanov and Partington's departure from the league, the championship fight was left to Mekkes, Pesa, Saunders and Sinik. Pärl and Hather did not attend, while Gruszka drove for Ferrari. Scott failed to attend for the second time in as many races being on the driver's list. Pesa took pole from Mekkes, Sinik and Saunders. Pole was converted to victory once more. Saunders couldn't make it past Sinik, while Mekkes struggled for pace, and dropped to 5th behind Lawton. Then it was Sutton, Moody, van der Giessen with a twenty second penalty, dropping him two places, and Gruszka. Lack of pace brought about frustration for both Praga and Najda, the latter of which retired from the league after the race, but was still classified in tenth. Mekkes and Force India maintained their lead, though the former's was decreased and the latter's, increased. The top four drivers were now separated by four points.

Round 5 – Brands Hatch

 * '' Forum page: TNC 8 5/15 - Brands Hatch (27/03/14 @ 20:30GMT)

For Brands Hatch, only seven drivers turned up. Sinik took pole from Mekkes and Saunders. The field split in two by the end of the race, and Saunders took victory from Mekkes, a disappointed Sinik, and then a much-improved Praga. 20 seconds behind them came Lawton, Parl, then Sutton. Saunders would briefly retake the lead of the championship.

Round 6 – Japan

 * '' Forum: TNC 8 6/15 - Japan (03/04/14 @ 19:30 GMT/20:30BST)

Driver turnout did not improve for Japan, with Lawton swapping places with Gruszka in terms of attendance. The top three in qualifying was also the same as in Brands Hatch, with Sinik from Mekkes and Saunders. Praga struggled compared to Brands Hatch, but still managed fourth. Behind him was Sutton, Gruszka, then Parl. Saunders won from Mekkes, while Sinik was disconnected after exiting the final corner on the final lap. His third position was reinstated, with unanimous drivers from all participants. Nevertheless, Mekkes retook the lead in the Drivers' championship, while Force India continued to dominate the Constructors'.

Round 7 – Singapore

 * '' Forum: TNC 8 7/15 - Singapore (10/04/14 @ 19:30 GMT/20:30 BST)

The driver line-up totalled nine for Singapore, but was back down to seven by the start of the race, with Davidseco and Lawton being forced out during and after qualifying, respectively. Sinik took his third consecutive pole from Mekkes and Saunders. He lead away well, while Mekkes and Saunders assumed formation behind. Near the end of the race, Sinik overtook his two-stopping team mate, who made his strategy work against Mekkes to take second. Sinik took pole, fastest lap and, at last, his first race victory in TNC.

Round 8 – India

 * '' Forum: TNC 8 8/15 - India (17/04/14 @ 19:20 GMT/20:30 BST)

Again, only nine drivers attended India. The regulars – Lawton (this time in the Lotus), Mekkes, Moody, Praga, Sinik, and Sutton – turned up, while Saunders did not have a good enough internet connection. Alongside them was van der Giessen, Pesa and sticky reserve Gruszka. In qualifying, Pesa predictably took pole from Sinik and Mekkes. Moody had issues with someone blocking him in qualifying. He accused Praga, but was disproved by video. Nothing more came of this.

Off the line, Pesa was slow and Mekkes fast, leading to the leading three going side-by-side in to the first turn. Mekkes got understeer, while Sinik was on the inside and profited in to the lead. Pesa got around Mekkes, while Lawton took advantage of Moody's poor start to take second for the back straight. Moody's poor start also lead to an incident with him and Praga, but nothing came of it. Pesa took Lawton down the back straight for second, but Lawton came back at him before the corner. Lawton outbraked himself, and Pesa performed a switchback to secure the position. The Williams driver moved up to the lead by the end of the second lap, and started pulling away. Further back, after moving up to sixth behind Praga, van der Giessen was forced to retire by a disconnection. At the end of the third lap, Lawton had a run at Sinik for second, but outbraked himself, and dropped two positions to fourth.

Most people came in for primes around laps 4 and 5, implying a three-stop strategy. On lap 6 Lawton hit Mekkes in an overtake attempt, forcing him off the track. He ceded the position back, but Praga took advantage of the situation and ended up ahead of them both. The next lap, Mekkes lightly tapped Praga in to turn 3 before the back straight. The two were side-by-side, but Lawton came from behind to take them both, lightly tapping Mekkes in the process, which let Praga through to 4th. Lawton proceeded to pull away, while the two behind exchanged positions until lap 9, when Mekkes overtook and pulled away from Praga.

The order stayed largely the same after this, but Lawton sustained a penalty for consistent corner cutting and, despite finishing 3rd on the track, was awarded fourth position. Mekkes and him discussed their incidents after the race, and came to the conclusion that further penalty was not needed.

Sinik overtook his absent team mate in the standings to take second, while Lotus and Sauber moved ahead of the now-empty McLaren team in the constructors'.

Round 9 – Belgium

 * '' Forum: TNC 8 9/15 - Belgium (24/04/14 @ 19:20 GMT/20:30 BST)

Qualifying for Belgium was done on a dry track, though weather reports suggested a 100% chance of rain for the race. It also saw one of the best turnouts since the second round in Malaysia, with 11. The regulars showed up – van der Giessen, Lawton, Mekkes, Moody, Praga, Sinik, and Sutton participated, with Saunders missing his last TNC round due to a bad internet connection – with Gruszka and Pesa also part of the line up. Debutants Jamie Fluke and Fabio Unverdruss also showed, though the latter under controversial circumstances. Pesa took pole from Fluke, Mekkes, Sinik, and Praga, while Unverdruss qualified 8th.

Just prior to the wet race start, Lawton's game crashed, and he could not participate in the event any further. Moody and Gruszka disconnected during the race with no explanation, while Praga's game crashed, as it usually does in the rain, only this time near the end of the race. Pesa won on a one-stop wet-wet tyre strategy. Fluke finished behind him, on a wet-wet-intermediate strategy. Sinik and Mekkes battled until the last corner, where the latter ran out of fuel. Then it was Sutton, van der Giessen, and Unverdruss. The remaining four disconnectees, with the exception of Lawton, were classified as scoring points in the game, and were thus awarded them.

Round 10 – Canada

 * '' Forum: TNC 8 10/15 - Canada [01/05/14 @ 19:20 GMT/20:30 BST ]

Results and standings

 * See also: Results sheet