The season started with a tricky event at Chungara Lake in Chile, with the Wombat being used for the first time by many of our drivers. This buggy has its own set of special rules, which a few drivers found difficult to get to grips with. In particular, Subcutaneousphat only discovered the boost option after the event had finished. Oops. After tailing off at the end of last season, Lisa_B_87 proved she was just being a tease and won the event to quickly re-established her dominance. Following this start, Lisa's form would continue, dropping just 6 points over 11 events, winning 8 and securing her 2nd championship in a row. A masterful display - but there was a devious thread running through Lisa's campaign...
Taking place over the Easter holiday period, the second event, held in Japan, was poorly attended. Claymore-74 missed the event due to family commitments, and is kicking himself as this likely cost him second place in the championship, which instead went to Speedy1013. But credit where it's due, you can't score if you don't compete, so Speedy was a deserving runner up, showing dedication to the cause by competing in every event this season. Indeed, only 3 drivers competed in all events this year, so a special mention to Lisa, Speedy, & Samecat for achieving this feat.
E5onAMP similarly missed the third event, but with no explanation given. Too much partying after his 2nd place in Japan perhaps? Who knows, but again, this likely cost him at least one place in the final standings. Definitely a missed opportunity - we hope she was worth it. Still, securing 4th place overall, one point ahead of Samecat, is a good result considering this missed event.
This brings us to the first drift of the season, which took place in Scotland. Lisa had a bizarre start to the event, initially scoring zero points in her Aston Martin One-77. We firmly believe this was the first step of Lisa's dark and cynical ploy to instil false hope in the other drivers - read on for more info on her dastardly plan - but eventually she finished in first place ahead of OMTT, who was starting to prove his credentials after taking part in only a handful of events last season. Lisa celebrated her win with a garish new paint job. If you're feeling brave, it can be viewed here:
http://i.imgur.com/guxy7bf.jpg (Disclaimer: sick bags may be required).
Iann34, so far having a quiet season, set the 5th event, a Ferrari time trial in Norway. Being able to set the event didn't do him any favours though, as he turned in his worst result of the season so far. Glitches also crept into the monitoring system during this event, with some results failing to register. Frustrating all round, but our drivers proved their integrity by allowing externally proven times to be honoured.
South East to India we went for event 6, a RUF time trial in Bandipur. Lisa, dominant again, tried to prove she was fallible by posting a video of a crash that she'd endured. Judge for yourselves -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7ihG3c48Fw - but we think it was just the next step in her callous plan to make the other drivers think they actually had a chance.
Remaining in India, the next event was a long, high scoring drift, taking in almost an entire lap of the track. It was here Lisa posted her worst result of the season, coming only 4th, but it's likely this was just 'step 3'. With just an hour to go this event looked to be all sewn up by Claymore, but E5 pipped him at the post with a very impressive score, leaving Claymore to wonder what might have been.
Down to the last 4 events now, and TommyNooka picked the slowest vehicle, the VW Beetle, for a sojourn around Loch Dulch in Scotland. It was during this event that the new classifications came into force, with Speedy suddenly finding himself a few levels behind many of the other drivers. Some mind games then ensued between him and Claymore, but they didn't seem to have much of an effect, with both drivers finishing in the top four. It was also here that OMTT's challenge faltered, coming in an unexpected 3rd from last. This cost him dearly, as it was the best attended event all season. In the end, OMTT finished 6th overall in the championship. A good display, but one that could have been better were it not for his result at Loch Dulch. Believing her plan was in jeopardy of being discovered, Lisa made sure to win this event - no 'accidental' crashes this time.
Off to Canada, and Claymore finally got revenge on E5 for the India drift result by winning in the Pagani Zonda at Sinclair Pass. Samecat set this event and as expected from his performances last season, he turned in a solid display this year, finishing in 5th overall, an improvement on last year but still not quite good enough for the top spot. Maybe next year? Lisa, believing her plan remained undetected, finished 3rd.
Staying in Canada, the penultimate event was a drift at Cayoosh point. E5 again proved victorious in the drift, beating Lisa into second place. Or did he? This writer believes that Lisa's despicable plan was still in action - her skill is unrivalled and as such she was able to set quality times and scores that were deliberately not quite good enough to win, thereby giving hope to the other drivers with no one suspecting what she was up to. Until now.
The last event was set by the newcomer, deadmancarl, who had a difficult task this year, joining as he did mid-way through the 2nd season. He showed promise & tenacity though, beating some of the regulars and only once finishing last - ironically on this event which he set. More practice is required, but we hope he sticks with it. His event of choice was Maplewood, and by this point as long as Lisa posted a result she was assured of the title. It was here that the final stage of her plan came to fruition. After leading the other drivers to believe they could, on occasion, beat her without her actually letting them, she dropped the hammer, setting a blisteringly fast time early on which no one could catch. Every driver following her round the Canadian track heard her maniacal laugh as they tried in vain to find any way to catch her. And when they got even remotely close, she stomped all over them, improving her time with ease, aptly flipping the bird at all the drivers in her rear view.
Simply put, upon review it is readily apparent that throughout the season Lisa teased the other drivers with the promise of victory, allowing them to glimpse little rays of sunshine which she ultimately snuffed out in just 43 seconds on this final event. Every driver is going to have to dig deep in the off season if they are to beat this evil genius next time out.
So what of the other drivers? If you've been paying attention, the top 6 this season were Lisa, Speedy, Claymore, E5, Samecat, & OMTT. The top 10 was completed by Iann34, Darfi02, TheGingerWarrior, & TommyNooka79. All of their standings could have been improved were it not for the multiple no-shows that they recorded. Perhaps they've moved on to other Car Projects? If so, we wish them well, but hope they'll still find time to stay involved in our little Club.
And lastly, a special thanks to Yuffie, who became the Gary Lineker of our group by effortlessly moving full time into punditry, recording only one mistake all season, an improvement on last year. Please note all FIFA-type bribery and corruption he was allegedly embroiled in during the technical monitoring glitches in Norway and Bandipur were un-proven.
So that's it folks. Season 2 is all over. What does the future hold for season 3? Will the format change? Simultaneous challenges perhaps? Well that's up to the drivers. Please use the comments section below for your thoughts and any ideas you'd like to see introduced.
secondly, was thinking it might be good to have a driving and a drifting challenge running side by side every week to change things up a bit. You could have two championship tables going. Some people might think that's a bit much though, just a thought.
'Step 3/worst result' was 'personal tragedy' week, but Driveclub was still a useful distraction. Just goes to show overall how nothing gets in the way of my participation. 
