Managers online (969) 2010 Sep, 8th 12:30:08 CET
Manager profile: Sion Francis
GPRO Profile
| Joined: | Jan 25th, 2007 |
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| Last interaction: | Today at 02:48:55 |
| Country: |  (Wales) |
| Forum posts: | 2597 (View posts) |
| Times logged on: | 7890 |
| Time spent on GPRO: | 3504.7 hours |
Contact information
| Email: | Hidden |  MSN: |
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Send private message |  Yahoo!: |
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| ICQ: | N/A |  AIM: |
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| Chat nickname: | Sion |  Skype: |
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Fast facts
| Name: | Sion Francis |
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| Gender: | Male |
| Birth date: | Sep 24th, 1981 |
| Birthplace: | N/A |
| Place of residence: | N/A |
| Relationship status: | Retired |
| Height: | 183 cm |
| Weight: | 85 kg |
GPRO Statistics
| GPRO Trophies: | 0 |
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| Number of GPs: | 13 (321) |
| Points scored: | 1 (922) |
| Wins: | 0 (52) |
| Podiums: | 0 (91) |
| Pole positions: | 0 (40) |
| Fastest laps: | 0 (31) |
| Avg pts/race: | 0.08 (2.87) |
| First GP: | Season 2, Race 16 |
Miscellaneous
| Group: | Elite | Sponsor 1: | - |
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| Money: | $-2.076.897 | Sponsor 2: | - |
| Season position: | 20th | Sponsor 3: | - |
| Certification: |  |
Sponsor 4: | - |
| Sponsor 5: | - |
| Car livery | Tyres |
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| Manager career | Manager history | Achievements | Team history | Drivers history | Other stuff |
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Manager career of Sion Francis (Last updated: Jul 31st 2010, 02:23:15) |
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Some career highlights:
Master: 2 titles (s10, 16) 2 cups (s16, 19) - first, and to date only person to win 2 cups in master 35 race wins - most master wins by any manager, I believe Season 3 - rookie title, in my first season. A season-by-season analysis: Season 21 - Elite Tyre choice - driver talent meant it was a straight forward choice between M and D for me this time around. The D decision was the almost inevitable aftermath of the group of death from season 19....although the sheer amount of Bridgerocks and Michelinis in the group is a bit of a surprise...quite a few managers have bankrupted themselves with that decision. Currently waiting for a cold race to see how good, or bad, a decision the tyres were. Relegation is a possibility. Season 20 - Elite He's back, and this time he means business... Midseason update: safety more or less secured by making a risky strategy call which paid off, now preparing for a long-term residence in the top echelons. Hopefully. Season 19 - The group of Death (M4) What a ridiculous group...everyone in this group has been screwed over by the random allocation of relegators from elite, and sadly we all know it. This results in 11 michelinis in this group, and I maintain that masters cannot afford them at all. Unfortunately, I am one of those 11. It will probably ruin my chances of staying up in elite next season, if I get there. I am expecting a very tough season, both from a financial management perspective and from a fight for promotion perspective. However I genuinely still think I have the fastest race driver in the group, and probably in all of master. Sadly, he can't compete with 11s pitstops and a level 11 car, especially since he can't compete with the blockers in qualifying, so the realistic goal as of race 1 is to finish 2nd in the group, hopefully with a win or two along the way. Even that is easier said than done... Midseason update: All good things come to an end and my time with elit1st, whilst short lived was certainly good fun. I'd like to thank Gordon and Ermin especially for making my time there enjoyable and wish everyone in the team good luck. Times change however, and I have joined Whiskey and Cigars - a team whose members I've always admired and I'm really happy to be here - the chance to be team mates to a double elite champion is a hugely exciting prospect and I'm hoping for a long, fruitful relationship with my new team mates...I am already very impressed with a lot of what they have going on and just hope to contribute my small part over the coming seasons...now I just need a nickname. end of season: 5 races into my Whiskey career, 5 consecutive wins. Not a bad return, and 9 wins in the group of death and a 2nd master cup is a decent take from the group of death ( First person to ever win 2 cups in master ). Would have won the league comfortably without some bad luck, but that's ok...the main goal was to get to elite again and that was ultimately done comfortably. Season 18 - Master-4 Is this technically as close as it's possible to being the defending champ in a master group? ;) Not planning anything huge this season - just consolation in preparation for a likely promotion push in season 19. I have however joined some of the old OTF crew at elit1st in hopes of making that final push to the ranks of elite regular together. Here's hoping for a successful relationship. Result - 3 wins was significantly better than expected. Largely on course preperation wise, although I anticipated having a slightly better driver at this stage than I do. He is still comfortably the fastest thing in this division in the races though. He just can't qualify. Next season should be fun either way... Season 17 - Elite Well, goal achieved. I said way back in season 13 that I would be in elite come season 17 and here I am. Unfortunately I am not as well prepared as I should be, mainly because of last season's title fight. That, coupled with a failure to sign a driver for race 1 has left this nothing more than a preparation season...I will relegate from elite for a third time, but I should be back for s20...it would be nice to stay here that time. Result - relegation as predicted and close to according to plan. Season 16 - Master - 4 Going into season 10 just over a year ago I said: Promotion should be a given, but no messing about - I want the master 3 championship. I'd repeat the sentiment for this season...I am almost a certainty to promote but would like to win the group to go with it. Whether I've got the pace to do it this time is not quite as clear cut as it was in season 10, but I will be going for it. The other aim is to go into elite in s17 with a car that can compete for points. I won't have the same driver come season 17 so driver training will take a back seat this time around. Result - a second master title in the bag. It was an exciting season where Toni and I had a great season-long battle, which was ruined by a random for me and then his retiring - otherwise we were toing and froing for the points lead and race wins all season, which was great fun. Having such a close fight up front has scuppered my plans for next season, but it was worth it. I was also awarded the unofficial community prize for "best manager outside of elite": /forum/ViewTopic.asp?TopicId=12382&Page=3 A big thanks to everyone who voted for me...I'm not sure if it was deserved but it is certainly nice to be recognised. Season 15 - Master-4 Not master-3!? Whoa, did not see that coming. A season of mid-tabling lies ahead before a promotion push in s16. Result: 2 wins and 7th place in the final standings is near perfection. I was a little annoyed to be 2 points behind 5th position in the final standings which would have been perfect. I am, however, confident that the goal of promoting next season is more than doable and in terms of preparing for that this season could not have gone better. I'm very happy with the way I managed the year and all I can say to next season's M4 participants is: Bring it on :) Season 14 - Pro-5. Goals: The plan remains to get back to elite for season 17, so I need 2 promotions in 3 seasons from here. Should I stay or should I go? Mid-season report: Promotion secured, but I did want the title... Unfortunately, Spa hates me - the random in elite cost me survival there in season 11. Now, a random tyre puncture ON THE LAST LAP drops me from a completely safe and secured 2nd to 8th (which should have been 4th...see /forum/ViewTopic.asp?TopicId=9604&Page=1 for all the gory details). That was the 2nd random failure of the season which has cost me well over 10 points in total. Unfortunately there is no prospect of winning the group from hereon in, so I guess I should just start preparing for next season. Humbug. Result: 100 points and third feels like scant reward for what was actually a very strong season. Pro-5 was one of the faster pro groups unfortunately, and the randoms cost me 2nd palce in the championship....was never going to win it. On the plus side, the admins agreed with me on the position issue in Spa and paid me compensation for the difference between 2nd and 3rd in the end of season standings. That's very fair of them IMO. Season 13 - Master-3 (aka Sion's backyard) Goals: 1. Avoid relegation. 2. Get in a position to be reasonably competitive by the end of the season 3. Muster up the energy to rotate this profile, so that the most recent updates appear at the top. Early-season update: Change of plans. I now have a plan to be in elite come season 17. We'll see how this goes, but I'm almost certainly not avoiding relegation this time. Result: Once I settled on a new long term plan from race 2, relegation was always likely and I never tried to avoid it. Hopefully it'll be the right decision long-term. On the plus side, goal 3 was achieved. Season 12 Master-3. Goal: Try to gain some motivation to keep playing. Result: Achieved nothing. Still lacking motivation...still complaining about the random that prevented me from staying in elite in season 11....but soldiering on and have some semblance of a long term plan. We'll see how it goes. Season 11 Elite. Goal: Survival. I had a plan this year. Was all geared up for a huge push in race 4, which looked like netting 6th, with a possibility of 5th, when with 10 laps to go the car let go. Chances of survival have therefore taken quite a hit, need to come up with a new plan. 28th on the strength of that result. 10 more laps and I'd have established myself in elite. Instead I am driverless and essentially back to where I was in season 6. Season 10: Master-3. Return of the Jedi Goal: Promotion should be a given, but no messing about - I want the master 3 championship. Result: Got the title, which was the main goal. Also got 10 wins, 1 of which was by a clear lap, and managed some poles for the first time since season 3 in rookie! Happy to report that Ohhh Teee Efff managed a 1-2 in the Master-3 standings. Was nice to race with the occasional bit of "team strategy" in mind. I'm fairly optimistic about next season. Whatever happens I definitely have a much better shot at staying in elite than I did in season 9, although it won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. It will be do or die though - if I relegate I'll lose my driver, who's getting rather good. :) Season 9: Elite. Goal: Well, it would be nice to think that I can survive here, but realistically I need to think long term now. The goal is therefore to be competitive in elite come season 11. Result: Well, that was my first season without a podium. Not even a point. But I actually think it went very well. I learnt a hell of a lot racing against the top dogs, and I'm pretty confident that I'll be back in better shape come season 11. Season 8: Master 3. Goal: Race wins (plural). Promotion to elite. Decent financial position and hopefully continual staff training. The first half of the season was catastrophic from my point of view. I had 10 points after 7 races and was languishing in 8th overall, not helped by my first random DNF ever at Monaco. A wet race 8 changed all that and I managed to win a tightly fought race. This was the start of an upturn which saw me score 63 points in the last ten races of the season, including 3 more race wins. In some ways it was disappointing not to put together a full competitive season in master after 3 years. If I'd decided to money grab this season I am sure I would have won most of the races next year, but that's academic now. Goal achieved, and elite beckons. Bring it! :-) Season 7: Master 3. Goal: Race wins (plural). Promotion to elite. Decent financial position and hopefully continual staff training. For the first time in this game I would classify myself as having failed to reach my objectives in a season. Having initially been one of the fastest cars for the first 6 races or so, it quickly became apparent that I was badly underbudgeted for the season, for various reasons. Thus the whole 2nd half of the season was spent smoking to prepare myself for season 8. It should go well considering how much I think I underachieved this year. Watch out M3! :) I should also mention that Ohhh Teee F1 had a strong season 7, eventually finishing 4th in the teams' standings. In truth the team had a great year and we were fighting for the title up until the smoking season when the whole team followed my lead and smoked. We'll win that title in a few seasons' time, just need some nicotine patches. Season 6: Master 3. Goal: Avoid relegation, get some points and build up for a full-on assault on this group next season. A desperate start to the season saw me one of the slowest cars out there. But I soldiered on and came up with a "master" plan for the season. The last four races saw me being genuinely competitive and netting two podiums and a fastest lap. With most of those who had my number at this point now out of the way in elite, next season should go well. Season 5: Amateur 8. Goal: Promotion + race victories Well, that was quite a season. Seven different winners in A8 made for a very competitive season - 12 races in we had more than half the amateurs in the "one big race" top 100. I was happy to secure a win and be generally of a podium standard throughout the season. The gloss was taken off by my finances, dropping me from 2nd in the standings for most of the season to 4th by season's close as I was forced to smoke my way round for the last 4 races. Onwards and upwards... Season 4: Amateur 8. Goal: Avoid relegation, get some points and build up for a full-on assault on this group next season. Got 2 podiums and finished 10th overall, which was a lot better than I expected. Struggled with finances. I think I'm in decent shape for next season though... Season 3: Rookie 7. Goal: Promotion + race victories A learning season where I got to grips with the game. Luckily, some analysis very early on in my career enabled me to identify a very good driver with a relatively low OA, that no other rookie picked up on… 12 wins, 16 podiums. Enough said. :-) |
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