Boremula 1 comes back to your screens this week with Round 8 - the Hungarian Bore Prix, after a six-week summer break. The drivers are all looking forward to it and there's plenty to bring you up to speed on, before we get things going. Here's a quick recap of the action so far and an explanation of the additional driver and team changes as we head into the second half of the season.
Round 1 - Australian Bore Prix (watch broadcast)
Despite pre-season testing, nobody really knew what to expect from Phillip Island. The result was incredible racing, plenty of slipstreaming, drama, pit stops and a remarkably close finish.
Qualifying didn't please a number of the drivers as, due to the very strong slipstream effect in these cars, people could turn up on the night and put in a quicker time than others had managed on merit after days of practice. Something had to change.
The race itself was amazing - early drama saw both Arrows out but there was a train of cars at the front, all waiting for one another to crack under pressure. Eventually it spread out after pit stops and some spins, but the highlight was the finish. Across the line initially, Silas Krag-Vrolijk and Cam Dance were separated by nothing, according to our timing, but the gap was a couple of thousandths of a second, which gave Cam the first spoils of the championship. Christian Rose made it two McLarens on the podium.
Round 2 - Brazilian Bore Prix (watch broadcast)
As the championship moved to Interlagos, we'd been trialling a new Qualifying format - one-shot Qualifying. Drivers would go out on their own in reverse championship order, and it worked really well. It gives everyone decent amounts of air time, and puts a bit of pressure on for the competitors to get it right. Jake Blackhall secured pole with a really full-on lap.
Once again (and this becomes a theme) the race was immense fun with a huge train all scrapping for the top spots. Jake Blackhall spun from the lead on Lap 1 and had to work hard to get back up there. Pit stops split things up a little bit, but we again had a very close finish resulting in win number two for Cam Dance and his Benetton, ahead of Silas Krag-Vrolijk and Pete Newman.
Round 3 - San Marino Bore Prix (watch broadcast)
With one-shot Qualifying in full swing, the excitement at Imola was real. Drivers were under pressure to perform and the circuit was unforgiving to these little open wheelers. Jake Blackhall took his second pole position on the bounce.
Everyone was learning about the strategies and approaches to use in these sort-of long races, and not pushing too hard in the train to make moves. Jake Blackhall led the majority of the race, but eventually it was Cam Dance that got the lead after the pit stops. Late contact between Blackhall and Zwemstra provided some drama - the former finishing on the podium, but Dance made it three from three, with Silas Krag-Vrolijk in 2nd for the third time running.
Round 4 - Spanish Bore Prix (watch broadcast)
Catalunya was the venue for the next race, with drivers struggling to get the car to behave around a lot of its long, sweeping corners. Christian Rose got his first pole position of the season with a number of drivers not posting valid times and starting further down the grid, most notably, Jake Blackhall.
The championship saw its first major incident in the opening couple of corners, with most drivers choosing to get a fast repair and continue. We then had the usual train of cars all aiming to lead the way up to the pit stops. Late on it was Cam Dance leading from Silas Krag-Vrolijk as we all expected another repeat result. As Krag-Vrolijk went to make a move there was contact, and the result was decided. Dance takes another win ahead of Rose and Zwemstra.
Round 5 - Canadian Bore Prix (watch broadcast)
Montreal was another circuit that really tested the drivers during Qualifying. It was looking like Zwemstra would take Ferrari's first pole position of the season, but at the last moment, Dance secured a great first place for Benetton.
His race made even easier by an early incident that affected around seven cars from 2nd place back. Pete Newman was tapped into a spin and multiple others got caught up behind. It was now five from five for the New Zealander, with Jack Blackhall scoring a 2nd place ahead of Christian Rose - another podium for McLaren Mercedes. While the top three were separated by less than five seconds, the rest of the field were nearly another half a minute back.
Round 6 - British Bore Prix (watch broadcast)
Silverstone - the "old version" from 2008 - promised to be a great track for racing in these cars, and it didn't disappoint at all. Qualifying was a different challenge as everyone tried to use every inch of the very wide circuit. It was good to see some newcomers to the championship going well - Aaron Smith putting his Tyrrell right up the order, but Kevin Zwemstra took Ferrari's first pole position.
Morgan Butler and Ed May had early dramas off the start, and Krag-Vrolijk would need to work hard to come through the field after not setting a valid time in Qualifying, but it was Zwemstra that held an early lead for Ferrari from a bunch of big hitters. After another great strategy, Dance was leading from his teammate near the end, but a battle erupted with one lap left and it was Jake Blackhall who took his first win of the season - the first race to not be won by Cam Dance.
Round 7 - German Bore Prix (watch broadcast)
Despite Hockenheim being a shadow of its former self, a lot of drivers were excited about the German Bore Prix, as the current version of the circuit always provides excellent racing. Jake Blackhall took pole position after a thrilling Qualifying session where the top four were separated by less than five hundredths of a second at one point.
Cam Dance leaped off the line and took the lead early on, but a number of incidents took out championship contender Christian Rose and many others. There were some very impressive drives by more newcomers to the championship - Pete Harrod and Bart Daelman most notably for Prost and Stewart respectively, but finally, after working so hard all season, Silas Krag-Vrolijk would take his debut win of the season.
The Championship
This is how the championship looks at this point, ahead of the next race at the Hungaroring. Cam Dance has a very convincing lead after his early dominance, but there's a number of names really improving and making moves up the order with six races left. Can anybody mount enough of a challenge?
The Driver and Team Changes
On top of all of the action listed here, we have some more driver changes to make before we head to Budapest.
Jake Blackhall bows out, Bart Daelman promoted
Bart Daelman's impressive performance at Hockenheim has earned him a seat at a top team. It just so happens that Jake Blackhall has decided to depart the series after Germany, freeing up a slot at Williams for the rapid Belgian to carry the torch. He's sure to take a race victory before the season is done.
Underhill called up to Stewart from Tyrrell
After a great debut in the series for Tyrrell, James Underhill has been moved into the empty seat at Stewart left by Jack Werrell, who leaves after only a couple of performances due to other commitments. James really enjoyed his first evening in the championship and looks to score consistent points going forward.
Kyron O'Malley to make debut
After Bart Daelman's move up to Williams Renault, there was a second seat at Stewart needing to be filled. Kyron O'Malley jumps in to race for the squad for the remainder of the season. After coming from a primarily oval racing background, much like Martin Kenyon of Lola, he's hoping to get to grips with the car quickly.
As a result of the above changes, this is how the entire grid looks now.
We hope you'll join us live for all of the action tonight (link to the broadcast below) - it's bound to be a great Hungarian Bore Prix, and the rest of the season to follow will certainly match up to it.