The crowds at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza enjoyed three days of top-class motorsport at the Nardi Compressori Race. Italian Colombo wins second FORMULA title in a row. Japanese Noda impresses on debut.
The first race on Saturday will probably go down as one of the races that started the latest in BOSS GP history. After a lengthy rain interruption in the afternoon, the BOSS GP timetable was also delayed. The first (20-minute) race did not start until after 6 pm, however when it did, it offered a stunning ambience at the Parco di Monza as apology for the wait.
The Formula 1 racetrack also saw two highlights with F1 history featuring Ingo Gerstl’s Toro Rosso STR1 and Antonio Pizzonia. Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) had to give way to the Brazilian for overall victory in both races this time. Pizzonia (BRA, HS Engineering) impressed not only with the victory in the OPEN class. By using a “low downforce setup” on the World Series V8 with a 4.5-litre engine he was able to achieve a top speed of over 330 km/h. Ingo Gerstl is now officially the champion of the BOSS GP F1 Class and joins the confirmed champions of the 2023 season, Antonio Pizzonia (OPEN) and Henry Clausnitzer (SUPER LIGHTS).
A decision was also made in the FORMULA class, where the epic duel between two Italians continued. In qualifying, Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) had scored a coup by having more time in Q2 than his rival Simone Colombo (ITA, MM International). He used this time to go for the fastest time again at the end of the session with new Pirelli tyres. Ghiotto got it right and put himself in a better position for the two races.
Their duels made their mark on the races in this competitive class with Formula 2 (GP2) and World Series cars. An unfortunate situation in the first race took Ghiotto out of contention for victory. However, with third place in class, he at least saved a large number of points. In the second race, once more Ghiotto kept up with championship leader Colombo and tried everything to keep the title race open. But once again it was not enough. With the double victory, Colombo will travel to the finale in Mugello (6-8 October 2023) as the old and new champion. It is the former karting professional’s second title in the BOSS GP. This extends the series of championships for Italian drivers to five in a row.
But newcomer Juju Noda (JPN, HS Engineering) was also in the mix and impressed many commentators with her ability to learn quickly. For the former driver in the W Series and the Euroformula Open, it was a successful debut in the league of the “Big Open Single Seater”. Places 2 and 3 were a showcase of talent for the 17-year-old in the World Series 3.5. Team-mate Paul O’Connell (IRE), competing for the first time in the team’s 4.5-litre World Series in the OPEN class, also contributed with two second places to the fact that HS Engineering once again collected a lot of silverware.
Andreas Fiedler (GER, Fiedler Racing) made his comeback after a break and showed with fourth place in the second run that he also belongs to the top group. Other notable results: 5th place for Checco Malavasi (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) and 6th place for newcomer David Richert (CDN, MM International) in the second race. After a premature retirement in the first race, Felix and Michael Grosse-Aschhoff (both GER, Asche Racing) were able to score in the second race, as was Bruno Jarach (ITA, Eesti Motorsport).
Stefan Eisinger-Sewald (AUT, Red Rose Racing) gained some new fans in the iconic Ralt F3000 with retro design. He scored full points twice in the SUPER LIGHTS and is now on course for second place in the championship.
Photos: Angelo Poletto/BOSS GP
