Author: Keke Platzer

Report: Free Practice Hockenheim

Posted on April 26, 2019 by - General

Alessandro Bracalente, Speed Center Dallara GP2 skipping through the rain

Two half-hour practice sessions were held on day 1 at the Jim Clark Revival in Hockenheim.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) sets the best time in the Toro Rosso STR1 on Friday. With conditions getting better and better, the multiple champion used the favor of the minute and little traffic and drove with 1:33.647 the best time of the day. Not only once he did push the noise level to the extreme with his V10-Cosworth.

It was debutant Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center) who made a good impression. In the first, rainy practice session Bracalente set the best time, in the second he ranked second behind Gerstl. This makes the young Italian one of the top favourites for pole position in the FORMULA class in tomorrow’s qualifying (10:10 a.m. local time).

Phil Stratford had to switch to the unfamiliar GP2 car

Marco and Sergio Ghiotto (both ITA, Scuderia Palladio) also presented themselves strongly. The brothers were in the top ranks in both half hour trainings. With Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) another Italian put himself in a good position for qualifying. His experienced team mate Armando Mangini (ITA, MM International) drove the fourth fastest time in FP2.

Salvadore de Plano (ITA) drives for team Top Speed this year. De Plano missed out the first practice session, in the second session the fast Italian finished eighth. Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom Racing) was ninth overall in training 2. Due to problems with the Judd engine in his Benetton, Startford drives a GP2 Dallara with a Formula 1 Judd engine on board. Ulf Ehninger instead drives the legendary Benetton Formula 1 from 1997: Ehninger (DEU, ESBA-Racing) makes his BOSS GP debut this weekend. In second practice he had an accident at the exit of the first corner. The front and rear wings of the light blue Formula 1 were damaged during the impact into the barrier on the inside; the driver escaped with no injuries.

Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Inter Europol) was off the track several times, but was quite satisfied with his times at the comeback in the BOSS GP. Walter Steding (DEU, Inter Europol), Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed), Christian Eicke (SUI, Speed Center) and “Piter” (FRA, Ray-Ban) did plenty of laps. These pilots are expected to make a significant improvement tomorrow.

Rain makes life of drivers difficult

The first training was characterized by rain and some interruptions, among others Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) slipped into the gravel bed. But all spins went off without major damage. Despite the difficult conditions many drivers tried to gain kilometres on the Pirelli Cinturato rain tyres. For tomorrow a slight weather improvement is announced, but for Sunday heavy rain is expected.

Gerd Thöny’s yellow Jordan will remain in the pits this time, delays in the getting a race licence will make it impossible for Thöny to start in Hockenheim. This means that 14 cars in the FORMULA class and 3 OPEN cars are on the grid tomorrow.

Race Guide Hockenheim

Posted on April 26, 2019 by - General

Phil Stratford in GP2-Judd, followed by Ingo Gerstl in his Toro Rosso F1

The Bosch Hockenheim Historic is the first BOSS GP race event in 2019. Our guide leads you through the weekend including a link to Live Timing.

How can I follow BOSS GP this weekend?
Live Timing
Practice, Qualifying and Race results
Sector analysis, speed traps and starting grids
The best pictures and clips on Instagram @bossgpofficial and Facebook @bossgpofficial
Photos in our gallery on bossgp.com

When is the BOSS GP on track?
Friday, 26 April 2019
11:20–11:50: Free Practice 1
16:00–16:30: Free Practice 2

Saturday, 27 April 2019
10:10–10:40: Qualifying
16:10–16:30: Race 1 (20 min)

Sunday, 28 April 2019
10:10–10:20: Warm-up
14:10–14:45: Race 2 (25 min)

Ready for the anniversary: the BOSS GP 2019

Posted on April 25, 2019 by - General

The 25th season of BOSS GP starts this weekend at the Hockenheimring in Germany. With more track time and more power than ever.

Europe’s fastest racing series has been around for 25 years, ten of them under the label BOSS GP. Reason enough to get the party rolling for the Big Open single Seater 2019. The season traditionally begins on the Formula 1 circuit of Hockenheim near Stuttgart this weekend (26 to 28 April).

Two races of the spectacular BOSS GP are on the schedule, in a setting that could hardly be more wonderful: The Bosch Hockenheim Historic, in honour of Scottish racing driver Jim Clark, who died in an accident in Hockenheim on 7 April 1968, attracts around 500 starters and more than 20,000 fans to the Motodrom every spring. The ticket includes free access to the paddock, the exhibitions, the pit roof and the pits themselves.

Competitors: BOSS GP
20 drivers are registered for the race weekend in Hockenheim. With record champion Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Toro Rosso STR1), Gerd Thöny (LIE, Jordan EJ13), Phil Stratford (USA, Benetton B197) and Ulf Ehninger (DEU, Benetton B197) four Formula 1 cars have been announced.

There will also be 15 Formula 2 cars on the grid, including local heroes Andreas Fiedler (runner-up in the FORMULA class 2018) and Walter Steding.

The definitive starter list will be published later.

Apart from Andreas Fiedler (paddock), the teams and drivers of the BOSS GP will be based in the front pits (numbers 3 to 21).

You can’t get any closer to the beasts: open doors in BOSS GP

Timetable: BOSS GP at Bosch Hockenheim Historic
The 4.5-kilometre Grand Prix circuit and the supporting events will compete for the favour of the spectators. Each of the three days of the event start at 9 am. Alongside the BOSS GP, the highlights are the FIA Lurani Trophy, the CanAm racing cars and the Young Timer touring cars.

The BOSS GP will have two half hour practice sessions on Friday. On Saturday morning the qualifying for the starting grid of both races will take place. The first race (20 minutes) will be held on Saturday, the second race (25 minutes) on Sunday at prime time at 2:10 pm. Before that there will be an additional warm-up for the drivers and fans in the morning.

Thursday (25 April) is test day.

Friday, 26 April 2019
11:20–11:50: Free Practice 1
16:00–16:30: Free Practice 2

Saturday, 27 April 2019
10:10–10:40: Qualifying
16:10–16:30: Race 1 (20 min)

Sunday, 28 April 2019
10:10–10:20: Warm-up
14:10–14:45: Race 2 (25 min)

All times local time

The time schedule with all the racing this weekend can be found under the following link: www.hockenheim-historic.de/en/info/timetable/

Race start last year: Gerstl leads, Stratford and Schnitzenbaumer follow

Weather Forecast: Typical for April
Packing an umbrella can be helpful this weekend. In typical April weather with a change of sunshine and rain the drivers must adapt to changing conditions. At temperatures of around 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Tickets: Bosch Hockenheim Historic
For Friday there’s an offer for 10 euro. A day ticket for Saturday or Sunday costs 30 euro each, 45 euro the weekend. Wheelchair users and children under the age of 14 have free admission – paddock and free choice of seat included.

Tickets can be ordered on site, via the online ticket shop or by calling the hotline +49 6205 950-222.

BOSS GP on Amazon

Posted on April 1, 2019 by - General, General, General, Uncategorized

Heroes of Racing

The docutainment series Heroes of Racing is now available on the streaming platform Amazon Prime Video.

Two episodes of the first season of Heroes of Racing can now be watched on Amazon Prime after being broadcast on the pay TV channel auto motor und sport TV last year. Other episodes will be added at a later date.

The main characters of the docutainment series Heroes of Racing are top star Ingo Gerstl and team boss Markus Lehmann. Former racing driver Sebastian Stahl reveals interesting facts about the technology, explained in an understandable way for laymen and yet a rare insight for freaks.

Das Paar hinter der Idee zur Fernsehserie: Christian Effer und von der 7 Berge Filmwerkstatt

The duo behind the idea of a BOSS GP TV series: Christian Effer and Christina Hermanns from 7 Berge Filmwerkstatt

 

Pictures: 7 Berge Filmwerkstatt (poster), Michael Kavena/BOSS GP

Statement on the death of Charlie Whiting

Posted on March 14, 2019 by - General

The organisation, teams and drivers of the BOSS GP are mourning the loss of Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting.

Charlie Whiting died yesterday in Melbourne at the age of 66. The Brit was part of Grand Prix racing for almost five decades. Whiting also knew the BOSS GP very well and was jointly responsible for making the series’ guest appearance at the 2018 German Grand Prix possible.

The BOSS GP family express their condolences and deep sympathy with his family.

Photo: F1.com

Pre-season Testing in Brno

Posted on March 13, 2019 by - General

From 3 to 5 April, the teams and drivers of the BOSS GP will have the opportunity to test at the Automotodrom in Brno.

Three weeks before the start of the season in Hockenheim, tests will be held at the BOSS GP circuit in Brno, Czech Republic. From Wednesday to Friday you can drive a total of 24 hours.

The race will take place in half-hour units, from 9 am to 6 pm. From 13 to 14 o’clock only the lunch break interrupts the driving time. One unit costs 60 Euro incl. VAT. You can set up in the paddock on 2 April from 15 o’clock onwards. Pits are available for 150 Euro incl. VAT per day.

Vehicles from other categories and classes will also take part, a maximum of 40 cars are allowed on the track at the same time.

The test day is organised by Maverick Rescue and the Automotodrom Brno. Interested parties can register by e-mail at www.maverickrescue.cz or by telephone at +420 777 679 389. Further information is available at maverick.rescue@seznam.cz

 

Photo: Michael Jurtin/BOSS GP

Test day in March

Posted on February 2, 2019 by - General

Team Speed Center organises a test day on 29 March 2019 in Navarre, Spain. Teams and drivers from the BOSS GP are very welcome.

The early test is an ideal opportunity for BOSS GP drivers and teams to prepare for the upcoming season. On Friday, March 29, 2019, drivers will be able to drive their race car for 1,500 Euros (net) all day on the track. The test day is hosted by the German BOSS GP team Speed Center. For more information on how to get there, hotels etc., interested parties can contact team principal Markus Lehmann by e-mail at info@speed-center.com

Navarre is a province in the north of Spain, on the border to France. The Circuito de Navarra is in the city of Los Arcos and is almost four kilometres long. The FIA classifies the circuit as Grade 2, as does, for example, the BOSS GP circuit in Brno. For those who don’t know the Circuito de Navarra, the following onboard video of a Formula 3 car will give you a first look:

New regulations for 2019

Posted on January 31, 2019 by - General

Only 86 days left until the first race of the BOSS GP 2019. Here are the first details about the anniversary season of Europe’s fastest racing series.

Interested drivers and teams can now find the preliminary version of the sporting and technical regulations for the 2019 season on bossgp.com/forteams or directly here for download. The most important changes have been marked yellow in the PDF document.

The biggest change concerns the classification of the classes:
If enough entries are submitted, a separate ranking for the otherwise less competitive 6-cylinder vehicles will be offered in 2019. The name of the new class is BOSS GP Prestige. Cars from the World Series by Renault V6, the World Series by Nissan and Formula 3000 cars built from 2002 onwards are permitted.

This has an effect on the start numbers: The Open class for Formula 1 cars, IndyCars and cars with similar performance gets the starting numbers 1 to 9, the Formula class for Formula 2 and similar cars the numbers 20 to 99, the Prestige class 100 to 990.

Drivers and teams can already submit their entries for the entire season. For all those who register before the end of February, there is a discount on the entry fee. The document can also be found at bossgp.com/forteams or downloaded here. The closing date for entries is March, the 29th 2019.

In 2019 the Big Open Single Seaters (BOSS) will have their 25th season. Six attractive events with 12 races on the most beautiful racetracks in Europe are on the schedule:

First entries for 2019

Posted on December 13, 2018 by - General

22 drivers and 11 teams have already confirmed their participation in the BOSS GP race series 2019. New for the upcoming season: The PRESTIGE category for cars with 6-cylinder engines.

In 2019, if there are enough registrations, a separate classification for the 6-cylinder cars will be awarded. This concerns, among other cars, older World Series vehicles. Alongside the OPEN (F1, IndyCar) and the FORMULA (GP2, World Series, A1 GP, Auto GP, Superleague etc.), there is now a third classification within the Big Open Single Seaters.

With Formula Prestige and ESBA Racing, two new teams have announced their involvement in the BOSS GP 2019. The GT-experienced team ESBA enters a 1997 Benetton F1 for the German Ulf Ehninger. This would allow us to see a second B197 in the OPEN class alongside Phil Stratford’s car.
The Italian based team Formula Prestige has announced two drivers seats. You can still apply to the team for a place in one of their World Series race cars. More details on their fan page: www.facebook.com/formulaprestige

A current overview with updates on all drivers can be found at bossgp.com/driver

Interested drivers and teams are invited to contact our race coordinator Malin Strandberg at race@bossgp.com or by phone at +43 650 78 40 7 784 to register for 2019.

 

Update: New date for Monza 2019

Posted on December 12, 2018 by - General

The June date for the BOSS GP race weekend in Monza has been moved one week ahead by the organisers.

Races 5 and 6 of the BOSS GP will take place from 14 to 16 June 2019 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy. The original date (21-23 June) has been postponed by the organiser Peroni by one week.

The 25th season of the BOSS GP starts with the Jim Clark Revival in the Hockenheim Motodrom. The event from 26 to 28 April is devoted to the Formula 1 legend who died in an accident at Hockenheim. The event is one of the most important classic racing events in Europe, and in 2019 the BOSS GP will once again be the main event of this highlight.

On the second race weekend from 23 to 25 May, the BOSS GP will be making a guest appearance in the new home of the racing series. At the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the Big Open Single Seaters will share the program with the KTM X-Bow Battle for the first time. The sports car racing series is one of the strongest one-make championships in the world. The event at Spielberg takes place from Thursday to Saturday.

In June (14–16) the first of two Italian appearances of the BOSS GP 2019 will take place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. On Italy’s fastest motorway, the adrenaline level will rise as always, because besides skill, the drivers will also need a lot of courage.

Another highlight in the 2019 calendar is the popular event in Assen (Netherlands). Instead of the Gamma Race Days, this time the BOSS GP will be part of the DTM programme (19 to 21 July). Last year, BOSS GP and the German premium touring car series had already contested the event together in Spielberg, and now the partnership is being extended.

From September 6th to 8th, the BOSS GP will once again attend the Masaryk Racing Days in Brno. The Czech racetrack attracts with a roller coaster that is well appreciated by the drivers. The most exciting races of 2018 took place here.

The BOSS GP will return to Italy for the final round of 2019 and to Imola after a one-year break. The races will take place on the former Formula 1 track from 11 to 13 October. In the calendar planning, particular importance was attached to extending the intervals between the individual events and dividing the races into seven months. There will be a summer break in August.

As usual, every race weekend will have two races of 20–25 minutes each, in addition to training and qualifying. The exact schedules will be published at www.bossgp.com before the races.