Category: General

OPEN class: Race 1 at “Zolder Superprix” – Stratford losing drive, Zwart losing tyre

Posted on July 15, 2017 by - General

Klaas Zwart on the track at Zolder 2017.

Full of action was the first race of the weekend at the “Zolder Superprix” in Belgium. Both drivers of the OPEN class struggled on the track.

Despite struggling with technical issues during the Qualifying, the lap times Klaas Zwart (Team Ascari) had raced in the morning as well as Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing) promised an exciting race at the afternoon. Starting from Pole Position (Zwart) and position 2 (Stratford) both OPEN class drivers lead the start grid in Zolder (OPEN and FORMULA class start in one grid at the race).

Zwart kept the lead with his Jaguar R5 Cosworth 3.0 V10 for 15 laps and showed without any doubt a dominant performance on the Belgian track. He achieved his best time in lap 3 with 1:16,002 min. Only a burst tyre finally stopped the Dutch in lap 16, shortly before the finish of the race. Having 15 laps completed, Zwart was classified without any problems and won the podium of the OPEN class as well as his first 25 points of the Championship 2017.

 

Phil Stratford preparing for the race at Zolder 2017.

Phil Stratford preparing for the race at Zolder 2017.

 

Unfortunate went Phil Stratfords race. Ranked as second of the OPEN class for an overall amount of ten laps, the American had to return with his Benetton B197 Judd 4.0 V10 to the box in lap eleven: “I lost the drive”, he explained, “but that’s racing. It can happen.” Stratford had performed the best time in lap 4 with 1:21,624 min.

 

Klaas Zwart overall winner of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

Klaas Zwart overall winner of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

 

So at the end of the day Zwart was the only finisher of the OPEN class at race 1 in Zolder at the “Superprix”-weekend. Hopefully both OPEN class drivers will start at race 2 on Sunday morning (start: 12:25 a.m., duration: 20 minutes).

Results of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

Results of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

MORE:

Picture gallery of Zolder 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/zolder-superprix

FORMULA class: Race 1 at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/formula-class-race-1-at-zolder-superprix-mahaveer-raghunathan-winning-his-first-ever-p1

OPEN class: Qualifyig at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/open-class-qualifying-at-zolder-superprix-zwart-leaving-the-track-early

OPEN class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/open-class-practice-day-at-zolder-superprix-stratford-and-zwart-back-on-track-with-boss-gp

Schedule for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-zolder-superprix

Start list for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/start-list-for-the-zolder-superprix-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

OPEN class: Qualifying at “Zolder Superprix” – Zwart leaving the track early

Posted on July 15, 2017 by - General

Klaas Zwart on track in Zolder 2017.

Sunny weather after a rainy practice day on Friday made best conditions for the BOSS GP Qualifying at the “Zolder Superprix”on Saturday morning.

Cars went on track at 10:20 a.m., both drivers of the OPEN class improved their lap times from free practice sessions significantly. Klaas Zwart (Team Ascari) was the first one, who entered the track with his Jaguar R5 Cosworth 3.0 V10. The Dutch killed the track with his best lap time in 1:14,408 min in lap four and secured the pole position for the first race of the weekend, being the fastest of the whole start grid at the Qualifying. With this time Zwart was close to the current BOSS GP track record, which is 1:14,089 min. Unfortunately the Dutch had to quit the session early after the fourth lap, due to technical reasons.

 

Phil Stratford on the track in Zolder 2017.

Phil Stratford on the track in Zolder 2017.

 

Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing) finished Qualifying as second, impoving his best lap time to 1:19,310 min (1:33,820 min at free practice) and narrowing the gap to Zwart considerably. Being second fastest of the whole grid at Qualifying, Stratford will start from position 2 at the race on afternoon.

Klaas Zwart after Qualifying: “There was a overheating of the engine, so I had to quit. I’m not happy about that.”

 

Results of the Qualifying at Zolder 2017.

Results of the Qualifying at Zolder 2017.

 

Since FORMULA and OPEN class race together at the same race, start positions for the race are composed by the overall Qualifying results. Both OPEN class drivers, Klaas Zwart and Phil Stratford, will start from pole position (Zwart) and position 2 (Stratford) and are followed by Raghunathan as fastest FORMULA class driver on position 3 and De Plano (4).

The overall start grid for race 1 is:

Start grid for race 1 at Zolder 2017.

Start grid for race 1 at Zolder 2017.

 

MORE:

Picture gallery of Zolder 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/zolder-superprix

FORMULA class: Qualifying at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/formula-class-qualifying-at-zolder-superprix-raghunathan-and-de-plano-battle-for-fastest-lap

OPEN class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/open-class-practice-day-at-zolder-superprix-stratford-and-zwart-back-on-track-with-boss-gp

Schedule for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-zolder-superprix

Start list for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/start-list-for-the-zolder-superprix-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

FORMULA class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix 2017” – Raghunathan taking the lead

Posted on July 14, 2017 by - General

Mahaveer Raghunathan on track by difficult weather conditions at Zolder 2017.

The weather conditions around the circuit of Zolder in Belgium turned the practice day for the BOSS GP crews upside down. But at the end of the day, all cars went on track und raced their first lap times of the Superprix-weekend.

Seven cars had signed for the race-event in Zolder (Belgium) at the FORMULA class. Due to heavy rain, only three drivers went on the track for the first free practice of the day. Mahaveer Raghunathan (IND), current runner-up of the FORMULA class, was the first driver, who entered the track in his Lola Auto GP Gibson Tech 3.4 V8. And he was the fastest one at the end of the session, with a best lap-time of 1:42,982 min. Raghunathan was followed by Walter Steding (GER, Dallara GP2 Mecachrome 4.0 V8) with 1:56,354 min and Karl-Heinz Becker (GER, Dallara WSbN AER 2.0 R4T) with 2:07,730 min.

 

Results of 1st free practice at Zolder 2017.

Results of 1st free practice at Zolder 2017.

 

While weather conditions improved significantly during the afternoon, all FORMULA class drivers went on track at the second free practice. It was again Raghunathan, wo showed the best performance of his class on the Belgian track in Zolder. He improved his best lap-time to a 1:23,480 min, followed by Salvatore De Plano (ITA, Dallara GP2 Mecachrome 4.0 V8) with his best lap in 1:27,089 min. Despite a spun off the track by Steding, the second free practice run smoothly and showed a promising performance for Qualifying and first race of the weekend on Saturday.

 

Results of 2nd free practice at Zolder 2017.

Results of 2nd free practice at Zolder 2017.

 

Salvatore De Plano at second free practice in Zolder 2017.

Armando Mangini at second free practice in Zolder 2017.

 

MORE:

Picture gallery of Zolder 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/zolder-superprix

OPEN class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/open-class-practice-day-at-zolder-superprix-stratford-and-zwart-back-on-track-with-boss-gp

Schedule for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-zolder-superprix

Start list for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/start-list-for-the-zolder-superprix-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

OPEN class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix” – Stratford and Zwart back on track with BOSS GP

Posted on July 14, 2017 by - General

Phil Stratford during free practice at Zolder 2017.

The weather conditions around the circuit of Zolder in Belgium turned the practice day for the BOSS GP crews upside down. But at the end of the day, all cars went on track und raced their first lap times of the Superprix-weekend.

Two cars had signed for the race-event in Zolder (Belgium). Phil Stratford (USA) as well as Klaas Zwart (NED) returned back on track for BOSS GP after a break of two months. Stratford went on track with his Benetton B197 Judd 4.0 V10 at the first free practice of the day despite heavy rain starting immediately, when the practice just had started. With eight laps on track his best lap-time was a 1:51,239 min in round 3. Stratford had raced the first two races of the season at Hockenheim (GER) im April 2017, but missed the races in Zandvoort (NED, May) and Paul Ricard (FRA, June). He was joined on track by a couple of FORMULA class drivers (Mahaveer Raghunathan, Walter Steding, Karl-Heinz Becker). Find more informations of the practice day of the FORMULA class at this link.

Results of 1st free practice at Zolder 2017.

Results of 1st free practice at Zolder 2017.

 

Both OPEN class drivers went on track at the second free practice on late afternoon, when weather conditions had improved significantly. While Stratford improved his lap time to a 1:33,820 min, Zwart drove his Jaguar R5 Cosworth 3.0 V10 at his best lap with a 1:17,178 min. Zwart made it to twelve laps, Stratford just stayed five laps on track.

Results of 2nd free practice at Zolder 2017.

Results of 2nd free practice at Zolder 2017.

 

Klaas Zwart back on track in Zolder 2017.

Klaas Zwart back on track in Zolder 2017.

 

MORE:

Picture gallery of Zolder 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/zolder-superprix

FORMULA class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/formula-class-practice-day-at-zolder-superprix-2017-raghunatan-taking-the-lead

Schedule for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-zolder-superprix

Start list for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/start-list-for-the-zolder-superprix-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

Timetable for the “Zolder Superprix”

Posted on July 13, 2017 by - General

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

This weekend BOSS GP will be part of the “Zolder Superprix” in Belgium. One more event, which provides great action for motorsport fans and enthusiasts. Starting on Friday afternoon with the first free practice, the BOSS GP crew is looking forward to an exciting race-weekend in Zolder.

The “Zolder Superprix” is a spectacular event from 14/07/2017 (Friday) until 16/07/2017 (Sunday) at the Circuit Zolder, in the north-east of Belgium, about 70 km in the east of the capital Brussel. Racingfans will come on pole position. Not only when BOSS GP will go for season races 7 and 8 on track, but also watching the Supercar Challenge, GT & Prototype Challenge or Belcar Endurance Championship.

See the schedule for the BOSS GP race weekend here:

Practice day on Friday, 14/07/2017

Traditionally the race weekend begins for drivers and crews with the first free practice on Friday. First time, drivers will go on track, will be at 2:45 p.m. for the first training session (25 min). Second free practice will start at the late afternoon, 5:25 p.m (25 min).

Zolder track will be packed full with free practices and tests whole Friday from 9:05 a.m. until ca. 5:50 p.m.

Qualifying and racing day 1 on Saturday, 15/07/2017

10:20 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. will be the dates to watch out on Saturday. Qualifying will be held in the morning at 10:20 a.m (30 min), whereas the first race of the weekend will start in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The “Zolder Superprix” will open its schedule in the morning at 9:05 a.m with the Qualifying of the Supercar Challenge. The programme will close ca. 5:50 p.m..

Racing day 2 on Sunday, 16/07/2017

The second BOSS GP race this weekend will be held on Sunday late morning at 12:25 p.m. The overall schedule provides eight different races on Sunday. The programme starts at 10:10 a.m. and is about to finish ca. 6:25 p.m.

As every good racing event – the schedule is always subject to – minor – changes.

You can find further informations about the “Zolder Superprix” at the website of the circuit: www.circuit-zolder.be/nl/events/zolder-superprix.

BOSS GP team will be on track all days and provide plenty of live coverage and updates not only on our website but also on all our social media channels:

www.facebook.com/bossgp2010

www.instagram.com/bossgp2010

www.twitter.com/bossgp2010

Mahaveer Raghunathan on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Will Mahaveer Raghunathan take the lead in Zolder? 

Zolder forth step of season 2017

BOSS GP will compete at seven different European venues in 2017, holding 14 races in total. Season kick off was held in Hockenheim (GER), followed by Zandvoort (NED) and Paul Ricard (FRA). Next tracks will be Assen (NED), Brno (CZE) and Imola (ITA).

More:

Find the start list for the BOSS GP “Zolder Superprix” here: bossgp.com/start-list-for-the-zolder-superprix-is-set

Find detailed statistics of the current season here: bossgp.com/races

Start list for the “Zolder Superprix” is set

Posted on July 11, 2017 by - General

At the box in Paul Ricard 2017.

4th station of  the BOSS GP Championship season 2017 this weekend (14.-16./07.2017) is coming closer. The start list for the motorsport event in Belgium is now set. 

And there will be some very interesting competitors. Seven drivers will compete in the FORMULA class. Current leader of the class, Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport), wont be on track in Zolder. Will Mahaveer Raghunathan or Salvatore De Plano take over the lead of the ranking? This is the start list for the FORMULA class at the “Zolder Superprix”:

Start-No. Name Team Nat. Make Type
105 Wolfgang Jordan H&A Racing GER Dallara GP2
115 Mahaveer Raghunathan PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport IND Lola Auto GP
136 Henk de Boer De Boer Manx NED Dallara GP2
323 Armando Mangini MM International Motorsport ITA Dallara GP2
411 Karl-Heinz Becker Becker Motorsport GER Dallara World Series by Nissan
505 Walter Steding Inter Europol Competition GER Dallara GP2
999 Salvatore De Plano MM International Motorsport ITA Dallara GP2

Also the current leader of the OPEN class, Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), wont race in Zolder. But – good news – Klaas Zwart (Team Ascari) will return on track after his crash at the first race of the season in Hockenheim (Germany). As well we will see again Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing), who drove two great races in Hockenheim in April, but couldn’t attend the following races due to different reasons. BOSS GP fans can look forward to an interesting duel of the two OPEN class starters.

 

Start-No. Name Team Nat. Make Type
7 Phil Stratford Penn Elcom Racing USA Benetton B197 F1
66 Klaas Zwart Team Ascari NED Jaguar R5 F1

 

BOSS GP will compete at seven different European venues in 2017, holding 14 races in total. Hockenheim (GER) in April, Zandvoort (NED) in May and Paul Picard (FRA) in June are done. Zolder will set season races 7 and 8. Remaining tracks are Assen (NED), Brno (CZE) and Imola (ITA).

MORE:

Find detailed statistics of current standings here: bossgp.com/standings/

Find all informations about the Circuit in Zolder on this website: www.circuit-zolder.be/en

11/07/2017

Registration period for “Zolder Superprix” extended

Posted on June 22, 2017 by - General

BOSS GP @ Paul Ricard in June 2017.

The registration period for the fourth station of BOSS GP Championship 2017 at the “Zolder Superprix” (Belgium) has been extended until 6th of July 2017. That has been announced by race coordinator Christian Gaense.

The “Zolder Superprix” in the north-east of Belgium will take place from 14th to 16th of July 2017. Zolder Circuit, located close to Hasselt will be the host for season race 7 and 8 of the BOSS GP season 2017. It was host for lots of spectacular Formula 1 races between 1973 and 1984. Today different Benelux racing series are hold in Zolder, which also was host for different FIA racing events in the last years, like GT- and GT1 Championship.

On the weekend from 14th to 16th of July 2017, the “Zolder Superprix”-weekend will host not only the BOSS GP races, but also the BELCAR Belgian Endurance Championship, TCR-Benelux Touring cars, Supercar Challenge and the new GT & Prototype Challenge. Lots of spectacular series, which fill the books with howling and roaring engines, battling it out for every centimetre of the asphalt in Zolder. BOSS GP season race 7 is scheduled for Saturday (15/07/2017), race 8 for Sunday (16/07/2017).

Deadline for driver registration for the races in Zolder (Belgium) is now set on Thursday, 6th of July 2017. Registration can be done online on this link: www.bossgp.com/registration/zolder-2017.

Zolder is the fourth stop of the Championship 2017 season. Seven races all over Europe with stations in Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Czech Republic and Italy will make up the complete 2017 BOSS GP Championship season.

Six season-races are done so far. Currently leading the FORMULA class is Johann Ledermair (AUT, Ledermair Motorsport) with 147 points, leader of the OPEN class is Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Team Top Speed) with 100 points. Latest results can be found on our website here: bossgp.com/standings/, details overview about the races done until now can be found here: bossgp.com/races/.

22/06/2017

Registration deadline for Zolder Superprix tonight

Posted on June 19, 2017 by - General

Cars on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

After a real hot race-weekend in southern France on the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet, next station waiting for BOSS GP is the Zolder Superprix in the north-east of Belgium. The eyes are now set on the next stop of the 2017 championship, where season races 7 and 8 for BOSS GPs drivers are waiting. The event will take place from 14th to 16th of July 2017, registration for the races ends tonight on 19th of June.

Zolder Circuit, located in the North-East of Belgium close to Hasselt, owns today an 4.011 km long track. It was host for lots of spectacular Formula 1 races between 1973 and 1984. Today lots of Benelux racing series are hold in Zolder, which also was host for different FIA racing events in the last years, like GT- and GT1 Championship. On the weekend from 14th to 16th of July 2017, the “Zolder Superprix”-weekend will host the BOSS GP crew for their fourth season step, accompanied by the BELCAR Belgian Endurance Championship, TCR-Benelux Touring cars, Supercar Challenge and the new GT & Prototype Challenge. Lots of spectacular series, which fill the books with howling and roaring engines, battling it out for every centimetre of the asphalt in Zolder. BOSS GP season race 7 is scheduled for Saturday (15/07/2017), race 8 for Sunday (16/07/2017).

Deadline for driver registration for the races in Zolder (Belgium) is set on Monday, 19th of June 2017. Registration can be done online on this link: www.bossgp.com/registration/zolder-2017.

Zolder is the fourth stop of the Championship 2017 season. Seven races all over Europe with stations in Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Czech Republic and Italy will make up the complete 2017 BOSS GP Championship season.

Six season-races are done so far. Currently leading the FORMULA class is Johann Ledermair (AUT, Ledermair Motorsport) with 147 points, leader of the OPEN class is Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Team Top Speed) with 100 points. Latest results can be found on our website here: bossgp.com/standings/, details overview about the races done until now can be found here: bossgp.com/races/.

19/06/2017

Gerstl dominating again, van Kalmthout and Ledermair compete head-to-head

Posted on June 11, 2017 by - General

Podium race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Another heated race under French sun at Paul Ricard brought a clear winning Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, OPEN class) with a head-to-head competition following on position 2 and 3 between the youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN class) and Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA class). 

It was a clear start-finish-victory for Ingo Gerstl, who dominated the track also in the second race of the weekend in France. After winning the first race at Saturday, the Austrian repeated a successful performance on Sunday, racing his best lap in 1:46,605 min. “I’m happy with the race”, Gerstl recapped his performance. “Especially since I reached my goal, to improve the best lap compared to Saturdays race.”

Start of race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Start of race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

The gap between Gerstl and the closest rivals on track, Rinus van Kalmthout (+ 1:00,865 min) and Johann Ledermair (+ 1:10,978 min) on position 2 and 3, was significant. “There was no chance against Ingo (Gerstl) today”, van Kalmthout showed respect to the winner. The both youngsters, Rinus 16 years old, Johann 25 years old, showed a decent battle. At the end best lap times were more than close, with a 1:50,616 min by van Kalmthout in his GP2 Evo Dallara and a 1:50,643 by Ledermair in his Dallara GP2. Quita a remarkable performance by the Austrian Ledermair, if you notice, that he competes in the FORMULA class, while van Kalmthout starts at the OPEN class. “It was a good race, tyre management went well again”, van Kalmthout was satisfied with his race. “Ingo was really quick, I had no chance, keeping up with him. Finally we got out the most of what was possible today, so I’m happy with the result”, the Dutch was satisfied with reaching the P2 again.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Meanwhile Johann Ledermair, finishing on grid position 3, making the P1 of the FORMULA class, was not pleased overall, but struggled with himself. “I’m totally not satisfied. The whole weekend was running a kind of weird. Initially I assumed tyre-problems due to their conditions after the race in Zandvoort. I was absolutely convinced, that the tyres caused some problems, we had to deal with. So we changed tyres, but I noticed immediately during the warm up lap, that something still is wrong. We checked everything and I got an okay by my chief mechanic. But I felt strong vibrations at the steering wheel during the race and took out some speed due to security reasons. Finally I just aimed to finish the race considering these circumstances. Most of all I’m angry with myself about hanging up on a tyre problem which turned out to be wrong”.

Finishing fourth was Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team, OPEN class) with his best lap in 1:56,507 min. As on Saturday Jaksch made it to the P3 of the OPEN class and was absolutely satisfied with his performance after some struggles at the race the day before: “Despite being on the same place, the race itself felt totally different for me. I’m absolutely satisfied and happy about the result and especially how it came. The car run smoothly, I got faster each round coming closer to the finish; to me that shows, each round strengthens the confidence in the car, which improves my lap times.”

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) overtaking Mahaveer Raghunathan at Paul Ricard 2017.

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) overtaking Mahaveer Raghunathan at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) rounded the podium of the FORMULA class off, finishing on position 5 and 6. Got overtaken by Jaksch couple of laps before the finish, the gap between best lap times of the Italian (1:56,651 min) and the Indian (1:56,625 min) nevertheless was tight. “I totally didn’t expect to make it to the podium, so I am really really happy”, De Plano smiled widely. Having big issues on Saturdays race (“The car was terrible!”), De Plano changed his tyre management for Sundays race and was absolutely pleased: “The car run perfect, conditions were great, I loved the hot weather; it was a perfect race day for me.” Meanwhile P3 Mahaveer Raghunatan was happy, having reached a podium position as well, but struggled with the track layout. “The problem were the long straights. I lost a lot of time on these straights, actually I lost too much time there”, he summed up.

The remaing grid (all FORMULA class) either performed best lap times close to the podium drivers. David Moretti (Griffith’s, FORMULA class), getting overtaken by even seven drivers in the early stage of the race, started a great fight and made it from position 13 in round 2 up to position 7 while crossing the finishing line (best lap: 1:56,900 min). Wolfgang Jordan (8., H&A Racing, 1:59,784), Henk de Boer (9., De Boer Manx, 1:59,115) and Armando Mangini (10., MM International Motorsport, 1:58,225) also performed their best lap under two minutes. Christian Eicke (11., Speed Center, 2:01,327), Martin Kindler (12., Jenzer Motorsport, 2:02,586) and Bruno Navarrete (13., Griffith’s, 2:03,357) were close by.

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Four out of the starting grid of 17 cars were not classified because of early exits, due to various technical problems. While Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed, FORMULA class) had problems with the gearbox of his GP2 Dallara in lap 11, Veronika Cicha (H&A Racing, FORMULA class) had to exit the race due to tyre-problems as well in lap 11. Already in lap 5 Patrick D’Aubreby (Griffith’s, OPEN class) exited the race with technical problems. Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA class) spun off the track in lap 4.

Results race 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

Results race 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

 

More:

Photo Gallery Paul Ricard 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/paul-ricard-gt-open-euroformula-open/

Race 1 Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/ingo-gerstl-leads-the-grid-chased-by-youngsters-rinus-van-kalmthout-and-johann-ledermair/

Qualifying report Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/qualifying-at-paul-ricard-with-some-strange-failures/

Practice day Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/practice-day-at-paul-ricard-results/

Ingo Gerstl leads the grid, chased by youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout and Johann Ledermair

Posted on June 10, 2017 by - General

Podium of race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Hunting the reigning champion and current leader of the OPEN class Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN class) and Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA class) did a great job. At the end of race 1 on Circuit Paul Ricard in France the experienced driver made quite clear, that he wouldn’t let go his pole position of the grid.

The race started – at boiling, southern French heat – with a crash of Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA class) in round 1. During overtaking, Göllner had trouble to keep his GP 2 Dallara on the lane and crashed. The following safety car phase challenged drivers and cars due to the danger of overheating and “really didn’t suit the plans”, winner Gerstl grumbled after the race. When the track was released for the grid, drivers took off and stepped on the gas. Gerstl as well as his hunters van Kalmthout and Ledermair, soon established the Top 3, who kept the following field on distance.

“Of course I’m pleased by the win. With the expection of some details we had a great race”, Ingo Gerstl was happy about his win with a best lap time of 1:48,420 min. “The duel with Rinus (van Kalmthout) on position 2 was interesting. I wasn’t too sure about a direct, close battle with him on the track. It’s not yet too easy, to estimate his experience. I mean – he his just 16 years old. He showed a great performance and made it a really good race; guess how he will drive with a couple more years of experience. So actually we can look forward to further races with and against him”, Gerstl was pleased.

Race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017: Leading Ingo Gerstl (r.) sharply followed by Rinus van Kalmthout.

Race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017: Leading Ingo Gerstl (r.) sharply followed by Rinus van Kalmthout.

 

By Gerstl much praised, Rinus van Kalmthout himself was not only happy about making it to P2 with a best lap time of 1:50,847 min, but also with his personal fast growing learning curve: “It was a good race. First round was pretty close with Ingo (Gerstl), so I could stayed with him. Then we had the safety car phase; it was something to learn from – warming the tyres, warming the brakes. So that’s why actually I was happy about this experience. The race felt really good, even if driving between Ingo Gerstl with one second gap in front and Johann Ledermair with one second gap behind was just like a little bit driving alone. I learned a lot about tyre management during that race, since the driving with Pirelli is a totally new experience for me.” In particular the final stage of the race pleased van Kalmthout: “It’s nice to see that at last lap I was quicker than Ingo (Gerstl). That really gives me a confidence boost.” Goal of the 16 years old Dutch for race 2 at Paul Ricard on Sunday?: “Getting closer to Ingo (Gerstl)”. So quite a nice challenge waits for van Kalmthout, since Gerstls target for Sundays race is “to drive some really fast laps at the second race, after being five seconds slowler at race 1 than at Qualifying”.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) and Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) talk-shopping after the race.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) and Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) talk-shopping after the race.

 

Sharply following the two fastest OPEN class drivers was once more FORMULA class driver Johann Ledermair with his best lap in 1:51,967 min. His team had won the race against time already before the actual race started. After dropping out at the Qualifying due to a technical problem (fatigue fracture), Ledermairs team had worked non-stop and finally fixed the car by five minutes left until race start. “Huge thanks and appreciation to my team for fixing the problem”, Ledermair was more than pleased with the performance of his technical crew. “The car felt well. But actually there were some slight vibrations by the front tyres and I had some trouble with understeering”, he summed up his race. “All in all the race went well, I made the most out of it. Now we will work on getting everything fixed again until tomorrows race. The motto is, to fully attack at the second race again and getting the car faster anyway.”

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

The podium of the OPEN class was completed by Wolfgang Jaksch, who raced onto overall position 7 with his Super Aguri SA06 (best lap: 1:58,177 min). “Second race this season, second podium. I’m absolutely happy about this result”, Jaksch smiled widely after the podium ceremony. Especially, since “it was a really difficult race. The grip level was totally different from the grid level during Qualifying. So the car was quite unstable and it was hard work, to bring my car home and take it to the finish. Lap times could have been better; despite of course I’m very happy with the P3, but not, how the race went.” Jaksch was self-critical as well: “I have to work on myself, to get along better with such difficult race conditions.” For second race on sunday “we will work on the setup and will do some finetuning. Making it again to the podium would be great”. Jaksch sets position 4 of the overall OPEN class ranking with 40 points, behind Ingo Gerstl on position 1 (75 points), Rinus van Kalmthout (47) and Phil Stratford (44).

Podium of the FORMULA class was completed by Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) with a best lap time of 1:55,823 min, finishing on position 4 and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport), finishing on position 5 with a best lap time of 1:57,226 min. While Raghunathan keeps the overall position 2 at the FORMULA class with now 104 gained points, behind Johann Ledermair with a total of 122 points, Schnitzenbaumer and Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) follow on third rank (both 90 points),

A great catch up on the track of Paul Ricard showed David Moretti (Griffith’s). Starting from position 10 at his first BOSS GP race at season 2017, he made it to position 6, overtaking couple of drivers with his GP 2 Dallara. Definitely less satisfied was Veroninka Cicha (H&A Racing). After a great performance at Qualifying in the morning, her car showed technical problems sharply before finishing the race, during lap 9.

After recurring technical problems, as well during practice as at Qualifying, Karl-Heinz Becker retired from the race already after dropping out of the Qualifying, just racing one single round.

Complete results of race 1 at Paul Ricard:

Results race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Results race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.