FORMULA class: Ledermair wins race and P1
After a free practice session, which ended with an horrifying crash of OPEN class driver Klaas Zwart (Team Ascari) and a smooth Qualifying with Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) finishing as fastest driver of the FORMULA class, teams and spectators finally experienced quite a strange race at the end of the day at the « Gamma Racing Days » in Assen.
Race started with quite a long safety car phase. Wolfgang Jordan (H&A Racing) collided and crashed on the start/finish straight just when the race was started. As a result drivers had to stay behind the safety car for the next four laps. When the track was released, Johann Ledermair had the lead, kept the lead and finished as overall leader of complete race (both classes) as well as P1 of the FORMULA class. The Austrian performed his best lap in 1:25,655 min. « I’m very satisfied with our performance this weekend so far », Ledermair explained after the race. « We managed to solve a technical problem, which improved the performance of the car significantly. I had a good feeling and good performance already during Qualifying, so I’m happy, that I managed to repeat this performance at the race. I love racing in Assen, it is always a highlight of the race calendar. I look forward to the second race on Sunday and hope for for a good performance again. »
Ledermair was followed by Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport), who finished the race on P2 and raced his best lap in 1:28,825. The Indian was overtaken by Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) directly after the start, but stepped back to position 2 of the grid in lap 5. « I’m fine with the result. Due to the long safety car phase in the beginning of the race, I wasn’t able to attack and push as I actually would have wanted to », Raghunathan told us after the race.
Mahaveer Raghunathan before the start of race 1 in Assen 2017.
First podium position this season claimed Marc Faggionato (Zig Zag), who finished the race on position 3. Not only at the FORMULA class, but in total as well. Faggionato performed his best lap in 1:31,966 min. He was followed by Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport), who was set back by a spun in lap 4 (from position 3 back to position 10). De Plano showed a great catch-up and finally finished on position 4, still managing to overtake OPEN class driver Wolfgang Jaksch during the last lap. So De Plano, current runner up of the overall FORMULA class ranking, missed his next podium of the season really close. The Italian performed his best lap in 1:30,761 – actually a top-3 time.
Armando Mangini (MM International Motorsport), Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition), Veronika Cicha (H&A Racing), Peter Göllner (Speed Center), Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport), Christian Eicke (Speed Center) and ‘PETER’ (Ray-Ban) followed on the next positions.
Results of race 1 at « Gamma Racing Days » in Assen 2017:
| Position | No. | Name | Nat. | Team | Car | Fastest lap (min) | In | Total time | Laps | km/h |
| 1 | 444 | Johann Ledermair | AUT | Ledermair Motorsport | Dallara GP2 | 1:25,655 | 8 | 21:18,537 | 10 | 128,25 |
| 2 | 115 | Mahaveer Raghunathan | IND | PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport | Lola Auto GP | 1:28,825 | 9 | 21:36,289 | 10 | 126,49 |
| 3 | 129 | Marc Faggionato | MC | Zig Zag | Dallara GP2 | 1:31,966 | 9 | 21:57,247 | 10 | 124,48 |
| 4 | 999 | Salvatore De Plano | ITA | MM International Motorsport | Dallara GP2 | 1:30,761 | 10 | 22:02,473 | 10 | 123,99 |
| 5 | 323 | Armando Mangini | ITA | MM International Motorsport | Dallara GP2 | 1:34,869 | 10 | 22:10,336 | 10 | 123,26 |
| 6 | 505 | Walter Steding | GER | Inter Europol Competition | Dallara GP2 | 1:34,175 | 10 | 22:10,910 | 10 | 123,20 |
| 7 | 222 | Veronika Cicha | CZ | H&A Racing | Dallara GP2 | 1:34,875 | 8 | 22:11,446 | 10 | 123,15 |
| 8 | 101 | Peter Göllner | SUI | Speed Center | Dallara GP2 | 1:35,045 | 10 | 22:12,323 | 10 | 123,07 |
| 9 | 411 | Karl-Heinz Becker | GER | Becker Motorsport | Dallara World Series by Nissan | 1:36,459 | 9 | 22:22,583 | 10 | 122,13 |
| 10 | 555 | Christian Eicke | SUI | Speed Center | Dallara GP2 | 1:37,723 | 8 | 22:34,632 | 10 | 121,05 |
| 11 | 111 | ‘PETER’ | FRA | Ray-Ban | Dallara World Series by Renault | 1:36,068 | 7 | 21:39,869 | 9 | 133,53 |
| 12 | 105 | Wolfgang Jordan | GER | H&A Racing | Dallara GP2 | 10:41,203 | 1 | 10:57,220 | 1 | 24,95 |
Since OPEN and FORMULA class have different classifications, but drive together in the same race, the whole start grid of 14 drivers will start at the same race on Sunday at race 2 again. It starts at 2:19 p.m (duration: 25 min).
This is the starting grid for race 2 at the “Gamma Racing Days” in Assen 2017:
Start grid of race 2 in Assen 2017.
MORE:
Picture gallery of Assen 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/assen-gamma-racing-days
OPEN class: Race 1 at « Gamma Racing Days » in Assen 2017: bossgp.com/open-class-wolfgang-jaksch-winning-his-first-ever-p1-at-boss-gp
FORMULA class: Qualifying at “Gamma Racing Days” in Assen 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-qualifying-in-assen-ledermair-fastest-formula-driver
FORMULA class: Free practice at “Gamma Racing Days” in Assen 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-early-finish-after-a-crash-ledermair-back-on-track-and-top-of-the-field
FORMULA class: Start list at “Gamma Racing Days” in Assen 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-start-list-for-the-gamma-racing-days-in-assen-ned-is-set
Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings
05/08/2017