Autore: Keke Platzer

Report: Race 1 Monza

Posted on Giugno 15, 2019 by - Generale

Stratford defeats Gerstl for the second time in 2019. Marco Ghiotto triumphs in the FORMULA.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) is beaten again: Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom) wins for the second time after Spielberg and continues his race to catch up in the OPEN championship. At the restart after the first Full Course Yellow, Stratford reacted faster than Gerstl to the clearance and surprised the serial winner. Although Gerstl tried again and again to get by on the straights, but Startford remained calm and mistake-free. It was Stratford’s fourth career success in the BOSS GP.

“I did that for my team. They were working on the gearbox almost the whole night, just that I could drive today. With the victory I can give Mansell Motorsport and the Judd crew something back.”

Third in the OPEN class was “Piter” (FRA, Ray-Ban) as at Hockenheim. He celebrated his third podium finish.

OPEN podium: f.l. Gerstl, Stratford, “Piter”

The pilots of the FORMULA category delivered once again a sensational race. Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) defended his lead from start to finish, but two Full Course Yellows let his lead melt away again and again. But Ghiotto withstood the pressure and won like last year at the Eni Circuit Monza. For him and his team, Scuderia Palladio, success at homeland is definitely something very special.

Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) experienced the spirit of the BOSS GP: Yesterday he noticed damage to his rear wing after free practice. Understandably, he didn’t want to take the risk of a failure on the high-speed track in Monza, so a change was the only solution. But Fiedler didn’t have a spare wing, so Scuderia Palladio gave him a rear wing and made it possible for Fiedler to start.

It was even nicer that Fiedler, who started from last place, was able to stand next to Ghiotto on the podium. Fiedler beats Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) and Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Speed Center) in a fight that lasted several laps.

FORMULA podium: f.l. Fiedler, M. Ghiotto, Martucci

Martucci had a fantastic start from the fifth row and was also able to run the lap times of the top group in the race. 3rd place is his best result this year. Also, Le Mans starter Haezebrouck was on a podium spot for a long time, in the end he had to cope with position 4 in class in his first race for Speed Center.

Like Martucci and Haezebrouck, Walter Steding was one of the winners of the starting phase. Behind Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International) he finished sixth in his class, just ahead of permanent competitor Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed).

Sergio Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) was ranked tenth. At the pre-start his car stopped, so he had to tackle the race in last position. After a phenomenal race to catch up he was in the middle of the fight for the podium in the final phase. But a spin in the duel with Fiedler unfortunately ruined his race one lap before the end.

Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Top Speed) and Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center) have fewer good memories of the opening stage of the race. De Plano caught Bracalente in the braking zone to curve 1 and turns him around. For de Plano the race was over, Bracalente was able to continue. Later in the race he retired just like his teammates Peter Göllner (SUI) and Christian Eicke (SUI).

Warm-up start tomorrow at 10:35, BOSS GP race 2 at 14:35.

Report: Qualifying Monza

Posted on Giugno 15, 2019 by - Generale

The fastest BOSS GP qualifying of the year in review.

Third pole position in the third BOSS GP event 2019 for Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed). In the V10 Toro Rosso STR1 Gerstl was again the fastest pilot in qualifying. This means he sets the pace for the start of the first of two races at 4 p.m. this afternoon.

Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom) will line up next to him once again. In the Benetton B197 he was able to improve by two seconds compared to qualifying 2018 – this opens the chase for permanent rival Gerstl.

Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) confirmed his performance of Friday: With 1:36.169 he drove the fastest lap time of all Formula 2 drivers. Teammate and cousin Sergio Ghiotto starts the race from 5th place as third best FORMULA driver.

In between will be Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center), who was the only one in the turbulent Qualifying 2 to make it into the top 5. Later in qualifying the FORMULA leader had an accident. At the end of the second chicane he spun to the inside and into the barriers. For the race driver and car should be made ready again.

The Italian dominance at their home race in the FORMULA class is underlined by Armando Mangini (grid position 6), Salvatore de Plano (grid position 7) and Gianluca Ripoli (grid position 8). First non-Italian in the FORMULA category is Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Speed Center). The Frenchman continues the good pace of Hockenheim and Spielberg in his first race with the new team.

Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) starts in tenth. Walter Steding qualified as eleventh despite a spin into the gravel bed. Christian Eicke (SUI, Speed Center) was able to participate today after his accident in the first free practice and thanked his team with rank 12. Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed) will start from 13, OPEN driver “Piter” (FRA, Ray-Ban) in the only World Series car from 14.

Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) had to miss qualifying, because his rear wing broke yesterday. He hopes to find a spare wing before today’s first race, otherwise he must skip another race.

Race 1 starts today at 4 p.m. – with best weather and free entry.

Report: Free Practice Monza

Posted on Giugno 14, 2019 by - Generale

Sergio Ghiotto, Dallara GP2

Friday in Monza: Getting used to the high-speed track in the Royal Park.

Speeds beyond 300 kph demand man and machine. It’s good that on Friday there were two 30-minute practice sessions for the BOSS GP drivers.

The fastest man in this high-speed challenge was Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed). The reigning OPEN champion set his fastest time (1:29.929) in the second free practice session in the afternoon. With similar good conditions tomorrow another big improvement in lap time is possible for Gerstl in his Toro Rosso STR1.

Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom) finished with the second-fastest time of the day in the Benetton B197, by far behind Gerstl but in front of the Formula 2 cars. He will probably be the only driver who can challenge Gerstl this weekend.

Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) was third fastest in both practice sessions. Last year’s winner at Monza is the hottest candidate for FORMULA victory.

Five other Italians managed to set a lap time of 1 minute 39 seconds: Luca Martucci (MM International), Sergio Ghiotto (Scuderia Palladio), Armando Mangini (MM International), Salvatore de Plano (Top Speed), Alessandro Bracalente (Speed Center) will also be playing a big role in tomorrow’s fight for pole position. Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) failed close to manage a 1:39 lap. In practice 2 Fiedler was involved in an incident with De Plano, Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center) and Martucci, both Fiedler and Martucci had an early end to the session.

Christian Eicke (SUI, Speed Center) set a great time in the first practice session. With a flattened rear wing and therefore little drag, he managed the second fastest time in sectors 1 and 3, beaten only by Ingo Gerstl’s Formula 1. However, Eicke had an accident only a little later at the end of the Ascari variant. But he will be able to participate again in the fight for pole position on Saturday.

16 starters will take part in qualifying tomorrow at 9:45 am. Today’s top 5 start in Q1 (8 minutes), the remaining drivers in Q2 (20 minutes). The fastest driver from the two combined sessions will be the first to start the 25-minute race at 16:00, the fifth in this BOSS GP anniversary season 2019.

Preview + guide Monza

Posted on Giugno 13, 2019 by - Generale

Marco Ghiotto, winner in Monza 2018

It’s gonna be hot: The Formula 1, Formula 2 and World Series cars of the BOSS GP will be on Italy’s “fastest motorway” from 14 to 16 June in perfect weather and for free.

Races 5 and 6 of the 2019 BOSS GP season will take place next weekend at the Monza Eni Circuit. The traditional race track is 5.8 kilometres long and not far from the city of Milan. With an average speed of around 240 km/h, it is the fastest track in the BOSS GP racing calendar.

17 drivers are registered for the first of two Italian races of the BOSS GP this year. For seven of them it is a home race: the Italian team MM International comes with Marco Martucci, Gianluca Ripoli and team owner Armando Mangini. The runner-up of the FORMULA, Marco Ghiotto, in the former Charles Leclerc F2 car and cousin Sergio Ghiotto are competing for the Scuderia Palladio. Two more Italians are driving for non-Italian teams: Salvatore de Plano for Top Speed and FORMULA leader Alessandro Bracalente for Speed Center. They all drive cars from different Formula 2 generations.

What does the Competizione BOSS GP offer?
In addition to the Big Open Single Seater, ten other racing series are part of this exciting event organized by Gruppo Peroni. These include the prototype class of the Sports Car Challenge, the GT3 of the P9 Challenge, the Renault Clio Cup Italia one-make cup and some historic racing series such as the Alfa Revival Cup.

On that weekend, a road safety course for children will also be inaugurated on the racetrack grounds. The use is free of charge for visitors on the opening weekend.

According to weather forecasts, it will get hot: up to 33 degrees Celsius, precipitation is not to be expected.

BOSS GP schedule:
Friday, June 14, 2019
09:55–10:25: Free Practice 1
15:20–15:50: Free Practice 2

Saturday, June 15, 2019
10:45–11:15: Qualifying
16:00–16:20: Race 1 (20 min)

Sunday, June 16, 2019
10:35–10:45: Warm-up
14:35–15:00: Race 2 (25 min)

Where can I find the BOSS GP cars, teams and drivers?
The BOSS GP teams are located in the pit lane exit area. These are the garages with the numbers 46 to 60. The BOSS GP catering from Sabel Racing and the Hollerweger Pirelli tyre service are located right behind them in the paddock. Fans can watch the teams and racers from the front row at work.

How do I get tickets for the Competizione BOSS GP?
Admission is free on each of the three days, access tickets are not required. Seating is free on all open grandstands and access to the paddock is not restricted. Only parking costs extra.

Where can I follow the Competizione BOSS GP online?
Livetiming on http://monza.alkamelsystems.com
All results on bossgp.com
Up to date with Instagram @bossgpofficial and Facebook @bossgpofficial
The latest pictures from race weekend in our gallery bossgp.com

Music stars visit BOSS GP

Posted on Giugno 2, 2019 by - 5, Generale

Musicians Robby Musenbichler and Willi Langer presented the trophies in Spielberg.

The trophies at the Red Bull Ring ceremony last weekend were handed over by guitarist Robby Musenbichler and bassist Willi Langer.

The two world famous Austrian musicians have already played with Tina Turner, Rainhard Fendrich, Johnny Logan, OPUS and many more.

For both it was their first visit to the BOSS GP – unanimous conclusion: “That’s really awesome!”

Music stars Robby Musenbichler (1. row 2.f.l.) and Willi Langer (1. row 4.f.l.) at the winner’s ceremony

Happy Birthday Kevin!

Posted on Maggio 31, 2019 by - Generale

Team boss Kevin Mansell celebrated his 60th birthday at the Red Bull Ring.

BOSS GP congratulated Kevin Mansell on his 60th birthday with a big applause and a special birthday cake. Mansell was very obviously happy:  “A big thank you to all my BOSS GP friends for the congratulations and the great cake!”

For 18 years, the Brit has been part of the BOSS GP racing series. He won the overall BOSS GP championship in 2004 with his son Scott, as well as the team championship.

Currently his team, Mansell Motorsport, manages the Benetton B197 of OPEN class vice champion Phil Stratford.

Report: Race 2 Spielberg

Posted on Maggio 25, 2019 by - Generale

A dramatic race at the end of the Pirelli Masters 2019. Gerstl and Bracalente as lucky winners.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) had to start from last place like yesterday. However, this did not stop the Austrian from winning his home race in the Toro Rosso STR1 ten-cylinder beast.

Gerstl continuously pushed forwards and passed the naturally slower Formula 2 cars without much risk. In lap 12, he overtook OPEN rival Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom) in the Benetton for second place, one lap later he passed race one winner Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center), who had been in the lead up to then.

Start for race two in the rain

Just before the start it started to rain. All drivers changed to Pirelli Cinturato rain tyres. In the middle of the race the rain shower stopped, and it began to dry up on the racing line. At that time Rookie Bracalente lost his lead, one lap later after Gerstl he had to let pass Stratford too.

Behind Gerstl and Stratford, the fight for victory in the FORMULA class began: Bracalente had to defend against Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) repeatedly. Four racing cars now fought for overall victory – Gerstl, Stratford, Bracalente and Ghiotto. On several occasions Ghiotto tried to get past Bracalente, but it took him the very last lap to make it.

Gerstl crossed the finish line just 0.4 seconds in front of Stratford. Behind them Ghiotto defended the class lead, but only up to 200 metres before the finish. In the last corner he spun on the slippery track and Bracalente slipped through again – this race couldn’t have ended much more dramatically.

FORMULA podium: f.l. Marco Ghiotto, Alessandro Bracalente and Florian Schnitzenbaumer

Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed), who crossed the finish line behind Bracalente and Marco Ghiotto, also finished on the FORMULA podium today. The reigning FORMULA champion and Armando Mangini (ITA, MM International) fought a duel worth seeing, which was finally decided by a mistake of Mangini in turn 1. Schnitzenbaumer did complain about his own aggressiveness, but with today’s performance he can finally take home a trophy after his retirement yesterday.

Sergio Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) finished fifth in class, Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Inter Europol) confirmed the performance of the previous day with 6th place in FORMULA. Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed) and Christian Eicke (SUI, Speed Center) duelled for 7th place for a long time, with a better end for Jakoubek.

Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) experienced a weekend to forget. The double winner from Hockenheim could not even start on the first race day, in the second race he retired after six laps. Race 5 and race 6 of the BOSS GP 2019 will follow in three weeks in the Royal Park of Monza. From June 14th to 16th, the BOSS GP will contest the Competizione BOSS GP on the fastest racetrack on the calendar.

Top 3 points standings:
OPEN class: Ingo Gerstl (75 points), Phil Stratford (47), “Piter” (44)
FORMULA class: Alessandro Bracalente (92), Marco Ghiotto (80), Armando Mangini (54)

Race 5 and race 6 of the BOSS GP 2019 will follow in three weeks in the Royal Park of Monza. From June 14th to 16th, the BOSS GP will contest the Competizione BOSS GP on the fastest racetrack on the calendar.

Report: Race 1 Spielberg

Posted on Maggio 24, 2019 by - Generale

Debut victory for Alessandro Bracalente at the Pirelli Masters.

Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center) is the glowing winner of the first of two races this weekend. The rookie wins a BOSS Grand Prix for the first time at only his third start. The 30-year-old was on his unbeatable way right from the start. As the first pursuer of the long-time leader Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom) he took the lead when Stratford slowed down with gearbox problems.

Stratford finished fifth overall and won the OPEN class. Ulf Ehninger (DEU, ESBA Racing) was allowed on the OPEN podium for the very first time. For Ehninger it was the first BOSS GP race. With an overall 9th place he was right in the middle of the action and visibly happy about his success. So it was a double victory for the 1997 Benetton’s.

First BOSS GP win for Alessandro Bracalente

OPEN championship leader Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) started a brilliant race to catch up from last place. But even the fastest race lap didn’t help at the end: After eight laps and just when Gerstl catched leader Stratford, his race ended with a technical problem.

Back to FORMULA: Sergio Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) finished second, Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) third. Remarkable: With Bracalente, Ghiotto and Martucci were three Italians on the podium.

Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) finished fourth, even though Marco was involved in a collision with Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed) at the start. Schnitzenbaumer had to retire just at the scene of the accident.

Podium ceremony with the world class musicians Robby Musenbichler and Willi Langer

Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Inter Europol) was fifth in his class and thus delivered his best performance of the season. Behind him a duel between Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Top Speed) and Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International) was raging for a long time. De Plano beat Ripoli in the end.

Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center) finished eighth in the FORMULA. The Swiss started from the penultimate row and made up many places with clever manoeuvres, especially in the early stage of the race. Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed) overtook Walter Steding (DEU, Inter Europol) in the last lap, who was in the top-10 for a long time.

Unfortunately, fifth place on the grid remained empty, Andreas Fiedler could not even start the race.

Tomorrow will be the fourth BOSS GP race of the season, starting time is 15:45. Before that there will be a ten-minute warm-up at 10 am.

Report: Qualifying Spielberg

Posted on Maggio 24, 2019 by - Generale

Surprise in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring: Stratford and Bracalente in row 1.

Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom Racing) took pole position in both BOSS GP races at the Pirelli Masters 2019, putting a BOSS GP crowd favourite at the front of the field: Stratford’s Benetton B197 is a real eye-catcher. Since last year, the car also has the signature of his ex-pilot Gerhard Berger on it’s painting. For Stratford, the pole position is his first in the BOSS GP. It’s also a conciliatory result, as last year he was unable to compete in the season finale on this circuit due to a gearbox failure.

With a fabulous time of 1:17.332 min Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center) fought his way into the front row. This also makes the BOSS GP rookie the fastest pilot in the FORMULA class.

Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed) and Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) will start from row 2. Ghiotto was fastest in the second qualifying group. Little by little he improved his times, at the end he set the very good time of 1:19.158. Similarly well managed Armando Mangini (ITA, MM International) his Pirelli P Zero tyres. The experienced Italian also drove his fastest time at the very end of the 20-minute session and starts alongside Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing). Yesterday Fiedler complained about problems in the first of the two left corners at the Red Bull Ring. But with 5th place in qualifying the championship leader will be able to have a serious say about the victory

Sergio Ghiotto (Scuderia Palladio), Luca Martucci (MM International), Gianluca Ripoli (MM International) complete the Italian package in places 7 to 10.

Salvatore de Plano had to change to the spare car this morning. Instead of his yellow-red GP2 Dallara he drives the rest of the weekend with a black-and-red car. Although he only completed seven laps, de Plano was able to finish in the top 10.

Philippe Haezebrouck finished eleventh, beating Inter Europol team mate Walter Steding by a narrow two-tenths of a second.

Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed) is starting the race in 13th place. Ulf Ehninger (DEU, ESBA Racing) in the second 1997-Benetton starts the hunt in 14th place. Ehninger was able to rewind 14 laps without any problems and collected valuable kilometres for him in a Formula 1 racing car he was not used to yet.

The Swiss Speed Center drivers Peter Göllner and Christian Eicke start from 15 and 16.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) had to move to the second qualifying group after an engine change. With only two laps, OPEN leader Gerstl didn’t set a qualifying time. Gerstl will start from the very last position in the race as it looks.

Race 1 will take place today, Friday: Start is at 15:30. Race 2 follows tomorrow at 15:45 o’clock, before there will be a warm-up at 10.

Report: Free Practice Spielberg

Posted on Maggio 23, 2019 by - 5, Generale

Review of day 1 at the Pirelli Masters in Austria.

The BOSS GP drivers used the practice sessions on Thursday to get familiar with the 4.3-kilometer track and to find the fastest drivers for Q1 tomorrow.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) secured the best combined time with a 1:11.996 min. The Toro Rosso pilot targeted the BOSS GP record time of 1 minute 10 seconds from last year in the second free practice. A gearbox failure at the very beginning of the session stopped this plan. But tomorrow record champion Gerstl will definitely be at the start again.

The 16 other pilots had no major problems: Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom Racing) set the best time in the second free practice session with 1:17.078, even though the Benetton driver only completed one installation lap in the first practice session.

The fastest FORMULA driver in today’s session was BOSS GP rookie Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center). He was followed by Florian Schnitzenbaumer at his comeback. The reigning BOSS GP FORMULA champion will probably start 2019 only on this one race weekend. With the fourth-best total time he can compete tomorrow in Q1. Also qualified for Q1 is Sergio Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio).

Brother Marco (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) failed like Hockenheim double winner Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) at the cut by a few tenths of a second. But tomorrow in Q2 the two will have more driving time at their disposal to complete a fast lap. Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) was faster than fellow countryman Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Top Speed) today, and thus confirmed his performances at the Red Bull Ring from last year.

The qualifying for the 17 pilots will take place tomorrow at 10:45 am. Today’s top 5 start in Q1 (8 minutes time), the remaining drivers in Q2 (20 minutes time). The fastest driver from the two combined sessions will be the first to start the race at 3:30 pm.