Autore: Keke Platzer

Pre-season Testing in Brno

Posted on Marzo 13, 2019 by Keke Platzer - Generale

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 Febbraio 7, 2019 by Keke Platzer - Non categorizzato

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 Gennaio 31, 2019 by Keke Platzer - Generale

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 29^th2019.

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:

26–28 April Hockenheim (DE) – Jim Clark Revival
23–25 May Spielberg (AT) – Pirelli Masters
14–16 June Monza (IT) – Competizione BOSS GP
19–21 July Assen (NL) – DTM
06–08 September Brno (CZ) – Masaryk Racing Days
11–13 October Imola (IT) – BOSS GP Grande Finale

First entries for 2019

Posted on Dicembre 13, 2018 by Keke Platzer - Generale

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 Dicembre 12, 2018 by Keke Platzer - Generale

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 (21-23) 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.

BOSS GP 2018 in numbers

Posted on Dicembre 12, 2018 by Keke Platzer - Generale

Beautiful trophies for the BOSS GP winners 2018

The BOSS GP celebrated its champions 2018 last weekend at the Lisa Alm in Flachau (Austria). At the end of the year, bossgp.com presents a review in figures of one of the most varied BOSS GP years ever.

WINS:
The FORMULA class was as mixed as never before: Nine different winners in 13 races is an absolute record. Two victories each went to Johann Ledermair (Ledermair, GP2 Dallara), Roy Glaser (Speed Center, GP2 Dallara) and Marc Faggionato (Zig-Zac, GP2 Dallara). Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed, GP2 Dallara) also clinched two race victories and consequently enough for the championship title. Marco Ghiotto, Armando Mangini, Andreas Fiedler, Alain Valente and Salvatore De Plano each won one race. For Ghiotto, Mangini, Fiedler and Valente it was their first victory in BOSS GP.

In the OPEN class, things were clearer: 12 victories for Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, Toro Rosso). Only once was the champion beaten after a starting collision: In Monza Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing, Super Aguri) was the lucky winner.

v.l. OPEN-Meister Ingo Gerstl, Vertreterin für Wolfgang Jaksch (2. OPEN), Andreas Fielder (2. FORMULA), FORMULA-Meister Florian Schnitzenbaumer, Christian Eicke (3. FORMULA)

f.l. OPEN champion Ingo Gerstl, representative for Wolfgang Jaksch (2nd OPEN), Andreas Fielder (2nd FORMULA), FORMULA champion Florian Schnitzenbaumer and Christian Eicke (3rd FORMULA)

PODIUMS:
In the OPEN class, Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, Toro Rosso) with 12 and Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom, Benetton) with 11 visits were regular guests on the podium. Other trophy collectors: Wolfgang Jaksch (5), Hans Laub (2), Rinus van Kalmthout (1).

In the FORMULA Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed, GP2 Dallara) from Germany secured the title with consistency, which is also proven by a look at the podium statistics. No one was as frequent, namely seven times in the top 3. Armando Mangini (MM International, GP2 Dallara), Andreas Fiedler (Fiedler, GP2 Dallara) and Peter Göllner (Speed Center, GP2 Dallara) were each allowed to attend the awards ceremony four times. The other drivers on a BOSS GP podium 2018: Marco Ghiotto, Salvatore De Plano (each 3 times), Johann Ledermair, Roy Glaser, Marc Faggionato (each 2 times); Bianca Steiner, Reinhard Kofler, David Moretti, Bernd Herndlhofer, Veronika Cicha, Alain Valente, Luca Martucci (each 1 time).

Der Mann des Jahres in der FORMULA: Florian Schnitzenbaumer (r.) mit seiner Freundin bei der Abschlussveranstaltung auf der Lisa Alm

Man of the year in FORMULA class: The German Florian Schnitzenbaumer (r.) with his girlfriend at the award ceremony in Flachau

FASTEST LAPS:
Roy Glaser (Speed Center, Dallara GP2) took the fastest lap three times with only three starts (Assen and Hockenheim II). The Swiss plans to start more often next year. The rivals should have him on its toes. Other winners of the fastest laps in the 2018 season: Marco Ghiotto, Florian Schnitzenbaumer, Johann Ledermair (2 times each); Marc Faggionato, Alain Valente, Luca Martucci (1 time each).

In the OPEN Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, Toro Rosso) dominated with 12 fastest laps, only once (in Monza) Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell, GP2 Judd) was quicker.

Thomas Hummer vom Reifenausstatter Pirelli mit Phil Stratford (2. OPEN) als Pappfigur

Thomas Hummer from Pirelli with a cardboard standup of the prevented US-American Phil Stratford (2nd OPEN)

POLE POSITIONS:
At all 13 races of the season Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, Toro Rosso) led the field to the flying start.

In the FORMULA class only Salvatore De Plano (MM International & Top Speed, GP2 Dallara) had the honour to lead the field to the starting line more than twice. The other fastest qualifiers: Johann Ledermair, Marco Ghiotto, Bernd Herndlhofer, Roy Glaser, Luca Martucci (1 time each).

The 2019 season starts on April, 27 in Hockenheim, Germany. All dates on www.bossgp.com/races

Pictures: BOSS GP

Season review clip 2018

Posted on Dicembre 11, 2018 by Keke Platzer - Generale

Highlights of a dramatic season full of speed, action and fun. From Europe’s fastest racing series. Check out also on our YouTube channel @bossgpofficial.

Credit: 7 Berge Filmwerkstatt

BOSS GP race calendar 2019

Posted on Novembre 30, 2018 by Keke Platzer - Generale

Six race weekends are on the schedule of Europe’s fastest racing series in the coming season. At Assen, BOSS GP will support the DTM, at the finale the series will return to Imola.

Update, 12/12/2018: bossgp.com/update-new-date-for-monza-2019/

In June (Update: 14–16 instead of 21–23) 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.

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.

Report: Race 2 Spielberg

Posted on Settembre 23, 2018 by Keke Platzer - Generale

Ingo Gerstl does donuts in his Toro Rosso STR1

A worthy final for the fastest racing series in Europe: In today’s sunny Spielberg Champion Ingo Gerstl also won the second race and the recovered Salvatore De Plano the FORMULA ranking.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed, Toro Rosso STR1) did not dominate the race as usual but was for a long time in tandem flight with Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom, Benetton B197). It was not until lap 11 that Gerstl really took off and extended his lead. With 1:13 min he was by far the fastest car on the racetrack. Phil Stratford finished his first full season satisfied with his eleventh podium position, only Gerstl had been on the podium more than once. Hans Laub (DEU, Speed Center, Forti FG-03) was third in the OPEN by a big margin, but also finished the race today – not a matter of courteous fact with the highly complex Formula 1 cars.

Salvatore De Plano wins the last FORMULA race of the season

For Salvatore De Plano (ITA, Top Speed, Dallara GP2) the FORMULA was the end of a tailor-made season. De Plano had been the favourite for the championship, but at the first race in Hockenheim he collided with Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed, Dallara GP2) so unhappily that De Plano injured his back. After a long absence De Plano made his racing comeback only in Brno. This time he also had to give up his usual car at MM International. Instead De Plano started at the Austrian Team Top Speed. Yesterday he spun off track overmotivated, today he managed the decisive manoeuvre already in turn 1. Inside he successfully defended against Marco Ghiotto (ITA, MM International, Dallara GP2) at the flying start and did not give up the lead until the end. Marco Ghiotto was in last year’s Formula Two championship car of Charles Leclerc but was not able to keep up with De Plano during the rest of the race. But he took place 2 easily.

Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International, Dallara GP2) got close to Marco Ghiotto in the end. Martucci had to start from the very back after being moved to the back for an infringement at yesterday’s start. From there the way led straight to the podium. On top of that he set the fastest race lap. Three Italians came on the podium of the FORMULA class!

A champion’s signature from “the Boss” Ingo Gerstl

Yesterday’s surprise winner Alain Valente (SUI, Speed Center, Dallara GP2) was much more inconspicuous today than yesterday. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old confirmed his great talent with 4th place. Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing, Dallara GP2) was at times on the podium, but towards the end of the race the runner-up in FORMULA had to slow down. On rank 5 he brought the car to the finish.

Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International, Dallara GP2), Sergio Ghiotto (ITA, MM International, Dallara GP2), Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center, Dallara GP2) and Christian Eicke (DEU, Speed Center, Dallara GP2) fought the most interesting fights throughout the race and obviously had the most fun. In the order Ripoli, S. Ghiotto, Göllner and Eicke they crossed the finish line. Eicke fixed with rank 9 in the last race of the season also the overall 3rd place in the FORMULA standings.

Florian Schnitzenbaumer was not present today. Schnitzenbaumer had to undergo a shoulder operation in a few days and therefore renounced further strains. Schnitzenbaumer already fixed the championship title in yesterday’s race. With Ingo Gerstl (OPEN) and Florian Schnitzenbaumer (FORMULA) two drivers of the Top Speed team finish the BOSS GP 2018 season on the first places.

An all-Italian podium in FORMULA (f.l.): M. Ghiotto, De Plano and Martucci

Quotes after the race:
Ingo Gerstl (1st place OPEN): “This race was important, that’s how it has to be. A perfect finish for my season and also for the whole series. Now the BOSS GP is really taking off.”

Phil Stratford (2nd place OPEN): “Unfortunately, I only brought a pocket knife with me to this fight, Ingo a jet fighter.”

Salvatore De Plano (1st place FORMULA): “I am totally happy. I managed the first corner much better today. That was the right end of my season after the accident in Hockenheim. That helps me through the winter and is important for my head. Next year I will try it again.”

Pictures: Michael Jurtin/BOSS GP

Report: Race 1 Spielberg

Posted on Settembre 22, 2018 by Keke Platzer - Generale

Plenty of action in the starting phase, a home win for Ingo Gerstl, Rookie Alain Valente wins FORMULA and with Florian Schnitzenbaumer the BOSS GP has a new class champion.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed, Toro Rosso STR1) made burnouts on track and delight thousands of fans on the stands. The series winner had reason to be happy after an impeccable drive in the first race of the Spielberg weekend as part of the DTM. Gerstl won for the tenth time in eleven races scored so far in 2018. With 1:13.027 min he also did the fastest lap of the whole DTM weekend.

Second in the OPEN was Hans Laub (DEU, Speed Center, Forti FG-03), who only started from 13. Laub fought the whole race in the midfield of FORMULA, among others with Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International, GP2 Dallara) and Walter Steding (DEU, Inter Europol, Dallara GP2). For Laub it was the first finish and also the first podium at the second appearance this year.

OPEN podium (f.l.): Hans Laub, Ingo Gerstl and Phil Stratford

Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom, Benetton B197) was already touched at the right rear wheel during the flying start and had to head for the pits with a puncture in lap 1. With lap loss he returned to the track and fought his way through the field. But in the 20-minute race he was not able to catch up with the others.

Although the track had dried up by noon, the conditions remained cold. This was a disaster for some drivers right at the start: Sergio Ghiotto (ITA, MM International, Dallara GP2) and Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International, Dallara GP2) spun off the track in the warm-up lap. For two favourites the race was over before the actual start. Not much further came Salvatore De Plano (ITA, Top Speed, Dallara GP2) and Marco Ghiotto (ITA, MRC Sport, Dallara GP2). After a good start and some position improvements, the two Italians spun in turn 1 and had to retire from the race early. The consequence of the incidents was a three-lap safety car phase.

Florian Schnitzenbaumer is the new champion in FORMULA class

Florian Schnitzenbaumer is the new BOSS GP champion in FORMULA class

Alain Valente (SUI, Speed Center, Dallara GP2) was more considerate despite his first start at a BOSS GP race. The 21-year-old survived the difficulties of the first lap without damage, first overtaking Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing, Dallara GP2) and then Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center, Dallara GP2). This makes Valente the eighth winner (!) in the most varied BOSS GP season in the FORMULA class of all time.

With second place Fiedler had done almost everything to keep the championship battle on. But Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed, Dallara GP2) finished sixth in his class for the secure his first championship title. The German seemed to be relieved to have reached his season’s goal.

Before tomorrow’s final race, Fiedler is already set for second place overall in FORMULA, and the second German was correspondingly delighted.

Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center, Dallara GP2) probably surprised himself the most once again. With the fourth podium place in the last five races he confirmed the strong performances of the last race weekends in Brno and Assen.

Only one of six Italians crossed the finish line: Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, Speed Center, Dallara GP2) finished fourth. Armando Mangini (ITA, MM International) already had to park his Lola Formula 3000 in the pits in lap 1. Thus, Mangini also lost 3rd place in the championship. With 121 points he is four points behind Walter Steding and 6 points behind Christian Eicke. Steding finished sixth today, Eicke seventh – so nothing has been decided yet with these small point gaps.

Race 2 will take place tomorrow at 15:10 local time directly after the DTM race. The stream on www.bossgp.com/livestream starts already at 14:55.

FORMULA podium (f.l.): Andreas Fiedler, Alain Valente and Peter Göllner

Quote after the race:
Alain Valente (1st place FORMULA): “I could use the feeling from my sports car experience today. At the beginning I was lucky not to get involved in the accidents, then I stayed cautious with cold tyres and brakes at the beginning. My goal is to become a professional racer, maybe this result will help me.”

Pictures: Michael Jurtin/BOSS GP