When the BOSS GP Racing Series returned to France, the drivers and teams were welcomed at Magny-Cours, an iconic Formula 1 circuit from the 1990s and 2000s. Alongside the French Truck Championship, motorsport fans enjoyed a spectacular programme. The BOSS GP saw seven different winners in the categories on both race days!

Williams F1 Heritage Racing took to the grid for the second time in the BOSS GP F1 class. The historic British racing team entered the 2003 FW25 for Phil Stratford. The first race ended dramatically when the race leader, Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Team Top Speed), came to a halt in his Toro Rosso, ultimately securing the British team’s first victory in BOSS GP. Stratford was overjoyed and performed exceptionally well, setting impressive lap times in only his second race weekend with this car. In the second race, record champion Gerstl left nothing to chance, controlling the action from start to finish. Stratford crossed the finish line in second place, and shortly afterwards came through undamaged from a high-speed spin in the first corner. Further attention was attracted by Walter Steding (GER, Nardi Compressori Racing), who debuted the Prost AP02 fitted with a Peugeot V10 engine from the 1999 Formula 1 season. The German completed Friday’s practice sessions and Saturday’s qualifying in the car prepared by LRS.

In the FORMULA class, all eyes were on Francisco Soldavini (ARG, MM International), who made his F2 debut at the Nürburgring, having previously won twice there. He took to the track at Magny-Cours for the first time in a 2018 Formula 2 car fitted with a Halo and a turbocharged engine. His rival, Simone Colombo (ITA, MM International), continued to compete in the GP2/11, initially proving to be the faster of the two drivers. In the first race, Colombo got off to a better start while Soldavini lost positions. Although Soldavini managed to work his way up to second place, Colombo retained the lead after the race ended under the safety car. In the second race, Soldavini stepped up a gear. As he gained experience in the modern car, which was slightly slower, he lost positions again on the opening lap. By the middle of the race, however, he had caught up with Colombo once more and overtook him at the Adelaide hairpin. This manoeuvre proved decisive: Soldavini secured victory ahead of Colombo.

Thomas Zeltner (SUI, Nardi Compressori Racing) had his best BOSS GP weekend to date, coming closer to the top than ever before. With two third-place finishes and several thrilling duels, the Swiss racing driver was one of the weekend's standout performers. Team boss and fellow competitor Marco Ghiotto (ITA) narrowly missed out on the podium on two occasions. Jens Renstrup (MM International) was the second-best driver in the Masters standings behind Ghiotto, followed by Stephan Miller (AUT) and Erich Zech (GER) from Team Top Speed. The championship remains exciting: after three of the six race weekends, Ghiotto is in the lead with 129 points, ahead of Colombo (126) and Zeltner (124).

There was also close competition in the WORLD SERIES class: Paul O’Connell (IRE, HS Engineering) coped best with the circuit, which was new to many, at the start of the weekend. The Irishman won the first race, finishing ahead of Michael Fischer and Stefan Eisinger-Sewald (both from Austria and racing for Red Rose Racing by LRT). In the second race, Fischer set the pace, setting his sights on the F2 and GP2 cars right from the start. O’Connell tried to follow him, but ended up in the gravel trap early on due to a problem. Fischer won, securing a one-two finish for the Austrian team ahead of his team-mate Eisinger-Sewald. Marco Minelli (ITA, AM Sport System) completed the podium in third place.

Jody Stadelmann (SUI, Jogaz Team) secured the full 25 points for victory in the first race for the first time, seeing his colourful Formula Nippon through to the finish.

After the race at Assen was cancelled, the next BOSS GP event will take place on 29 and 30 August at the Red Bull Ring Classics in Austria, following the summer break.

Photo: Denis Petermann