Tag: Decision

Report Race 2 Mugello

Fiedler wins rain race ahead of Matile.

Rain, lightning and thunder had the Mugello region firmly under control on Sunday. It was no wonder that some drivers in their cars with over 600 hp took no risks and decided not to start in the second race of the weekend. Even more admirable are those drivers who ventured onto the wet track with partly standing water.

From the front row, yesterday’s race winner Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) and Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) started the race. Just when the lights switched to green, Martucci lost control of his car and was lucky not to hit the pit wall. After this moment of shock he was even able to continue the race. Still in lap 1, Ghiotto, who was in the lead, also lost control and spun his car at the exit of “Arrabbiata 1”. Because the vehicle had to be recovered from the meadow, the Fanatec Safety Car neutralised the race.

In the lead now was Andreas Fiedler (GER, Fiedler Racing) in a Dallara GP2, who battled for the lead with Nicolas Matile (MCO, Zig-Zag) in an Auto-GP-Lola in the final stage of the race. With victory in sight, both drivers gave everything they had, sometimes only centimetres apart from each other in a drift. In the end, Fiedler defied all attacks from Matile and took his first overall BOSS GP victory. However, Nicolas was also happy with second place and his best BOSS GP result so far. For the second time this year Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Coloni) finished on the podium in his new Auto GP. His rain experience paid off this time.

Bruno Jarach (EST, Eeesti Motorsport) also achieved his best BOSS GP result with fourth place. Fifth place went to the unlucky Luca Martucci, who at least secured the fastest lap.

After the two races in Mugello, the decisions in the championship have also been made: Ingo Gerstl (OPEN) and Marco Ghiotto (FORMULA) defend their title from last year. The top 3 in the big class are completed by Benetton driver Ulf Ehninger (GER, ESBA Racing) and Jaguar driver Riccardo Ponzio (ITA, Adriatica Competition). Overall 2nd place in the FORMULA class goes to Luca Martucci. Sensational third place goes to Ghiotto’s team-mate Walter Steding (GER, Scuderia Palladio).

The season finale in Imola had to be cancelled. The reason for this is the starting build-up for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna, which takes place on November 1st. Instead, the BOSS GP Racing Series plans a final event at the Adria Raceway (ITA). Details will follow soon.

Photo: Roberto Piccinini/Actualfoto

Report: Race 2 Imola

FORMULA title decision: Bracalente wins the race, Marco Ghiotto the championship.

How can it be better? The final decision for the championship title in the FORMULA class was made in the twelfth and last BOSS GP season race of 2019. Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) went into the race weekend with better chances. After Alessandro Bracalente’s (ITA, Speed Center) victory in Saturday’s race his lead reduced from 15 to 12 points. This means: Ghiotto had to be at least sixth today if Bracalente scores another victory in Sunday’s race.

Ghiotto already had a shock moment at the start of the warm-up lap when his red GP2 Dallara did not come off the spot. Lucky for Ghiotto: Because a second car also stopped, Ghiotto could line up again in the second row of the grid for the rolling start. The Scuderia Palladio was able to breathe a short sigh of relief.

The best start behind OPEN champion Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) had Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International), who almost caught Bracalente at the top. Ghiotto not only lost the place to Martucci, but also to Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Top Speed). However, Ghiotto overtook both again in the early stages and even managed to catch up with Bracalente with a couple of fast lap times. With second place he was fully on target for the title.

And it remained like that. Bracalente won the last race of the season and ended the year with an incredible result for a rookie: 5 victories, 10 podium places and only two retirements. In the end, one too many to defeat his fellow countryman Ghiotto, who also has a great score: 9 podium finishes and 2 victories, but only one DNF. After six exciting race weekends in Hockenheim, Spielberg, Monza, Assen, Brno and Imola, the new FORMULA champion Ghiotto and his opponent Bracalente finally separated by only nine points.

For the first time Marco Ghiotto is the champion of BOSS GP FORMULA class

Third place in the race went to Martucci, who fought again with de Plano until the middle of the race. De Plano finished fourth ahead of Andreas Fiedler, who secured third place in the championship with a damaged gearbox.

The best duel was delivered by Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Speed Center) and Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International), with a better end for the Frenchman. Until the last lap both were within striking distance of each other on the 4.9-kilometer course. Towards the end of the 25-minute race, Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center) also caught up with the two, but could no longer attack. He finished the season with a respectable eighth place. Nicolas Matile (MCO, Zig-Zag) finished ninth in the class. By the way good news for the championship: His Team Zig-Zag Motorsport Service announced that they would be competing in more than two races next year.

Overall winner of the race was Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed), who once again put the pedal to the medal today in his Toro Rosso STR1. Although his mechanics gave everything, Phil Stratford had to load his Benetton B197 into the van early due to a defect. Second in the OPEN class and new runner-up instead is “Piter” (FRA, Ray-Ban), whose team managed to repair a big oil leak just before race began.

Next up: The BOSS GP annual award ceremony will take place on 7 December in Salzburg.

Preview & Guide Imola

Stratford (Benetton F1) follows a MM International GP2 car

The grand finale of the BOSS GP anniversary season will take place from 11 to 13 October – back in Imola after a two-year break.

The hilly and challenging course in the Italian town of Imola is the ideal venue for this season’s finale of Europe’s fastest racing series. Built in the 1950s, the Imola circuit has seen many triumphs and tragedies. The track, named after Enzo Ferrari and his early deceased son Dino, is still a highlight for every racing driver today. Although the track has not been on the Formula 1 racing calendar for several years, the 4.9-kilometre-long asphalt track has all the ingredients of a world-class track. Imola is also the only track in the BOSS GP calendar to be driven counterclockwise. This affects the set-up of the racing cars (more left turns) as well as the pilots themselves, where the neck muscles, for example, are subjected to different stresses. At the last appearance in Imola in 2017 the race winners were Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) and Rinus van Kalmthout (NLD, Mansell Motorsport).

Why the BOSS GP Grande Finale is worth visiting?

The sixth round of the season with races 11 and 12 will decide the championship title in the FORMULA class. While Toro Rosso driver Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) has defended his title in the OPEN classification prematurely, two Italians in their Formula 2 cars fight for the first place in the FORMULA ranking: Marco Ghiotto (Scuderia Palladio) goes after three second places en suite into the final round with a lead of 15 points over Alessandro Bracalente (Speed Center). A technical retirement at the last race in Brno meant that Bracalente is now the chaser. 50 points can still be scored in Imola, so Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) has still theoretical chances for the title. Practically he is fighting for third place against Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Speed Center). Who may put on the “crown”, will be determined at the very latest next Sunday.

In addition to BOSS GP, modern and historic sports car and touring car series are part of an exciting race weekend. The Renault Clio Cup, Lotus Cup and Alfa Revival Cup will, as usual, ensure exciting motorsport too.

BOSS GP schedule Imola

Friday, 11 October 2019:
10:45–11:15 Free Practice 1 (30 Minutes)
15:40–16:10 Free Practice 2 (30 Minutes)

Saturday, 12 October 2019:
10:50–11:20 Qualifying (Q1: 8 Minutes/Break: 2 Minutes/Q2: 20 Minutes)
15:50–16:25 Race 1 (20 Minutes)

Sunday, 13 October 2019:
10:30–10:40 Warm-up (10 Minutes)
14:05–14:45 Race 2 (25 Minutes)

How do I get tickets for the Imola event?

Admission to the main grandstand is free on all three racing days. The paddock is also opened to interested visitors.

Where can I find the BOSS GP race cars and pilots?

The teams and drivers of the BOSS GP are in the pit garages 23 to 32. Some cars are parked in the paddock next to the BOSS GP hospitality.

How can I follow the BOSS GP Grande Finale online?

Report: Race 2 Brno

Start for race 2 in Brno

Ingo Gerstl secured his fourth BOSS GP OPEN title in the third last race of the season; the driver of the race was again Marc Faggionato.

The highlight of the Masaryk Racing Days in Brno was scheduled for Sunday at noon. The engines howled on time and Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) and Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom Racing) started from the front row at the flying start. Throughout the race Gerstl, Stratford and Wolfgang Jaksch (DEU, F Xtreme Racing) remained within sight. But Gerstl’s tenth victory of the season was never in danger. The Toro Rosso pilot thus also fixed the third championship in three years, Gerstl won today for the fifth time a BOSS GP title after 2008, 2011 (FORMULA), 2016 and 2017.

A word about the overall podium could perhaps have been said by the man of the race: Marc Faggionato (MCO, ZIG-ZAG Motorsport Service) had, as yesterday, the difficult task of starting from the rear. A clutch problem prevented the start in qualifying, so he was positioned at the back of the grid. From there, he already took 8th place on the first lap and then 4th overall in the middle of the race. With lap times faster than Stratford and Jaksch he caught up tenths by tenths like yesterday but catching up was no longer possible at this point. Nevertheless, Faggionato managed to win for the second time at the second start of the year.

OPEN podium f.l. Stratford, Gerstl and Jaksch

OPEN podium f.l. Stratford, Gerstl and Jaksch

FORMULA podium f.l. Göllner, Faggionato and Schnitzenbaumer

FORMULA podium f.l. Göllner, Faggionato and Schnitzenbaumer

 

Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center) was also very pleased with his podium finish. After the Assen double, Göllner stood on the podium for the third time this year. Championship leader Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed) was also allowed to take part in the award ceremony and thus extended his lead to Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing), who finished fourth in the FORMULA. Fiedler is 38 points behind Schnitzenbaumer before the final in Spielberg (21-23 September 2018); 25 points are given for a victory in the BOSS GP.

Nicolas Matile (MCO, ZIG-ZAG Motorsport Service) drove in the only Auto GP bolide without any problems to class rank 5. As already in race 1 Walter Steding (DEU, Inter Europol), Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed) and Christian Eicke (SUI, Speed Center) fought a tough fight in the midfield. Steding was able to hold his own against Jakoubek in the very last corner and finished sixth in the FORMULA.

H&A Racing had to complain of a double loss: Veronika Cicha (CZE) could not finish her home race either, nor Bernd Herndlhofer (AUT), who at times was on a podium course.

MM International with the drivers Salvatore De Plano and Armando Mangini (both ITA) did not start. One of their mechanics was seriously injured the day before. On behalf of the BOSS GP organisation and all teams and drivers we wish him and his relatives the very best for his recovery.

Get well soon!

 

Pictures: Michael Jurtin/BOSS GP