The champions of the 2023 season received more honours in Austria last January.
The Austrian Motorsport Federation (AMF) celebrated the winning drivers of the previous year in a magnificent setting at the Congress Center and Casino in Baden, around 30 kilometres from Vienna. As a racing series based in Austria, we were given this honour. The champions Ingo Gerstl (BOSS GP F1 Class) and Henry Clausnitzer (SUPER LIGHTS) gladly attended the evening. On behalf of HS Engineering, team owner Michael Hascic received the trophy for the OPEN title win by Antonio Pizzonia. FORMULA winner Simone Colombo had to be excused due to the start of the karting season in Italy and the obligations that go with it.
This time, the BOSS GP Racing Series with its representative Keke Platzer also had the opportunity to present the series on stage in a discussion with AMF General Secretary Michael Fehlmann ahead of its 30th anniversary in the 2024 season.
The fourth race weekend of the 2023 BOSS GP Racing Series in Misano was a good reason for the Brazilian drivers to celebrate Carnival.
The Italian race organiser PNK Motorsport invited samba dancers into the paddock and proved to have a lucky hand, as two Brazilians were at the front of the grid after qualifying.
Antonio Pizzonia (BRA, HS Engineering) was the favourite for overall victory at the Misano race. In the absence of Formula 1 cars, for which the Misano circuit is not approved, the ex-Formula 1 driver fulfilled expectations. The wins were the first two overall victories for the driver in the World Series V8 car and the next double in the OPEN category. HS Engineering teammate Paul O’Connell (IRL) was suffering with electrical problems throughout the weekend. At least in race 1, he was able to score with second place in the OPEN category.
Harald Schlegelmilch: World Series beats GP2
In the first race, the FORMULA classification was fiercely contested only in the starting phase. Simone Colombo (ITA, MM International) briefly took the lead from third on the grid in class before returnee Harald Schlegelmilch (LVA, HS Engineering) stormed to the front and claimed a historic victory: For a long time no Dallara World Series car (in Schlegelmilch’s case from the 2012 generation) had won against Dallara’s GP2 cars, which were slightly faster on paper.
The duel of the weekend was between Schlegelmilch and Adriano Buzaid (BRA, MM International) in the second race on Sunday afternoon. After Schlegelmilch had ensured that HS Engineering triumphed in two classes on Saturday, Buzaid was able to convert his pole position into a victory on Sunday. The two were together for the entire race distance, with no more than one second separating the dominant duo during the longer Sunday race. In the end, Buzaid crossed the finish line with a lead of only 0.8 seconds.
Nicolas Matile (f.) was the best-placed driver with an Auto GP car on Sunday
Once again, only a tiny margin separated the winner and the runner-up in the FORMULA class, but the debut victory of the Brazilian Buzaid is also a sensation. After racing at the front of the British Formula 3 Championship more than ten years ago, the now 35-year-old took an extended break from racing. This weekend, he returned to a single-seater racing car for the Italian team MM International in Misano and finished 2nd and 1st. MM International had more than one reason to be happy, because Simone Colombo also beat his arch-rival Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) in the duel for third place, narrowly but nevertheless, to take two more podium places and the next important points for a possible title defence.
Fabian Vettel (GER, Top Speed) finished fifth in the first of the two races this weekend, which was remarkable after he even had to go to hospital on Friday for a closer check-up after an accident. However, he was then able to take part in qualifying and the race in a replacement car of his Austrian team Top Speed after receiving medical clearance. In Sunday’s race, “Checco” Malavasi (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) finished fifth. Best Auto GP car within the FORMULA class: in race 1 Jean-Christophe Peyre (FRA, Zig-Zag), in race 2 Nicolas Matile (MCO, Zig-Zag).
After Stefan Eisinger-Sewald (AUT, Red Rose Racing) won SUPER LIGHTS twice last time at the Red Bull Ring, it was now Henry Clausnitzer’s (WF Racing) turn again. The German continues to make his mark with season wins 5 and 6 in the six-cylinder car class. Although, Walter Colacino (ITA, Colacino Racing) in the 1996 Formula 3000 set a good pace, especially in the second race. The Italian finished second twice in his home race.
There’s a sequel in three weeks’ time. The BOSS GP Racing Series returns to the TT Circuit in Assen from 11 to 13 August, where tens of thousands of spectators are expected at Jack’s Racing Day.
Austrian BOSS GP team HS Engineering surprises everyone with the signing of former Jaguar and Williams F1 driver Antonio Pizzonia from Manaus, Brazil.
The 42-year-old replaces Harald Schlegelmilch (LVA) at HS Engineering. Pizzonia will pilot the OPEN title-winning car from last season, the World Series Dallara Gibson V8.
The Brazilian, who competed in 20 Grand Prix alongside Mark Webber and Juan Pablo Montoya started his racing career in single-seaters way back in 1996. He became champion in Formula Vauxhall Junior, Formula Renault and British F3 before stepping up to Formula 3000 and joined BMW Williams as test driver for the 2002 season.
Following his F1 career Pizzonia also competed in the Champ Car World Series, the Superleague Formula, Stock Car Brasil, the American Le Mans Series, in Daytona Prototypes, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the AutoGP Series taking the title in 2015.
Recently Antonio focused on supporting the racing career of his son Antonio Pizzonia Neto in karting and also returning to senior shifter karts himself taking the victory in the World Finals 2022 in Las Vegas.
Antonio Pizzonia: “First of all I would like to thank Michael Hascic for the opportunity to return to single-seaters. Racing is all I have had in mind since I was a kid. Being given the chance to drive a highly competitive car again at my age is for sure something special. It’s been almost eight years since I last drove a single-seater when I raced with Zele-Racing in AutoGP and I can’t wait to feel the sensation of pushing a formula car to the limit again.“
Michael Hascic (Team owner HS Engineering): “I am pleased to welcome Antonio to our outfit. I hope that adding a celebrity driver of his calibre to the BOSS GP grid will not only improve the overall status of the championship but will also help us to generate more attention in general about what we do and who we are. Of course, we aim to continue where we finished at Misano last year and want to add at least one or two more cars to the grid from Hockenheim onwards. We still have a couple seats available.“
Plenty of fans listened to the sounds of the BOSS GP Racing Series today. Numerous duels characterized the second round of the Rundstreckentrophy in Austria.
BOSS GP F1 Class
In the early stages of Sunday’s race, the two Top Speed teammates Ingo Gerstl (AUT) and Thomas Jackermeier (DEU) circulated around the 2.7-mile Formula 1 track in their Toro Rossos synchronously. Jackermeier even recorded his first leading miles in the BOSS GP Racing Series. This was remarkable, as it was only his second race in a Formula 1 car. In the second half of the race, however, Gerstl shifted up a gear and took the lead again in his Toro Rosso STR1. The Austrian not only drove to home victory but also to his fourth win of the 2022 season. Jackermeier finished the race in second place, as he did yesterday, and can thus look back on a highly successful debut weekend in the Toro Rosso STR3. Third place went to last year’s champion Ulf Ehninger (GER, ESBA Racing) in the 1997 Benetton.
BOSS GP OPEN Class
As pole setter of the second starting group, Harald Schlegelmilch (LVA, HS Engineering) was once again trying to catch up with the Formula 1 cars in front of him. Schlegelmilch drove to a safe start-finish victory in the OPEN class in his modified World Series car. Anton Werner (GER, Ryschka Motorsport) in the only IndyCar car finished second.
BOSS GP FORMULA Class
Chovanec-Lopez (Dallara GP2 Mecachrome) won both races in the FORMULA class
With an advantage of half a minute in the final classification Zdenek Chovanec-Lopez (PRT, MM International) dominated the class, which was mainly filled with Formula 2 cars. In contrast to yesterday, he tried to build up a bigger lead with fast lap times already in the early stages, which he succeeded in doing. With victory number 3 this season, Chovanec-Lopez also extended his lead in the standings. Behind the winner, the competitors were increasingly fighting with each other: Simone Colombo (ITA, MM International) and Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) duelled for second place for a long time. Because Ghiotto was losing ground towards the end of the race due to overheated brakes, the reigning champion was only able to finish 3rd behind Hockenheim race winner Colombo. Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) in the green glittering GP2 Dallara drove unchallenged to fourth place.
The best fights for positions were again delivered by the group around Paul O’Connell (IRE, HS Engineering) in the World Series V8 car, Michael Aberer (AUT, MA Motorsport), Walter Steding (GER, Scuderia Palladio) and Bianca Steiner (AUT, Steiner Motorsport) in their GP2 cars. The positions changed several times, including some impressive braking manoeuvres. In the end, it was Steiner who prevailed, delighted with fifth place and a flawless race but annoyed with a botched qualifying session. Behind O’Connell and Aberer, Giancarlo Pedetti (ITA, Nannini Racing) was also able to work his way up the order in the race. Steding finished ninth, Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed) finished tenth, glad to see the chequered flag this time.
Andreas Hasler takes full points in the Spielberg races
BOSS GP SUPER LIGHTS Class
The class of the six-cylinder cars was reserved for Andreas Hasler (AUT, Hasler Motorsport) from Styria, who made the short journey home with two winner’s trophies. For the next races, the BOSS GP rookie plans to finally be able to call up the full engine power of his older World Series car.
Hasler will have his next opportunity to do so in just two weeks’ time, at the BOSS GP races as part of the French Historic Grand Prix in Le Castellet (June 17-19, 2022).
In the fight for victory in the FORMULA classification, the action came to a head on the last lap. Class wins for Gerstl, Schlegelmilch, Colombo and Hasler.
BOSS GP rookie Zdenek Chovanec-Lopez (CZE, MM International) set an incredible pace for almost twenty minutes and already looked like the secure winner when his tyres started to degrade badly. Chovanec-Lopez’s GP2 car clearly started to drift more and more. In a powerslide he still tried to keep the fast-approaching Simone Colombo (ITA, MM International) behind him, but the effort was in vain. Colombo managed his Pirelli P-Zero slicks better and thus took the FORMULA victory in Sunday’s 25-minute race.
Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) was again able to collect a trophy at the podium ceremony, he finished third. Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) crossed the finish line in an unthankful fourth place. The experienced Italian defeated Michael Aberer (AUT, MA Motorsport), who kept Martucci busy at the beginning of the race. Today, Aberer was able to score a good result after his retirement yesterday.
Paul O’Connell (IRE, HS Engineering) finished sixth in class, ahead of Giancarlo Pedetti, who put in a clean performance as he did yesterday in his BOSS GP debut race. The best German was Walter Steding (Scuderia Palladio) in eighth place. Despite a collision at the start of the race, Alexander Seibold (GER, Scuderia Palladio) was also able to finish the race. Much to the delight of many fans, because Seibold started with a special helmet design as a tribute to the unforgotten Swiss Formula 1 and sports car racer Jo Siffert.
Well-attended grandstands in best early summer weather at the Jim Clark Revival in Hockenheim
The other classes:
The OPEN category of the Formula 1 cars was again a straightforward affair for Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) in the first car of Scuderia Toro Rosso (now Alpha Tauri). Despite an early technical knockout, Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom Racing) and Ulf Ehninger (GER, ESBA Racing) were able to score second and third respectively.
Harald Schlegelmilch (LVA, HS Engineering) in the yellow-and-black World Series V8 machine performed as he did in Race 1 and, starting from last place on the grid, managed to overtake most of the field in the opening laps. The Latvian left all FORMULA cars behind and won the new classification of the modified BOSS GP cars.
After Andreas Hasler (AUT, Hasler Motorsport) could not take part in the race yesterday, the Austrian was eager to get through today. He succeeded and even more: Hasler claimed victory in the SUPER LIGHTS six-cylinder classification.
The next two races of the BOSS GP Racing Series will follow in four weeks’ time (3-5 June 2022) as part of the Rundstreckentrophy at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
Note: The overall standings are currently still unofficial, as the modified FORMULA car class is only just being added to the regulations.
Tens of thousands of fans listened intently as the BOSS GP made its comeback at the Hockenheimring.
In the first race of the 2022 season, Latvian Harald Schlegelmilch (HS Engineering) achieved the rare feat of taking FORMULA class victory from the last grid position. After a couple of laps, the former German Formula 3 trophy winner was already in the top three of the class, and on the sixth lap he finally overtook the FORMULA leader Zdenek Chovanec-Lopez (CZE, MM International). Schlegelmilch thus won for the fourth time in the BOSS GP Racing Series after Spielberg and Brno 2021. Chovanec-Lopez was also delighted with second place in his BOSS GP debut race.
Behind them, a three-way battle between the Italians Marco Ghiotto (Scuderia Palladio), Simone Colombo and Luca Martucci (both MM International) was going on for a while – including tyre lockups and a couple of overtake attempts. On the penultimate lap, Colombo managed the decisive braking manoeuvre against Ghiotto in the hairpin. Colombo thus jumped onto the podium “last minute”.
With a light gap, the Irishman Paul O’Connell (“I’m living my dream”) from HS Engineering finished in sixth place. 7th place in class was still being fought for all the way to the finish line: Bianca Steiner (AUT, Steiner Motorsport), who had already passed Walter Steding (GER, Scuderia Palladio) in the meantime, complained about a sudden loss of power. In the end, it was just not enough to challenge Steding for seventh place. Giancarlo Pedetti (ITA, Nannini Racing) also finished his debut race in the BOSS GP Racing Series in the top ten with a ninth place.
OPEN race winner Ingo Gerstl from Team Top Speed
The OPEN class was once again safe for Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) in the Toro Rosso F1. Ulf Ehninger (GER, ESBA Racing) from Tübingen in a Benetton F1 kept out of all the FORMULA class fights and secured second place. His Benetton twin Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom) was only seen for a short time, he had to retire from the race early on due to technical problems.
Michael Aberer (MA Motorsport) was among those beaten in race 1: The Austrian did it like Sebastien Vettel once did and sunk his chances for a top position in the gravel bed of the Sachs curve – but the damage to his GP2 car should be repaired by the second race. Start time for race 2 is tomorrow Sunday at 3:55 p.m. (CEST), before that the warm-up runs at 11:05. You can follow all the action via livestream on www.hockenheim-historic.de/en/live
Double wins for Ingo Gerstl and Harald Schlegelmilch at the Masaryk Racing Days.
The fourth event of the season brought the BOSS GP Racing Series to the Czech Republic’s largest racetrack in Brno on the first weekend of September. On the traditional date of the Masaryk Racing Days, the lively racing programme included some of the fastest race cars in the world, racing against each other.
OPEN class Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) was once again unbeatable in the screaming Toro Rosso STR1 with a V10 Cosworth engine from 2006. The rivals are still missing, so Gerstl is driving towards the next title. It would be his sixth championship title in the OPEN class of Formula 1 and IndyCar cars. It would bring him up to par with his former rival and BOSS GP record holder Klaas Zwart (NLD). Ulf Ehninger (GER, ESBA Racing) made his debut on the Brno circuit in the popular 1997 Benetton. Despite not having a chance against Gerstl’s much more modern car, Ehninger presented himself in the best possible way on the Czech rollercoaster with two second places – thus keeping the championship open for Ehninger.
FORMULA class Harald Schlegelmilch (LVA, HS Engineering) showed early on this weekend that he is the favourite to win in class. After his successful performance at the Red Bull Ring earlier this year, the former Formula 3 professional once again showed the more established competition what he is capable of. Even though championship leader Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) put a lot of pressure on him in the first race, Schlegelmilch kept his nerve in the last generation World Series car and won race 1 by a narrow margin. The next day in the second race Ghiotto started better and took the lead right at the rolling start. But Schlegelmilch, who was a bit slower on the straights, was able to brake later into the corners and take the lead before the halfway point of the race.
Third place in both races was taken by Luca Martucci, who is now just one point behind his team-mate Simone Colombo (both ITA, MM International) in the overall standings. With two fourth places, rookie Colombo got the best out of a weekend that started with an accident in practice. Walter Steding (GER, Scuderia Palladio; 5th twice) and Bruno Jarach (EST, Eesti Motorsport; 6th and 7th) also scored solid points. Unlike Andreas Fiedler (GER) and Christian Ferstl (AUT), who were both affected by technical problems.
The next two races of the 2021 BOSS GP Racing Series are on the schedule at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 2 and 3 October.
Pictures: Angelo Poletto and Erwin Strassnig/BOSS GP
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