Tag: Martin Kindler

FORMULA class: Golden weekend for Raghunathan

Posted on October 1, 2017 by - General

Mahaveer Raghunathan - double-winner of the weekend and winner of the FORMULA class Championship 2017.

It was a golden weekend for Indian driver Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport), who didn’t just win the race on Saturday in Imola, but also claimed the victory of the very last race of the season in Imola on Sunday again. With this result, Raghunathan not only won both races, but also the Championship 2017 of the BOSS GP FORMULA class.

As already reported, former leader of the FORMULA class, Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport), had to cancel his participation of the two last season races due to technical problems on early Saturday morning, as well as PETER, who stepped back from both races as well due to technical issues. So a thrilling battle was left between local hero Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) and Raghunathan for the overall victory of this years Championship.

After winning season race 13 on Saturday in Imola, Raghunathan started the race on Sunday highly motivated again. Weather conditions in Imola had turned over completely during the night. So rainy, wet weather awaited the grid on the track. After two safety car laps the grid finally started into the race and was – despite the rain – on fire.

It was indeed not a good weekend for Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport). The Italian, as well as Raghunathan, had good chances, to win the Championshiop after Ledermairs cancellation of the weekend. But De Plano dropped out of the track in the beginning of fourth lap, which meant – all Championship chances were gone for him. So it was Raghunathans – holding position 2 of the overall grid – turn, to bring this race home safely.

 

Team "PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport" celebrating the Championship of Mahaveer Raghunathan.

Team “PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport” celebrating the Championship of Mahaveer Raghunathan.

 

Due to ongoing rain, conditions for all drivers were challenging. “I liked the rain and the wet track”, Raghunathan indeed explained after the race. “I love driving during such weather conditions.” The Indian, well known as a good rain-driver, showed a souvereign performance and finally finished on first position of the FORMULA class. “I am really happy with that win and todays race. It was a lot of fun, and I’m absolutely happy, that I could make it P1 and finally the Championship as well. This is amazing. I want to give a huge thank you to my team at PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport, who did a great job”, Raghunathan said after the podium ceremony.

Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed), having had some trouble at Saturday’s race, showed a great performance in Sunday’s race and secured P2. “I’m not really satisfied with my lap times today”, the German wasn’t totally happy despite his podium position. “It was not a good racing year for me at all. But I tick it off, next year will be better”, Schnitzenbaumer said.

 

Martin Kindler racing to P3 in Imola 2017.

Martin Kindler racing to P3 in Imola 2017.

 

For the first time this season, Martin Kindler (Jenzer Motorsport) raced onto the podium with P3, despite a significant gap to Raghunathan and Schnitzenbaumer. “We got along with the rainy weather conditions very well. It was a great race and driving to P3 with this car compared to the other cars of the grid is just amazing. I’m really happy with this result”, Kindler told us after the podium ceremony. “I wonder, what it could have turned out, if I wouldn’t have rotated on the track twice.”

Veteran Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport), René Kouwenberg (De Boer Manx) and Nicolas Matile (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) completed the grid.

Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition), who seemed to race for his first season spot on the podium (P3) for a long time finally was disqualified for rule violation (passing through the pit lane) and turned into the box after nine laps, actually owning the P3 spot at this time of the race.

 

Final of the season 2017.

Final of the season 2017.

 

So in the end it is Mahaveer Raghunathan, who is the new Champion 2017 of the BOSS GP FORMULA class. The young Indian, who finished 2016 season on fifth place with a total of 118 points, performed a constant season 2017. 16 points separate Raghunathan from runner up Johann Ledermair, who finishes the season on second position. The gap to third ranked Salvatore De Plano is little: Ledermair leads over the Italian only by four points. Find the full standings of the whole grid on our ranking table.

Results of race 2, seasonrace 14, of FORMULA class at “Peroni Race Weekend”:

Position No. Name Nat. Team Car Time Fastest lap (min) In Gap (s) Laps km/h
1 115 Mahaveer Raghunathan IND PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Dallara Lola 27:13,847 1:50,481 4 13 253,3
2 888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer GER Top Speed Dallara GP2 26:11,863 1:54,942 6 1 lap 12  247,0
3 430 Martin Kindler SUI Jenzer Motorsport Nissan World Series  26:29,257 1:54,636 10 1 lap 12 251,0
4 323 Armando Mangini ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2 26:43,699 1:54,846 12 1 lap 12 255,7
5 411 Karl-Heinz Becker GER Becker Motorsport Super Nissan World Series 27:12,990 1:59,503 12 1 lap 12 247,6
6  139 René Kouwenberg NED De Boer Manx Dallara GP2 26:03,186 1:59,944 10 1 lap 11 209,2
7 116 Nicolas Matile SUI PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Lola Auto GP 26:34,226 2:08,699 11 2 laps 11 207,2
Not classified 999 Salvatore De Plano ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2  08:29,172 1:58,373 3 10 laps 3 230,7
Disqualified 505 Walter Steding GER Inter Europol Competition Dallara GP2  20:25,959 1:56,462 4 4 laps 9 258,8

MORE:

Picture gallery of Imola 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/imola-boss-gp-superprix

Schedule Imola 2017: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-peroni-race-weekend-in-imola-ita

FORMULA class: First race Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-raghunathan-catches-win-in-the-last-lap

FORMULA class: Qualifying Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-florian-schnitzenbaumer-drives-to-the-top

FORMULA class: Second free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-de-plano-chasing-best-lap-time

FORMULA class: First free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-fastest-lap-at-first-free-practice-for-raghuanthan

FORMULA class: Start list Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-start-list-for-boss-gp-superprix-in-imola-ita-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

01/10/2017

FORMULA class: Raghunathan catches win in the last lap

Posted on September 30, 2017 by - General

Podium ceremony of seasonrace 13 in Imola 2017.

What an exciting race at the “Peroni Race Weekend” in Imola. After the exit of Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) before Qualifying, an exciting duel on top of the FORMULA class between Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) was expected. 

Due to technical problems FORMULA class leader Ledermair had to exit the race-weekend, before it even had begun. So all eyes were set on runner-up Salvatore De Plano and Mahaveer Raghunathan. With a successful completion of their races, the Championship decision of the FORMULA class could get a completely new drive.

Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed), who had performed a strong Qualifying with aiming startposition 3 for the race, dropped out of the race already in lap 1, due to technical problems with the engine. It can be assumed, that Schnitzenbaumer will compete in second race of the weekend on Sunday (start: 11:00 a.m.).

While Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed) and Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, both OPEN class) drove in their own league on top of the field (both classes, FORMULA and OPEN, start in the same race), there was a strong battle behind the two leading drivers of the grid. Raghunathan kept the lead against De Plano sharply behind him, beating off the attacks of the Italian. In sixth lap De Plano finally overtook the Indian and defended the overall position 3 of the grid massively, driving his Dallara GP 2 to the limit. But – two laps before finish, the brake-disc of De Plano broke down, he had to let pass Raghunathan and finished the race finally on FORMULA position 2, overall position 4 of the grid.

 

De Plano (l.) versus Raghunathan (r.) in Imola 2017.

De Plano (l.) versus Raghunathan (r.) in Imola 2017.

 

“I am really disappointed”, De Plano told us after the race. “It was a great race in the beginning, I overtook Raghunathan and everything went well. Imola is a great track, driving in your home country is always special. So I was very happy, to race up in front of Raghunathan. But when the brake disc broke down, the ultimate chance for the Championship broke down as well. I can’t be happy with the P2 right now”, he resumed right after the podium ceremony.

Meanwhile Mahaveer Raghunathan was more than happy about his P1. “The race was good. Now I hope, tomorrow I win again. I am very happy, winning here in Imola and I will try everything, to win the second race in Imola again”, Raghunathan told us ofter the race. His ambitions for winning the Championship 2017 of the FORMULA class got new drive by todays race-day.

 

Imola 2017.

Battle for the P3 between Walter Steding (l.) and Armando Mangini (r.) Imola 2017.

 

Another thrilling duel was the battle between Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition) and Armando Mangini (MM International Motorsport) on position 6 and 7 of the overall start grid, meaning position 3 and 4 of the FORMULA class. While Steding started from position 6, he was overtaken by Mangini in lap 6. Both cars kept close together, having only a little gap between the two of them for the rest of the race. Mangini finally made it to the P3 of the race.

René Kouwenberg (De Boer Manx) improved his performance over the race weekend and finished on position 6 in front of Martin Kindler (Jenzer Motorsport) on position 7. Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport) on position 8 and Nicolas Matile (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) on position 9 followed. PETER had exited the race already before starting the engine, due to technical issues, which caused him quite a bit of trouble during free practices and Qualifying.

It will be an exciting second race day on Sunday. Cars will be on track for the very last season race on 11:00 a.m. Find live coverage and updates not only on our website, but also on all our social media channels:

www.facebook.com/bossgp2010

www.instagram.com/bossgp2010

www.twitter.com/bossgp2010

Results of race 1, seasonrace 13, of FORMULA class at “Peroni Race Weekend”:

Position No. Name Nat. Team Car Time Fastest lap (min) In Gap (s) Laps km/h
1 115 Mahaveer Raghunathan IND PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Dallara Lola 21:57,218 1:31,644 3 14  278,1
2 999 Salvatore De Plano ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2  22:39,654 1:31,618  5 42,436 14 295,6
4 323 Armando Mangini ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2  21:28,231 1:37,129  7 1 lap 13 293,2
5 505 Walter Steding GER Inter Europol Competition Dallara GP2  21:33,999 1:37,474 13 1 lap 13 291,6
6  139 René Kouwenberg NED De Boer Manx Dallara GP2  21:35,576 1:37,220 12 1 lap 13 294,0
7 430 Martin Kindler SUI Jenzer Motorsport Nissan World Series  22:00,765 1:39,686 10 1 lap 13 273,2
8 411 Karl-Heinz Becker GER Becker Motorsport Super Nissan World Series  22:05,020 1:39,414 10 1 lap 13 279,5
9 116 Nicolas Matile SUI PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Lola Auto GP  20:50,441 1:42,153 10 2 laps 12 276,0
10 111 ‘PETER’ FRA Ray-Ban World Series by Renault
11 888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer GER Top Speed Dallara GP2

MORE:

Picture gallery of Imola 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/imola-boss-gp-superprix

Schedule Imola 2017: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-peroni-race-weekend-in-imola-ita

FORMULA class: Qualifying Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-florian-schnitzenbaumer-drives-to-the-top

FORMULA class: Second free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-de-plano-chasing-best-lap-time

FORMULA class: First free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-fastest-lap-at-first-free-practice-for-raghuanthan

FORMULA class: Start list Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-start-list-for-boss-gp-superprix-in-imola-ita-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

30/09/2017

FORMULA class: Florian Schnitzenbaumer drives to the top

Posted on September 30, 2017 by - General

Florian Schnitzenbaumer during Qualifying in Imola 2017.

Qualifying for the races on the “Peroni Race Weekend” in Imola brought an interesting result for the FORMULA class.

First surprise already before first cars went on track: Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport), currently leading the FORMULA ranking, exited his race weekend due to technical problems. “We have some issues, we currently can’t solve. Going on track would be to dangerous, that’s why we decided, to exit the race weekend on this point. We will leave still today and solve the technical problems of the car after returning home”, Johann Ledermair explains.

The exit of Ledermair for the last two races of the season brings new thrill for the final Championship decision of season 2017. Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) will fight for the title now, as long as both of them complete their races successfully.

But first – Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) rolled up the grid with a great performance at the Qualifying. Staying nine laps on track, the German drove his best lap in 1:30,008 min – fastest driver of the FORMULA grid, overall third fastest time of the whole grid (FORMULA and OPEN class), which means start-position 3 for the race in the afternoon (start: 3:40 p.m.).

Close behind the Top Speed driver was Mahaveer Raghunathan. The young Indian, currently ranked in position 3 of the overall ranking of the FORMULA class, arrived with high ambitions in Imola and will definitely fight with a high attitude for the Championship title 2017. With his best lap in 1:30,341 he finished Qualifying as second fastest driver of the FORMULA class with a sharp gap to Schnitzenbaumer, but on position 4 of the overall grid.

But where was De Plano? The Italian – racing on his home track – is as well highly ambitious and aiming for the title of the Champion 2017. He performed his best lap time in 1:32,754, which means third fastest driver of the FORMULA class in Qualifying, sixth fastest driver of the overall start grid. So De Plano will start from position 6 into the race on the afternoon.

Qualifying in Imola 2017.

Qualifying in Imola 2017: Salvatore De Plano (r.) in front of Rinus van Kalmthout and Ingo Gerstl (both OPEN class).

 

Armando Mangini (MM International Motorsport), Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition), Martin Kindler (Jenzer Motorsport), René Kouwenberg (De Boer Manx), Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport) and PETER (Ray-Ban) completed the grid, while Nicolas Matile (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) spun of the track, his Lola Auto GP had to be recovered.

Drivers and crews now look forward to the first race of the weekend, which will start at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

Results of Qualifying of FORMULA class at “Peroni Race Weekend”:

Position No. Name Nat. Team Car Fastest lap (min) Gap (s) Laps km/h
1 888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer GER Top Speed Dallara GP2 1:30,008 9  296,4
2 115 Mahaveer Raghunathan IND PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Dallara Lola 1:30,341 0,333 2  276,7
3 999 Salvatore De Plano ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2 1:32,754 2,746 5 288,5
4 323 Armando Mangini ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2 1.34,810 4,802 8 287,7
5 505 Walter Steding GER Inter Europol Competition Dallara GP2 1:36,761 6,753 9 288,5
6 430 Martin Kindler SUI Jenzer Motorsport Nissan World Series 1:37,096 7,088 10 262,6
7  139 René Kouwenberg NED De Boer Manx Dallara GP2 1:38,480 8,472 11 285,4
8 411 Karl-Heinz Becker GER Becker Motorsport Super Nissan World Series 1:41,981 11,973 9 267,8
9 111 ‘PETER’ FRA Ray-Ban World Series by Renault 1:52,840 21,832 2  236,2
10 116 Nicolas Matile SUI PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Lola Auto GP

MORE:

Picture gallery of Imola 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/imola-boss-gp-superprix

Schedule Imola 2017: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-peroni-race-weekend-in-imola-ita

FORMULA class: Second free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-de-plano-chasing-best-lap-time

FORMULA class: First free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-fastest-lap-at-first-free-practice-for-raghuanthan

FORMULA class: Start list Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-start-list-for-boss-gp-superprix-in-imola-ita-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

30/09/2017

FORMULA class: De Plano chasing best lap time

Posted on September 29, 2017 by - General

Second free practice in Imola 2017.

The second free practice on Friday afternoon (29th of September) brought some changes on top of the field.

Again both BOSS GP classes – OPEN and FORMULA class – went on track together for the practice session. Weather conditions in Imola presented itself at it’s best with 22°, a lot of sun, no clouds and no rain.

Two short red flag phases stopped the second free practice of the day, due to dangerous positions of spun cars on track. When the circuit was released again, Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) really stepped on the gas, not only chasing the fastest FORMULA lap time this afternoon, but also chasing OPEN class driver Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport). At the end De Plano improved his time from first free practice for more than a second with a 1:30,805 min and performed the fastest of all FORMULA class laps. He was 2,350 sec behind the OPEN class driver van Kalmthout (1:28,455 min).

Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) showed the second fastest performance of the FORMULA class at the afternoon practice session with a lap time of 1:31,746 min, improving his time from the morning practice session for 0,222 sec. Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) completed the trio in front of the FORMULA grid with his best lap in 1:32,645 min.

Free practice in Imola 2017.

Free practice in Imola 2017.

 

Armando Mangini (MM International Motorsport), Martin Kindler (Jenzer Motorsport), Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition), René Kouwenberg (De Boer Manx), Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport) and Nicolas Matile (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) completed the grid. Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) went on track as well, but had some time-transponder issues.

Next step of the race weekend is the Qualifying, which will start at 10:05 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Results of second free practice of FORMULA class at “Peroni Race Weekend”:

Position No. Name Nat. Team Car Fastest lap (min) Gap (s) Laps km/h
1 999 Salvatore De Plano ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2 1:30,805 11 294,8
2 115 Mahaveer Raghunathan IND PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Dallara Lola 1:31,746  0,941 13 277,4
3 888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer GER Top Speed Dallara GP2 1:32,313 1,508 11 293,2
4 323 Armando Mangini ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2 1:36,534 5,729 10 290,8
5 430 Martin Kindler SUI Jenzer Motorsport Nissan World Series 1:38639 7,834 10 266,5
6 505 Walter Steding GER Inter Europol Competition Dallara GP2 1:39,065 8,260 12 291,6
7  139 René Kouwenberg NED De Boer Manx Dallara GP2  1:39,177  8,372  13  283,2
8 411 Karl-Heinz Becker GER Becker Motorsport Super Nissan World Series 1:40,640 9,835 10 276,0
9  116 Nicolas Matile SUI PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Lola Auto GP 1:42,439 11,634 10 275,3
10 111 ‘PETER’ FRA Ray-Ban World Series by Renault
11 444 Johann Ledermair AUT Ledermair Motorsport Dallara GP2

MORE:

Picture gallery of Imola 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/imola-boss-gp-superprix

Schedule Imola 2017: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-peroni-race-weekend-in-imola-ita

FORMULA class: First free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-fastest-lap-at-first-free-practice-for-raghuanthan

FORMULA class: Start list Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-start-list-for-boss-gp-superprix-in-imola-ita-is-set

OPEN class: Start list Imola 2017: bossgp.com/open-class-start-list-for-boss-gp-superprix-in-imola-ita-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

29/09/2017

FORMULA class: Fastest lap at first free practice for Raghuanthan

Posted on September 29, 2017 by - General

Mahaveer Raghunathan during first free practice in Imola 2017.

11 drivers have registered for the BOSS GP FORMULA class at the “Peroni Race Weekend” in Imola (ITA) and went on track for first action on Friday morning. Season races 13 and 14 will take place at the circuit in the north-east of Italy on Saturday and Sunday. The first free practice was scheduled on Friday morning (29th of September) at 10:20 a.m. It was a smooth practice session under great conditions.

Both BOSS GP classes – OPEN and FORMULA class – went on track together for the practice session. Weather conditions in Imola are great: 17°, sunny and dry.

With the exception of one red flag phase, due to a spun off the track by Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition), practice turned out well and ran smoothly. Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) showed the fastest performance of the FORMULA class at the first practice session on the 4,909 km long track with a lap time of 1:31,968 min in his Lola Auto GP.

Salvatore De Plano on track in Imola 2017.

Salvatore De Plano (l.) on track in Imola 2017, followed by Florian Schnitzenbaumer.

 

Raghunathan, staying twelve laps on track, was followed sharply, with a enormous close gap of just 0,018 sec, by Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) with a best lap time in 1:31,986 min. The Italian showed a good performance in his Dallara GP2. Highly ambitious, the local hero racing in Imola wants to “push, push, push”. It was Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport), who completed the trio on top of the grid. With 1:32,702 min he showed the third fastest time of the FORMULA class during first free practice in his Dallara GP2.

 

Johann Ledermair on track in Imola 2017.

Johann Ledermair on track in Imola 2017.

 

Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed), Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition), Armando Mangini (MM International Motorsport), Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport), Martin Kindler (Jenzer Motorsport), ‘PETER’ (Ray-Ban) and Nicolas Matile (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) completed the grid. René Kouwenberg had some issues with the time transponder, but went on track for practice session as well.

Results of first free practice of FORMULA class at “Peroni Race Weekend”:

Position No. Name Nat. Team Car Fastest lap (min) Gap (s) Laps km/h
1 115 Mahaveer Raghunathan IND PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Dallara Lola 1:31,968 12 277,4
2 999 Salvatore De Plano ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2 1:31,986 0,018 9 290,8
3 444 Johann Ledermair AUT Ledermair Motorsport Dallara GP2 1:32,702 0,734 8 290,0
4 888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer GER Top Speed Dallara GP2 1:35,580 3,612 11 281,7
5 505 Walter Steding GER Inter Europol Competition Dallara GP2 1:38,290 6,322 8 289,3
6 323 Armando Mangini ITA MM International Motorsport Dallara GP2 1:38,571 6,603 8 268,4
7 411 Karl-Heinz Becker GER Becker Motorsport Super Nissan World Series 1:42,048 10,080 10 273,2
8 430 Martin Kindler SUI Jenzer Motorsport Nissan World Series 1:42,477 11,037 8 261,3
9 111 ‘PETER’ FRA Ray-Ban World Series by Renault 1:48,848 17,408 9 246,4
11  116 Nicolas Matile SUI PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport Lola Auto GP 1:51,368 19,400 11 260,7
12  139 René Kouwenberg NED De Boer Manx Dallara GP2

MORE:

Picture gallery of Imola 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/imola-boss-gp-superprix

Schedule Imola 2017: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-peroni-race-weekend-in-imola-ita

OPEN class: First free practice in Imola 2017: bossgp.com/open-class-gerstl-set-the-speed-at-first-free-training

FORMULA class: Start list Imola 2017: bossgp.com/formula-class-start-list-for-boss-gp-superprix-in-imola-ita-is-set

OPEN class: Start list Imola 2017: bossgp.com/open-class-start-list-for-boss-gp-superprix-in-imola-ita-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

29/09/2017

FORMULA class: Start list for BOSS GP Superprix in Imola (ITA) is set

Posted on September 27, 2017 by - General

Masaryk Racing Days in Brno 2017.

The final races of the BOSS GP Championship season 2017 will take place on the weekend of 30th of September and 1st of October. The circuit in Imola (ITA) and the BOSS GP Superprix is waiting for the BOSS GP crews. The start list for the event in Italy is now set. 

14 drivers in total (FORMULA and OPEN class) signed up for the event in Imola. Fans and specatators can look forward to some interesting and exciting duels on track. Eleven drivers will compete in the FORMULA class. Current leader of the class, Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) will be on track as well as runner up Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) and third, Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport). Two new entries will join the team: Nicolas Matile (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) as well as René Kouwenberg (De Boer Manx) will be on track for BOSS GP for the first time this season.

This is the start list for the FORMULA class at the “BOSS GP Superprix” in Imola (ITA):

Start-No. Name Team Nat. Make Type
111 ‘PETER’ Ray-Ban FRA Dallara World Series by Renault
115 Mahaveer Raghunathan PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport IND Lola Auto GP
116 Nicolas Matile PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport SUI Lola Auto GP
139 René Kouwenberg De Boer Manx NED Dallara GP2
323 Armando Mangini MM International Motorsport ITA Dallara GP2
411 Karl-Heinz Becker Becker Motorsport GER Dallara World Series by Nissan
430 Martin Kindler Jenzer Motorsport SUI Dallara Nissan World Series
444 Johann Ledermair Ledermair Motorsport AUT Dallara GP2
505 Walter Steding Inter Europol Competition GER Dallara GP2
 888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer Top Speed  GER Dallara  GP2
999 Salvatore De Plano MM International Motorsport ITA Dallara GP2

 

BOSS GP is competing at seven different European venues in 2017, holding 14 races in total. Hockenheim (GER) in April, Zandvoort (NED) in May, Paul Picard (FRA) in June, Zolder (BEL) in July, Assen (NED) in August and Brno (CZE) are done. The race weekend in Imola with season races 13 and 14 are the final stage for this years Championship season.

MORE:

Find detailed statistics of current standings here: bossgp.com/standings/

Find all informations about the Circuit in Imola on this website: www.autodromoimola.it

26/09/2017

Gerstl dominating again, van Kalmthout and Ledermair compete head-to-head

Posted on June 11, 2017 by - General

Podium race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Another heated race under French sun at Paul Ricard brought a clear winning Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, OPEN class) with a head-to-head competition following on position 2 and 3 between the youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN class) and Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA class). 

It was a clear start-finish-victory for Ingo Gerstl, who dominated the track also in the second race of the weekend in France. After winning the first race at Saturday, the Austrian repeated a successful performance on Sunday, racing his best lap in 1:46,605 min. “I’m happy with the race”, Gerstl recapped his performance. “Especially since I reached my goal, to improve the best lap compared to Saturdays race.”

Start of race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Start of race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

The gap between Gerstl and the closest rivals on track, Rinus van Kalmthout (+ 1:00,865 min) and Johann Ledermair (+ 1:10,978 min) on position 2 and 3, was significant. “There was no chance against Ingo (Gerstl) today”, van Kalmthout showed respect to the winner. The both youngsters, Rinus 16 years old, Johann 25 years old, showed a decent battle. At the end best lap times were more than close, with a 1:50,616 min by van Kalmthout in his GP2 Evo Dallara and a 1:50,643 by Ledermair in his Dallara GP2. Quita a remarkable performance by the Austrian Ledermair, if you notice, that he competes in the FORMULA class, while van Kalmthout starts at the OPEN class. “It was a good race, tyre management went well again”, van Kalmthout was satisfied with his race. “Ingo was really quick, I had no chance, keeping up with him. Finally we got out the most of what was possible today, so I’m happy with the result”, the Dutch was satisfied with reaching the P2 again.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Meanwhile Johann Ledermair, finishing on grid position 3, making the P1 of the FORMULA class, was not pleased overall, but struggled with himself. “I’m totally not satisfied. The whole weekend was running a kind of weird. Initially I assumed tyre-problems due to their conditions after the race in Zandvoort. I was absolutely convinced, that the tyres caused some problems, we had to deal with. So we changed tyres, but I noticed immediately during the warm up lap, that something still is wrong. We checked everything and I got an okay by my chief mechanic. But I felt strong vibrations at the steering wheel during the race and took out some speed due to security reasons. Finally I just aimed to finish the race considering these circumstances. Most of all I’m angry with myself about hanging up on a tyre problem which turned out to be wrong”.

Finishing fourth was Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team, OPEN class) with his best lap in 1:56,507 min. As on Saturday Jaksch made it to the P3 of the OPEN class and was absolutely satisfied with his performance after some struggles at the race the day before: “Despite being on the same place, the race itself felt totally different for me. I’m absolutely satisfied and happy about the result and especially how it came. The car run smoothly, I got faster each round coming closer to the finish; to me that shows, each round strengthens the confidence in the car, which improves my lap times.”

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) overtaking Mahaveer Raghunathan at Paul Ricard 2017.

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) overtaking Mahaveer Raghunathan at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) rounded the podium of the FORMULA class off, finishing on position 5 and 6. Got overtaken by Jaksch couple of laps before the finish, the gap between best lap times of the Italian (1:56,651 min) and the Indian (1:56,625 min) nevertheless was tight. “I totally didn’t expect to make it to the podium, so I am really really happy”, De Plano smiled widely. Having big issues on Saturdays race (“The car was terrible!”), De Plano changed his tyre management for Sundays race and was absolutely pleased: “The car run perfect, conditions were great, I loved the hot weather; it was a perfect race day for me.” Meanwhile P3 Mahaveer Raghunatan was happy, having reached a podium position as well, but struggled with the track layout. “The problem were the long straights. I lost a lot of time on these straights, actually I lost too much time there”, he summed up.

The remaing grid (all FORMULA class) either performed best lap times close to the podium drivers. David Moretti (Griffith’s, FORMULA class), getting overtaken by even seven drivers in the early stage of the race, started a great fight and made it from position 13 in round 2 up to position 7 while crossing the finishing line (best lap: 1:56,900 min). Wolfgang Jordan (8., H&A Racing, 1:59,784), Henk de Boer (9., De Boer Manx, 1:59,115) and Armando Mangini (10., MM International Motorsport, 1:58,225) also performed their best lap under two minutes. Christian Eicke (11., Speed Center, 2:01,327), Martin Kindler (12., Jenzer Motorsport, 2:02,586) and Bruno Navarrete (13., Griffith’s, 2:03,357) were close by.

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Four out of the starting grid of 17 cars were not classified because of early exits, due to various technical problems. While Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed, FORMULA class) had problems with the gearbox of his GP2 Dallara in lap 11, Veronika Cicha (H&A Racing, FORMULA class) had to exit the race due to tyre-problems as well in lap 11. Already in lap 5 Patrick D’Aubreby (Griffith’s, OPEN class) exited the race with technical problems. Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA class) spun off the track in lap 4.

Results race 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

Results race 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

 

More:

Photo Gallery Paul Ricard 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/paul-ricard-gt-open-euroformula-open/

Race 1 Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/ingo-gerstl-leads-the-grid-chased-by-youngsters-rinus-van-kalmthout-and-johann-ledermair/

Qualifying report Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/qualifying-at-paul-ricard-with-some-strange-failures/

Practice day Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/practice-day-at-paul-ricard-results/

Gerstl dominiert weiter, van Kalmthout und Ledermair Kopf-an-Kopf dahinter

Posted on June 11, 2017 by - General

Podium race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Ein weiteres Hitzerennen unter französischer Sonne auf der Strecke Paul Ricard führte Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, OPEN Class) zu einem deutlichen Sieg. Dahinter lieferten sich auf Position 2 und 3 Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN Class) und Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA Class) ein Kopf-an-Kopf-Rennen.

Es war ein klarer Start-Ziel-Sieg, den Ingo Gerstl im zweiten Rennen auf der Strecke von Paul Ricard einfuhr. Wie schon im ersten Rennen am Samstag dominierte der Österreicher das Feld auch am Sonntag klar und fuhr dabei eine Bestzeit von 1:46,605 min ein. “Ich bin zufrieden mit dem Rennen”, resümierte Gerstl anschließend. “Vor allem, da ich meine Rundenzeit von Samstag verbessern wollte, was mir gelungen ist.”

Start of race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Start des zweiten Rennens in Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Der Abstand zwischen Gerstl und seinen ärgsten Verfolgern, Rinus van Kalmthout (+ 1:00,865 min) und Johann Ledermair (+ 1:10,978 min) auf Position 2 und 3, war deutlich. “Ich hatte heute keine Chance gegen Ingo (Gerstl)”, anerkannte van Kalmthout die Leistung des Siegers an. Die beiden Jungspunde, der 16-jährige Rinus und der 25-jährige Johann, lieferten sich indes ein Kopf-an-Kopf-Rennen. Nahezu gleich auf waren beide auf ihrer schnellsten Runde, mit einer 1:50,616 min von van Kalmthout im GP2 Evo Dallara und einer 1:50,643 von Ledermair im Dallara GP2. Eine bemerkenswerte Leistung Ledermairs, bedenkt man, dass er in der FORMULA Class startet, während van Kalmthout in der OPEN Class an den Start geht. “Es war ein gutes Rennen, das Reifenmanagement funktionierte sehr gut”, war van Kalmthout mit seinem Rennen zufrieden. “Ingo war wirklich schnell, ich hatte keine Chance, an ihm dran zu bleiben. Ich habe alles rausgeholt, was heute möglich war, von daher bin ich mit dem Ergebnis zufrieden”, freute sich der Holländer über die erneute Podiumsplatzierung (P2).

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair auf der Strecke in Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Währenddessen fuhr Johann Ledermair, Dritter im Feld, als Führender der FORMULA Class auf’s Podium. Trotz des Sieges in seiner Klasse war der Österreicher nicht gänzlich einverstanden mit seinem Rennwochenende: “Nein, ich bin nicht zufrieden. Das ganze Wochenende verlief irgendwie schräg. Zunächst vermutete ich Probleme mit den Reifen, die auf die letzten Rennen in Zandvoort zurückzuführen waren. Ich war absolut überzeugt davon, dass unsere Probleme mit den Reifen zu tun hatten. Also haben wir einen neuen Reifensatz aufgezogen, aber schon in der Outlap beim Warm Up habe ich sofort gemerkt, dass da etwas immer noch nicht stimmt. Wir haben dann nochmal alles durchgecheckt und mein Chefmechaniker hat mir das OK gegeben. Während des Rennens habe ich dann aber deutliche Vibrationen beim Lenken verspürt und musste daher aus Sicherheitsgründen Tempo rausnehmen. Am Ende wollte ich das Rennen nur noch sicher heimbringen. Am meisten ärgere ich mich über mich selbst darüber, dass ich mich so in die Reifenproblematik versteift hatte, dabei lag das Problem ganz woanders.” Nichtsdestotrotz sicherte sich der junge Österreicher im sechsten Saisonrennen das fünfte Mal die Podiumsspitze und führt damit die FORMULA class weiterhin deutlich an.

Als Vierter des Gesamtklassements ins Ziel kam Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team, OPEN Class) mit einer Bestrunde in 1:56,507 min. Wie schon am Samstag sicherte sich Jaksch damit das P3 in der OPEN Class und war absolut zufrieden mit seiner Leistung, nachdem er am Vortag noch ziemlich zu kämpfen hatte: “Obwohl es die gleiche Platzierung mit dem P3 geworden ist, war es ein absolut anderes Rennen. Ich bin absolut happy mit dem Ergebnis und vor allem auch, wie es zustande kam. Das Auto lief super, ich wurde mit jeder Runde Richtung Rennende schneller. Das zeigt mir auch, dass mit jedem gefahrenen Kilometer mein Vertrauen in das Auto wächst, was sich auch in den Rundenzeiten niederschlägt.”

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) overtaking Mahaveer Raghunathan at Paul Ricard 2017.

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) überholte Mahaveer Raghunathan.

 

Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) und Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) komplettierten das Podium in der FORMULA class. Sie überquerten die Ziellinie im Gesamtklassement auf den Positionen 5 und 6. Zwar überholt bei Jaksch einige Runden vor Rennende, war der Abstand zwischen dem Italiener (1:56,651 min) und dem Inder (1:56,625 min) hauchdünn. “Ich habe überhaupt nicht damit gerechnet, es auf’s Podium zu schaffen. Von daher bin ich super happy”, strahlte De Plano bis über beide Ohren. Nachdem er am Samstag noch mit diversen Problemen kämpfte (“Das Auto lief furchtbar!”), passte De Plano sein Reifenmanagement für das Rennen am Sonntag an und war äußerst zufrieden: “Das Auto lief perfekt, die Bedingungen waren perfekt. Ich liebe solche Wetterbedingungen, das kommt mir sehr entgegen. Für mich was es ein perfekter Renntag.” Auch Mahaveer Raghunatan war im Großen und Ganzen zufrieden, sich einen Platz auf dem Podium gesichert zu haben. Allerdings haderte er mit dem Streckenverlauf: “Das Problem waren die langen Geraden. Dort habe ich eine Menge Zeit verloren, am Ende habe ich auf den Geraden viel zu viel Zeit verloren”, resümierte er.

Die Bestzeiten des verbleibenden Startfeldes (alle FORMULA Class) kamen denen der Podiums durchaus nahe. David Moretti (Griffith’s), der in der Anfangsphase des Rennens von gleich sieben Fahrern überholt wurde, startete eine furiose Aufholjagd und schob sich von zwischenzeitlich Position 13 in Runde 2 auf Position 7 beim Überqueren der Ziellinie vor (Beste Runde: 1:56,900 min). Wolfgang Jordan (8., H&A Racing, 1:59,784), Henk de Boer (9., De Boer Manx, 1:59,115) und Armando Mangini (10., MM International Motorsport, 1:58,225) blieben in ihrer besten Runde ebenfalls unter zwei Minuten. Christian Eicke (11., Speed Center, 2:01,327), Martin Kindler (12., Jenzer Motorsport, 2:02,586) und Bruno Navarrete (13., Griffith’s, 2:03,357) waren ebenfalls nah dran an einer <2 Minuten-Zeit.

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Rennen 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Vier der 17 Fahrer des Startfeldes schafften es aufgrund vorzeitigen Rennendes wegen technischer Probleme nicht in die Wertung. So schied Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed, FORMULA Class) mit seinem GP2 Dallara in Runde 11 mit Getriebeproblemen aus, Veronika Cicha (H&A Racing, FORMULA Class) beendete das Rennen aufgrund von Reifenproblemen ebenfalls in Runde 11. Bereits in Runde 5 stieg Patrick D’Aubreby (Griffith’s, OPEN Class) mit technischen Problemen aus. Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA Class) drehte es in Runde 4 von der Strecke.

Results race 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

Ergebnis Rennen 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Mehr:

Fotogalerie Paul Ricard 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/paul-ricard-gt-open-euroformula-open/

Rennen 1 Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/de/ingo-gerstl-an-der-spitze-gefolgt-von-den-youngstern-rinus-van-kalmthout-und-johann-ledermair/

Qualifying Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/de/qualifying-in-paul-ricard-mit-kuriosen-ausfaellen/

Trainingstag Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/de/trainingstag-in-paul-ricard-ingo-gerstl-ist-zurueck-und-direkt-an-der-spitze/

Ingo Gerstl leads the grid, chased by youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout and Johann Ledermair

Posted on June 10, 2017 by - General

Podium of race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Hunting the reigning champion and current leader of the OPEN class Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN class) and Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA class) did a great job. At the end of race 1 on Circuit Paul Ricard in France the experienced driver made quite clear, that he wouldn’t let go his pole position of the grid.

The race started – at boiling, southern French heat – with a crash of Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA class) in round 1. During overtaking, Göllner had trouble to keep his GP 2 Dallara on the lane and crashed. The following safety car phase challenged drivers and cars due to the danger of overheating and “really didn’t suit the plans”, winner Gerstl grumbled after the race. When the track was released for the grid, drivers took off and stepped on the gas. Gerstl as well as his hunters van Kalmthout and Ledermair, soon established the Top 3, who kept the following field on distance.

“Of course I’m pleased by the win. With the expection of some details we had a great race”, Ingo Gerstl was happy about his win with a best lap time of 1:48,420 min. “The duel with Rinus (van Kalmthout) on position 2 was interesting. I wasn’t too sure about a direct, close battle with him on the track. It’s not yet too easy, to estimate his experience. I mean – he his just 16 years old. He showed a great performance and made it a really good race; guess how he will drive with a couple more years of experience. So actually we can look forward to further races with and against him”, Gerstl was pleased.

Race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017: Leading Ingo Gerstl (r.) sharply followed by Rinus van Kalmthout.

Race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017: Leading Ingo Gerstl (r.) sharply followed by Rinus van Kalmthout.

 

By Gerstl much praised, Rinus van Kalmthout himself was not only happy about making it to P2 with a best lap time of 1:50,847 min, but also with his personal fast growing learning curve: “It was a good race. First round was pretty close with Ingo (Gerstl), so I could stayed with him. Then we had the safety car phase; it was something to learn from – warming the tyres, warming the brakes. So that’s why actually I was happy about this experience. The race felt really good, even if driving between Ingo Gerstl with one second gap in front and Johann Ledermair with one second gap behind was just like a little bit driving alone. I learned a lot about tyre management during that race, since the driving with Pirelli is a totally new experience for me.” In particular the final stage of the race pleased van Kalmthout: “It’s nice to see that at last lap I was quicker than Ingo (Gerstl). That really gives me a confidence boost.” Goal of the 16 years old Dutch for race 2 at Paul Ricard on Sunday?: “Getting closer to Ingo (Gerstl)”. So quite a nice challenge waits for van Kalmthout, since Gerstls target for Sundays race is “to drive some really fast laps at the second race, after being five seconds slowler at race 1 than at Qualifying”.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) and Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) talk-shopping after the race.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) and Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) talk-shopping after the race.

 

Sharply following the two fastest OPEN class drivers was once more FORMULA class driver Johann Ledermair with his best lap in 1:51,967 min. His team had won the race against time already before the actual race started. After dropping out at the Qualifying due to a technical problem (fatigue fracture), Ledermairs team had worked non-stop and finally fixed the car by five minutes left until race start. “Huge thanks and appreciation to my team for fixing the problem”, Ledermair was more than pleased with the performance of his technical crew. “The car felt well. But actually there were some slight vibrations by the front tyres and I had some trouble with understeering”, he summed up his race. “All in all the race went well, I made the most out of it. Now we will work on getting everything fixed again until tomorrows race. The motto is, to fully attack at the second race again and getting the car faster anyway.”

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

The podium of the OPEN class was completed by Wolfgang Jaksch, who raced onto overall position 7 with his Super Aguri SA06 (best lap: 1:58,177 min). “Second race this season, second podium. I’m absolutely happy about this result”, Jaksch smiled widely after the podium ceremony. Especially, since “it was a really difficult race. The grip level was totally different from the grid level during Qualifying. So the car was quite unstable and it was hard work, to bring my car home and take it to the finish. Lap times could have been better; despite of course I’m very happy with the P3, but not, how the race went.” Jaksch was self-critical as well: “I have to work on myself, to get along better with such difficult race conditions.” For second race on sunday “we will work on the setup and will do some finetuning. Making it again to the podium would be great”. Jaksch sets position 4 of the overall OPEN class ranking with 40 points, behind Ingo Gerstl on position 1 (75 points), Rinus van Kalmthout (47) and Phil Stratford (44).

Podium of the FORMULA class was completed by Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) with a best lap time of 1:55,823 min, finishing on position 4 and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport), finishing on position 5 with a best lap time of 1:57,226 min. While Raghunathan keeps the overall position 2 at the FORMULA class with now 104 gained points, behind Johann Ledermair with a total of 122 points, Schnitzenbaumer and Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) follow on third rank (both 90 points),

A great catch up on the track of Paul Ricard showed David Moretti (Griffith’s). Starting from position 10 at his first BOSS GP race at season 2017, he made it to position 6, overtaking couple of drivers with his GP 2 Dallara. Definitely less satisfied was Veroninka Cicha (H&A Racing). After a great performance at Qualifying in the morning, her car showed technical problems sharply before finishing the race, during lap 9.

After recurring technical problems, as well during practice as at Qualifying, Karl-Heinz Becker retired from the race already after dropping out of the Qualifying, just racing one single round.

Complete results of race 1 at Paul Ricard:

Results race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Results race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Ingo Gerstl an der Spitze, gefolgt von den Youngstern Rinus van Kalmthout und Johann Ledermair

Posted on June 10, 2017 by - General

Podium of race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Bei der Jagd auf den amtierenden Champion und aktuell Führenden der OPEN Class, Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), leisteten die Youngster Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN Class) und Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA Class) ganze Arbeit. Am Ende des ersten Rennens auf der Strecke von Paul Ricard in Frankreich zeigte der routinierte Fahrer jedoch, dass er nicht gewillt war, die Pole Position abzugeben. 

Unter sengender, südfranzösischer Hitze startete das Rennen zunächst mit einem Crash von Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA Class) in Runde 1. Während eines Überholmanövers verzog Göllner und konnte seinen GP 2 Dallara nicht auf der Strecke halten. Die anschließende Safety Car Phase forderte das Fahrerfeld aufgrund von Überhitzungsgefahr und “passte so gar nicht in unseren Plan”, war Gerstl nach dem Finish angefressen. Als die Strecke für das Feld wieder freigegeben war, drückten die Fahrer mächtig auf’s Gas. Gerstl ebenso wie seine ärgsten Verfolger van Kalmthout und Ledermair, setzten sich schnell als Top 3 ab und hielten das restliche Feld deutlich auf Distanz.

“Natürlich bin ich zufrieden mit dem Sieg. Abgesehen von einigen Kleinigkeiten war es ein super Rennen”, freute sich Ingo Gerstl über den ersten Platz und eine Bestzeit von 1:48,420 min. “Es war ein gutes Duell mit Rinus (van Kalmthout), der direkt hinter mir fuhr. Ich war mir nicht ganz sicher, ob ich es auf einen direkten Fight auf der Strecke ankommen lassen wollte. Dafür fehlt mir bislang noch eine Einschätzung über seine Erfahrung. Ich meine, überleg doch mal – der Junge ist gerade mal 16 Jahre alt. Er ist ein großartiges Rennen gefahren und hat eine starke Leistung gezeigt. Man stelle sich nur mal vor, wie er in ein paar Jahren mit deutlich mehr Erfahrung fahren wird. Ich freue mich, morgen wieder gegen ihn anzutreten.”

Race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017: Leading Ingo Gerstl (r.) sharply followed by Rinus van Kalmthout.

Rennen 1 in Paul Ricard 2017: Der Führende, Ingo Gerstl (r.), verfolgt von Rinus van Kalmthout (l.) und Johann Ledermair.

 

Der von Gerstl so hoch gelobte Rinus van Kalmthout selbst war nicht nur glücklich über seine Podiumsplatzierung (P2) mit einer Bestrundenzeit von 1:50,847 min, sondern auch zufrieden mit seiner persönlichen Lernkurve: “Es war ein gutes Rennen. Die erste Runde war ich direkt hinter Ingo (Gerstl) und konnte an ihm dran bleiben. Dann hatten wir die Safety Car Phase; das war etwas, woraus ich viel lernen konnte – zum Beispiel die Temperatur der Reifen und der Bremsen koordinieren. Über diese Erfahrung bin ich wirklich froh. Das Rennen hat sich richtig gut angefühlt. Mit Ingo eine Sekunde vor mir und Johann eine Sekunde hinter mir hatte ich irgendwann das Gefühl, für mich allein zu fahren. Ich habe auf jeden Fall heute viel gelernt, vor allem was das Reifenmanagement betrifft. Zumal mit Pirellis zu fahren für mich eine völlig neue Erfahrung ist.” Insbesondere mit der Schlussphase war van Kalmthout happy: “Es war ein gutes Gefühl, in der letzten Runde schneller als Ingo (Gerstl) zu sein. Das stärkt mein Selbstvertrauen.” Welches Ziel steckt sich der 16-Jährige für das zweite Rennen am Sonntag? “Näher an Ingo (Gerstl) ranzukommen”. Eine prima Herausforderung, die damit auf van Kalmthout wartet. Hat sich Gerstl für Sonntag doch vorgenommen, “ein paar wirklich schnelle Runden zu fahren, nachdem ich im ersten Rennen fünf Sekunden langsamer war als noch im Qualifying”.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) and Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) talk-shopping after the race.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) und Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) fachsimpeln nach dem Rennen.

 

Den beiden schnellsten OPEN Class Fahrern dich auf den Fersen war einmal mehr FORMULA Class Fahrer Johann Ledermair mit einer Bestzeit von 1:51,967 min. Bereits vor dem Rennen hatte sein technisches Team den Lauf gegen die Zeit gewonnen. Nachdem Ledermair im Qualifying mit technischen Problemen (Ermüdungsbruch) vorzeitig ausgeschieden war, hatten Ledermairs Techniker non-stop an dem GP2 Dallara gearbeitet und das Problem schließlich “fünf Minuten, bevor es zum Rennen raus auf die Strecke ging”, gelöst. “Daher gilt in erster Linie mein Riesendank und Respekt für diese Leistung an mein Technikteam”, so Ledermair. “Das Auto hat sich gut angefühlt. Allerdings habe ich einige Vibrationen über die Vorderreifen gespürt und hatte etwas Trouble mit dem Untersteuern”, erklärte der Österreicher. “Alles in allem lief das Rennen gut. Ich denke, ich habe das Optimum rausgeholt; mehr war heute nicht drin. Wir werden uns jetzt an die Arbeit machen und schauen, dass wir das Auto bis zum Rennen morgen gefixed bekommen. Und dann heißt es, voll attackieren und das Auto noch schneller zu machen.”

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair auf der Strecke Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Das Podium in der OPEN Class wurde von Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team, P3) komplettiert, der mit seinem Super Aguri SA06 (beste Runde: 1:58,177 min) die Ziellinie auf Gesamtposition 7 überquerte . “Zweites Saisonrennen, zweites Mal auf dem Podium. Ich bin absolut happy damit”,  strahlte Jaksch nach der Siegerehrung. Vor allem, da “es ein schwieriges Rennen für mich war. Der Grip Level war völlig unterschiedlich im Vergleich zum Qualifying. Das Auto war recht unruhig und es war ein schönes Stück Arbeit, das sicher ins Ziel zu bringen. Die Rundenzeiten hätten besser sein können, aber davon unabhängig bin ich super glücklich, es auf’s Podium geschafft zu haben. Nur wie das zustande kam, damit bin ich nicht wirklich zufrieden”. Jaksch zeigte sich zudem selbstkritisch: “Ich habe noch eine Menge an mir selbst zu arbeiten, damit ich mit solch schwierigen Rennbedingungen besser zurecht komme.” Für das zweite Rennen “werden wir weiter am Setup arbeiten und noch einige Dinge verfeinern. Es erneut auf’s Podium zu schaffen wäre großartig.” Jaksch steht im Gesamtranking der OPEN Class mit insgesamt 40 Punkten nun auf Platz 4, hinter Ingo Gerstl an der Spitze (75 points) sowie Rinus van Kalmthout (47) und Phil Stratford (44).

Das Podium der FORMULA Class wurde komplettiert von Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed, P2) mit einer Bestrundenzeit von 1:55,823 min, der als Vierter die Ziellinie überquerte, sowie Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport, P3), der auf Position 5 ins Ziel kam und seine beste Runde in 1:57,226 min fuhr. Raghunathan behält mit der neuerlichen P3 im Gesamtranking der FORMULA Class den zweiten Platz mit nun 104 eingefahren Punkten, hinter Johann Ledermair mit 122 Punkten sowie vor Schnitzenbaumer und Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport), die mit jeweils 90 Punkten auf dem dritten Rang folgen.

Eine starke Aufholjagd legte David Moretti (Griffith’s) hin. In seinem ersten BOSS GP Saisonrennen 2017 von Position 10 gestartet, arbeitete er sich mit seinem GP2 Dallara bis auf Position 6 vor, nachdem er gleich mehrere Konkurrenten überholt hatte. Deutlich weniger zufrieden mit dem Rennverlauf war hingegen Veroninka Cicha (H&A Racing). Nach einer starken Leistung im Qualifying am Morgen musste sie nach technischen Problemen in Runde 9 vorzeitig aussteigen.

Nach wiederholten technischen Problemen, sowohl während des freien Trainings als auch im Qualifying, cancelte Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport) seine Teilnahme am Rennen. Sein Dallara (World Series by Nissan) war im Qualifying bereits nach der ersten Runde ausgestiegen.

Das komplette Ergebnis von Rennen 1 in Paul Ricard:

Results race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Ergebnis Rennen 1 Paul Ricard 2017.