Tag: Race

FORMULA class: Race 1 at “Zolder Superprix” – Mahaveer Raghunathan winning his first ever P1

Posted on July 15, 2017 by - General

Podium of the FORMULA class at race 1 in Zolder 2017.

Full of action was the first race of the weekend at the “Zolder Superprix” in Belgium. The two leading drivers of the FORMULA class showed a thrilling battle for the top podium spot. Meanwhile two others had to finish the race early.

18 years young, but very ambitious – this is Indian driver Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport). Starting from overall position 3 (FORMULA and OPEN class cars start in one grid), Raghunathan showed a strong performance over 16 laps with his Lola Auto GP Gibson Tech 3.4 V8 and a great battle with Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) with his Dallara GP2 Mecachrome 4.0 V8. At the end it was a neck-to-neck-finish, with De Plano just finishing 2,719 seconds behind Raghunathan at the overall race-time. The best lap time at the FORMULA class was performed by De Plano in 1:22,229 min, while Raghunathan raced his best lap in 1:22,447.

Finishing first meant the first ever P1 for Raghunathan at a BOSS GP race – the young driver was more than pleased with his victory. Overall the Indian has a great outcome this season – seven races, seven podiums (1x P1, 2x P2, 4x P3). Meanwhile De Plano secured his second P2 of the season, his fourth overall season podium (2x P2, 2x P3).

Raghunathan (m.), chased by De Plano (l.) and de Boer (r.) at the start of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

Raghunathan (m.), chased by De Plano (l.) and de Boer (r.) at the start of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

 

The first podium of the season was achieved by Armando Mangini (MM International Motorsport) with his Dallara GP2 Mecachrome 4.0 V8 on the P3. The gap between team mate De Plano and Mangini was significant (2:18,557 min). But excitement and enthusiasm of the MM International Motorsport team about the podium-double nevertheless was huge. Even a penalty of 30 seconds for Mangini, due to overtaking under yellow flag, didn’t disturb the good mood; the penalty didn’t change the final result anyway.

Unfortunately two drivers finished the race way to early. Wolfgang Jordan (H&A Racing) spun off the track already in the first lap with his Dallara GP2 Mecachrome 4.0 V8. Henk de Boer (De Boer Manx) had to finish the race in lap 9, due to technical reasons with his Dallara GP2 Mecachrome 4.0 V8. The Dutch had shown a good performance so far. Making it to the podium could have been possible for him. De Boer performed his best lap time in 1:23,425, before he had to leave the track.

Armando Mangini waiting for the start signal of the race in Zolder.

Armando Mangini waiting for the start signal of the race in Zolder.

 

“It was a good start and the race went really well. This is my first ever win, so I dedicate this to my grandfather”, Raghunathan told us after the podium ceremony. “For the whole race I had some problems with the brakes. De Plano was right behind me all the time, so this was really tough. But at the end I am very, very happy about making it to the P1.” For the second race of the weekend, the young driver “wants to repeat winning again”.

It’s the same for Salvatore De Plano, who wants to attack for the top-position of the podium: “Of course I am very, very happy with finishing as second. It was such a close race, I was directly behind Raghunathan. At the second race on Sunday I will attack again for making it to the P1”, the Italian promised.

Armando Mangini, winning the P3, was more than happy, making it onto the podium: “Fantastico! I am very, very happy!”, the Italian was overwhelmed.

Double-podium for MM International Motorsport at Zolder 2017.

Double-podium for MM International Motorsport at Zolder 2017: Salvatore De Plano (l., P2) and Armando Mangini (P3).

 

Due to the absence of so far leading Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) the podium of the FORMULA class looked quite different compared to the first six races of the 2017 Championship. Winning the P1 and achieving a total of 25 points, Raghunathan took over the lead of the overall FORMULA class ranking and has a two-points-advantage now over Ledermair. Will De Plano pass the Austrian after the second race in Zolder too? BOSS GP will be on the track at the “Superprix” again at 12:25 p.m. on Sunday.

The complete result of race 1 at Zolder 2017:

 

Results of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

MORE:

Picture gallery of Zolder 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/zolder-superprix

OPEN class: Race 1 at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/open-class-race-1-at-zolder-superprix-stratford-losing-drive-zwart-losing-tyre

FORMULA class: Qualifying at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/formula-class-qualifying-at-zolder-superprix-raghunathan-and-de-plano-battle-for-fastest-lap

FORMULA class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/formula-class-practice-day-at-zolder-superprix-2017-raghunatan-taking-the-lead

Schedule for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-zolder-superprix

Start list for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/start-list-for-the-zolder-superprix-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

OPEN class: Race 1 at “Zolder Superprix” – Stratford losing drive, Zwart losing tyre

Posted on July 15, 2017 by - General

Klaas Zwart on the track at Zolder 2017.

Full of action was the first race of the weekend at the “Zolder Superprix” in Belgium. Both drivers of the OPEN class struggled on the track.

Despite struggling with technical issues during the Qualifying, the lap times Klaas Zwart (Team Ascari) had raced in the morning as well as Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing) promised an exciting race at the afternoon. Starting from Pole Position (Zwart) and position 2 (Stratford) both OPEN class drivers lead the start grid in Zolder (OPEN and FORMULA class start in one grid at the race).

Zwart kept the lead with his Jaguar R5 Cosworth 3.0 V10 for 15 laps and showed without any doubt a dominant performance on the Belgian track. He achieved his best time in lap 3 with 1:16,002 min. Only a burst tyre finally stopped the Dutch in lap 16, shortly before the finish of the race. Having 15 laps completed, Zwart was classified without any problems and won the podium of the OPEN class as well as his first 25 points of the Championship 2017.

 

Phil Stratford preparing for the race at Zolder 2017.

Phil Stratford preparing for the race at Zolder 2017.

 

Unfortunate went Phil Stratfords race. Ranked as second of the OPEN class for an overall amount of ten laps, the American had to return with his Benetton B197 Judd 4.0 V10 to the box in lap eleven: “I lost the drive”, he explained, “but that’s racing. It can happen.” Stratford had performed the best time in lap 4 with 1:21,624 min.

 

Klaas Zwart overall winner of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

Klaas Zwart overall winner of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

 

So at the end of the day Zwart was the only finisher of the OPEN class at race 1 in Zolder at the “Superprix”-weekend. Hopefully both OPEN class drivers will start at race 2 on Sunday morning (start: 12:25 a.m., duration: 20 minutes).

Results of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

Results of race 1 at Zolder 2017.

MORE:

Picture gallery of Zolder 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/zolder-superprix

FORMULA class: Race 1 at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/formula-class-race-1-at-zolder-superprix-mahaveer-raghunathan-winning-his-first-ever-p1

OPEN class: Qualifyig at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/open-class-qualifying-at-zolder-superprix-zwart-leaving-the-track-early

OPEN class: Practice day at “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/open-class-practice-day-at-zolder-superprix-stratford-and-zwart-back-on-track-with-boss-gp

Schedule for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/timetable-for-the-zolder-superprix

Start list for “Zolder Superprix 2017”: bossgp.com/start-list-for-the-zolder-superprix-is-set

Standings of season 2017: bossgp.com/standings

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/

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.

Ledermair dominates second race in Zandvoort as well

Posted on May 21, 2017 by - General

Podium of season race 4 in Zandvoort 2017 and partner PIRELLI.

After a thrilling race on Saturday at the “Jumbo Race Festival” in Zandvoort race 4 of  the BOSS GP season 2017 on Sunday had some surprises too. The podium of the FORMULA class however after 14 laps was the same as the day before, Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) clearly dominating the grid, followed by Mahaveer Raghunathan (Coloni Motorsport) and Salvatore de Plano (MM International Motorsport). Unfortunately both drivers of the OPEN class, Marijn and Rinus van Kalmthout (both Mansell Motorsport) dropped out of the race early due to a crash and technical reasons.

While Johann Ledermair could defend his pole position in his Dallara GP2 into the first curve, the “Tarzanbocht”, against attacking Rinus van Kalmthout in a Dallara GP2 Evo, who had started from position 2, Marijn van Kalmthout had huge trouble. After his Benetton B197 F1 got hit Kalmthout lost one of his tyres at the start straight, what meant a much to early out for the local hero. Couple of laps under yellow flag and safety car phase were following for the grid, drivers even had to pass the pit lane again, since the straight lane was blocked by rescue operation for Kalmthouts Benetton. “It was not too easy, to avoid overheating of the engines and keeping the tyres on the neccessary temperatures”, Johann Ledermair explained the difficult conditions at the first phase of the race.

Already during the safety car phase Rinus van Kalmthouth, the only left driver of the OPEN class in the grid, had to turn back to the box too, due to technical problems with his Dallara GP2 Evo. So season race 4 turned out to an exclusively FORMULA class race.

 

Crashing on the start straight line directly after the start Marijn van Kalmthout unfortunately dropped out of the race early.

Crashing on the start straight line directly after the start Marijn van Kalmthout unfortunately dropped out of the race early.

 

When the safety car had left and the track finally was open for pure racing again, the “usual suspects” were competing for the podium. Ledermair kept the lead and grabbed P1, driving his best lap time in round 5 with 1:25.591 min. The Austrian was closely followed by Mahaveer Raghunathan, who showed his best lap time in round 10 with 1:27.675 min. The 18 years old Indian was happy with his performance and P2, despite he looked ahead to the next races (Paul Ricard Circuit/France, 10-11/06/2017) directly after the award ceremony. “The start of todays race was not that easy, but everything worked out well. Finally it was a tough race again, but I did my best. The goal was, to increase speed and improve the lap record from yesterdays race. That worked out well, so finally I’m happy with the performance this week and my overall results”, Raghunathan explained.

With a huge smile on his face Salvatore de Plano (MM International Motorsport) climbed onto the podium. After P3 on saturday he defended this position at race 2 and stressed out his great performance this weekend. “The track was a huge challenge to go for. I have never raced in Zandvoort before, so my focus on the track and its characteristics was immense”, de Plano told us after the race and started to rave about the track. “It is amazing, but you have to now the track very well, to have a good race. So I’m really happy with my result this weekend, since I could make it twice onto the podium and didn’t loose to many points in the championship. The car was perfect and I reached my personal goal, to come as close as possible to position 2.” As Raghunathan also de Plano wants to confirm his good shape on the track in Le Castellet at Paul Ricard in June.

 

Champagne in Zandvoort 2017 after season race 4.

Champagne in Zandvoort 2017 after season race 4.

 

The podium was followed by Marc Fagionatto (Zig-Zag) on position 4, Florian Schnitzenbaumer (5., Top Speed), Henk de Boer (6., De Boer Manx), Peter Göllner (7., Speed Center), Christian Eicke (8., Speed Center), PETER (9., Easy Formula) and Karl-Heinz Becker (10., Becker Motorsport). Becker just finished eleven laps, having technical issues in his last lap which forced him to finish the race. “We don’t know yet, what caused the problems. We have to analyse this issue”, Becker told after the race.

The results of season race 4 in Zandvoort 2017.

The results of season race 4 in Zandvoort 2017.

 

Meanwhile winning Ledermair was satisfied with his progess during the race: “After an challenging start I was able, to control the race and bring it home safely. There were some factors, I had to pay my attention especially during the safety car phase, but everything worked out well. So at the end, I’m very happy with that clear win.” Besides and optimum of a race weekend Ledermair and his team take some “homework” back to Austria, they will work on until the next race. “We collected lots of data this weekend, we have to analyze. Of course we wont sit back now, but continue our work and make any effort, to increase the speed further on”, the ambitious youngster is looking into the future.

Happy winner of race 3 and 4 at the race weekend in Zandvoort 2017.

Happy winner of race 3 and 4 at the race weekend in Zandvoort 2017.

Next station for the BOSS GP championship 2017 is set already in three weeks. Circuit Paul Ricard in France, Le Castellet, will be the host with its “GT OPEN & EUROFORMULA OPEN”.

MORE:

Photo gallery race weekend Zandvoort: bossgp.com/gallery/zandvoort-jumbo-racedagen

Report of first race in Zandvoort: bossgp.com/first-race-johann-ledermair-bringing-the-sensation-to-zandvoort

Report of Qualifying in Zandvoort: bossgp.com/qualifying-in-zandvoort-hell-of-laptimes-for-the-van-kalmthouts

Report of second free practice in Zandvoort: bossgp.com/second-free-practice-results-ledermair-and-raghunathan-step-up-the-speed

Report of first free practice in Zandvoort: bossgp.com/first-free-practice-marijn-van-kalmthout-shows-his-class

Detailed statistics of practices and qualifying: Results race 1 Zandvoort 2017.

First race: Johann Ledermair bringing the sensation to Zandvoort

Posted on May 20, 2017 by - General

Podium of season race 3 in Zandvoort 2017.

Thinking, a super-fast qualifying was a blast today, one has to find a new superlative for the sensation, that happened at the first race of the “Jumbo Race Festival” in Zandvoort on Saturday afternoon. Austrian youngster Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) was not only dominating the FORMULA class clearly, but also beat local hero Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport) of the OPEN class.

Hoping for an exciting first race at the “Jumbo Race Festival” in Zandvoort expectations were fulfilled, when Johann Ledermair of the FORMULA class in his Dallara GP2 beat Rinus van Kalmthout of the OPEN class in the Dallara GP1 Evo. While Ledermair set the lap record at 1:24.193 min, Rinus van Kalmthout finished his best lap in 1:24.549 min. Both youngsters enjoyed a clear lead of the grid, topped by a spectacular overtaking of Johann Ledermair in round 10, leading the grid for the last five laps on and bringing P1 home.

„This was a real strong competition. But I think, I managed well throughout the race”, winning Johann Ledermair, who had started from position 3, analyzed his performance after the awards ceremony. “I was able, to take the second position directly after the start, but having still quite a gap to the leading Rinus von Kalmthout. I moved closer step by step, always considering the conditions of the tyres well, got the kick and finally attacked van Kalmthout. While he overtook me back instantly at the first try, I got him at the second time and it was just a “now or never, bring that home”-motivation for me. So finally, I made it and got that victory home.”

Johann Ledermair taking the P1 of season race 3 in Zandvoort 2017.

Johann Ledermair taking the P1 of season race 3 in Zandvoort 2017.

 

So P2 was owned by the youngest driver of the grid, BOSS GP-newcomer Rinus von Kalmthout. Starting from the pole positing and showing the thrilling fight with Johann Ledermair the 16 years old Dutch finished with the overall P2, owning the P1 of the OPEN class.

P2 of the FORMULA class, Mahaveer Raghunathan (Coloni Motorsport), was fine with his podium position so far and a lap record of 1:28.344 min, but not 100% happy: “I could have gone for a better result, if I wouldn’t have been blocked by another driver”, 18 years old Raghunathan was not that satisfied. “I will go for this tomorrow and improve at the race on Sunday”, the P2 from India is more than motivated for season race 4.

Happy with the P3 of the FORMULA class and his first podium position of the season was Salvatore de Plano (MM International Motorsport) with his fastest lap in 1:29.180 min, followed by BOSS GP returnee Marc Fagionatto (Zig Zag) in 1:29.853 min.

Henk de Boer (5., De Boer Manx), Peter Göllner (6., Speed Center), Florian Schnitzenbaumer (7., Top Speed), Karl-Heinz Becker (8., Becker Motorsport) and Christian Eicke (9., Speed Center) completed the ranking. ‘PETER’ couldn’t be classified with a raced amount of just 9 laps, whereas 11 laps would have been necessary for a classification (75% of laps driven by the P1 (i.e. 14)).

On the track in Zandvoort 2017.

On the track in Zandvoort 2017.

 

Meanwhile the OPEN class provided a really clear arrangement: Rinus van Kalmthout on the P1 was just followed by his father, Marijn van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport). The experienced driver suffered problems with a tyre in round 5 and was forced to a pit stop. He finished the race with a total of 11 laps on the 11th position, nevertheless ranked in P2 of the OPEN class, since there were registered only two starters in the OPEN class at all in Zandvoort.

Results of race 1 in Zandvoort 2017.

Results of race 1 in Zandvoort 2017.

 

So, after an exciting first race day P1, Johann Ledermair, made a final statement about the key to success for winning the overall ranking at season race 3. “Winning today was also the result of an intensive practice-day on Friday and a lot of work after he second practice”, Ledermair explains. “My team did an incredible great job and put a lot of effort into the car until late into the night. Without them I couldn’t have done the race so well. We completely changed the setup of the car, after having quite a lot of problems during the first practice sessions. We made great progress at the second practice in the afternoon and after still some more changes for the race day we could progress once more for the Qualifying as well as the race.” Ledermairs coach, Oliver Saringer, was as well proud as thrilled about the performance of his Youngster: “It is a fact, that we won the OPEN class with a FORMULA car. That has never happened before”, he made the point.

The podium of the race means starting from pole position for Johann Ledermair in Sundays race. After the thrilling first race in Zandvoort, spectators and fans can look forward to another exciting battle between Ledermair and Rinus van Kalmthout again on Sunday, when the Dutch youngster will start from position 2.

Startgrid of second race in Zandvoort 2017.

Startgrid of second race in Zandvoort 2017.

 

Follow our live coverage from the whole event with pictures and video-impressions on our Instagram (bossgp2010) as well as Snapchat (bossgp2010) accounts.

MORE:

Report of Qualifying in Zandvoort: bossgp.com/qualifying-in-zandvoort-hell-of-laptimes-for-the-van-kalmthouts

Report of second free practice in Zandvoort: bossgp.com/second-free-practice-results-ledermair-and-raghunathan-step-up-the-speed

Report of first free practice in Zandvoort: bossgp.com/first-free-practice-marijn-van-kalmthout-shows-his-class

Detailed statistics of practices and qualifying: Results race 1 Zandvoort 2017.

Gerstl and Ledermair take the victories home in race 2

Posted on April 23, 2017 by - General

Podium of race 2 of the OPEN class in Hockenheim.

After a very crazy 2017 kick off race in Hockenheim on Saturday (22/04/2017), things worked out considerably better for the second race at the Hockenheimring on Sunday.

Eleven drivers made it to the starting grid of the race. Unfortunately five drivers had to cancel the race, mainly resulting from technical reasons or crashes. So there was no way to race for Klaas Zwart (Team Ascari) after his crash in Saturday’s race. A fact, as well drivers as fans regretted a lot: “I missed Klaas a lot on track. He is always one of my strongest competitors, so racing with and against him is much more fun”, Ingo Gerstl (TOP Speed) said.

While weather conditions were way better than on Saturday, which led to a crazy race, there was a smooth raceday on Sunday for BOSS GP without any crashes and no time under yellow flags or with safety car. First six spots of the grid where dominantly taken by Gerstl, Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport), Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing), Florian Schnitzenbaumer (TOP Speed), Wolfgang Jaksch (F-Xtreme Racing Team) and Mahaveer Raghunathan (Coloni Motorsport) for all 18 laps. These drivers finally made it onto the podiums of the OPEN and the FORMULA class.

While Gerstl again raced a start-finish victory and lead the grid during the overall race time of 25 minutes, he secured his second P1 of the season and is leading the OPEN class ranking list by the maximum of 50 points. Phil Stratford showed a great performance like on Saturday’s race again and took it to P2, followed by Wolfgang Jaksch with his first podium ever in BOSS GP. Stratford and Jaksch take according positions in the ranking list of the OPEN class as well.

Podium of the FORMULA class of race 2 in Hockenheim.

Podium of the FORMULA class of race 2 in Hockenheim.

After P2 in first season race on Saturday Johann Ledermair took it to P1 of the FORMULA class in Sundays race and showed a quite bigger smile at the podium ceremony than on the day before, when he wasn’t that happy with P2. “The race worked out well for us. We still need more time and races to get more familiar with the new tyres by Pirelli”, the 25 years old Austrian explained. Schnitzenbaumer on P2 and, as in race 1, Raghunathan on P3 completed the podium. After the first two races of the season Johann Ledermair is now leading the overall ranking list in the FORMULA class with 47 points, followed by Mahaveer Raghunathan (Coloni Motorsport) and Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed), both with 40 points.

More informations about race 2 of BOSS GP season 2017 is to come.

So long find the detailed result of the race here: Hockenheim 2017: Results of race 2.

Starting grid for race 2 in Hockenheim is set

Posted on April 23, 2017 by - General

Starting grid for race 2 in Hockenheim is set.

After an turbulenced filled season kick off at the very first race of the year the starting grid for the second race on Sunday afternoon is set.

Second race of the season during the “Hockenheim Historic” will start at 2:15 p.m. Expectations and anticipation of the drivers are huge.

Highly ambitioned is Mahaveer Raghunathan (Coloni Motorsport), P3 in the FORMULA class in Saturday’s race 1 and starting from position 5 in race 2. “I will be much fast than in race 1 and I want to win”, the 18 years old Indian says.

Meanwhile Ingo Gerstl, overall winner of race 1 and P1 in the OPEN class in Saturday’s race and starting again from pole position in race 2, is hoping not only for good weather conditions but also for “a real challenge after the disastrous first race”.

“I hope for a real challenge.”
Ingo Gerstl (TOP Speed), Race 1 P1 OPEN class

BOSS GP - Results - Hockenheim 2017 (Grid R2)

Weather turbulences crashes first race in Hockenheim *UPDATE* (23.04.17)

Posted on April 22, 2017 by - General

First race of the season 2017 on Hockenheimring.

Oh what a crazy kick off race for the season 2017 this was. With one hour delay in the ambitious scheduled programme of the “Hockenheim Historic” the drivers raced onto the track for the first podium spots of the season. The grid had quite a compact number at this point: Only eigth drivers finally started in the first BOSS GP Championship race of the season, which was overshadowed by freaky weather conditions.

Rain? No rain? Finally it was a decision just by seconds – rain tyres or no rain tyres? Exactly when the BOSS GP grid starts in their warm-up lap for the race all of a sudden rain started out of the thick blanket of clouds for the first time of the day. As a consequence couple of cars dropped out of the race already before the start. Including Wolfgang Jaksch (F-Xtreme, OPEN class) with the Super Aguri, whose car-rescue took quite an amount of time of 15 minutes. Due to permanent delays of the programme-schedule the race management decided, to cut the official race time down from 20 to 12 minutes for the eight drivers left at the grid after the troubled race-intro. When the engines were started, the next safecty car period was just a question of seconds: Already in the first turn (“Ravenol-Kurve”) Klaas Zwart (Team Ascari, OPEN class), one of the favourites for the first podium spots of the season, was out of the race after a crash into the barriers.

Starting grid at Hockenheims first race 2017.

Starting grid at Hockenheims first race 2017.

 

When the safety car had left the circuit, the biggest point were the driving capabilities of the drivers during the challenging weather conditions. “After turbulences and exits of a couple of cars already in the beginning of the race, my only goal was, to finish the race without any damage”, explained Andreas Fiedler (Fiedler Racing, FORMULA class). The newcomer not only rolled up the field from behind in his very first race ever at BOSS GP, he also raced the best lap time (1:39.941 min) and secured P1 at the FORMULA class in front of Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) on P2 and Mahaveer Raghunathan (Coloni Motorsport) on P3.

Safety car on track at Hockenheimring.

BOSS GP safety car on track at Hockenheimring.

 

The OPEN class was dominated by Ingo Gerstl (TOP Speed) with a start-finish victory, which put the Austrian as the overall winner of the race and meant P1 at the OPEN class podium. He was followed by Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing) on P2. Since Gerstl and Stratford were the only OPEN class driver left in the grid, there finally was no P3 in the first race of the season.

Accordingly Ingo Gerstls reaction after the race: “That was a disastrous race! It started dribbling, when we left the paddock. The outdoor temperatures were way too cold for the slicks. So we had to change the tyres, rain stopped, rain started again, we saw plenty of crashes. The remaining race time I was just holding to my experience and instinct, to finish the race without any trouble and keep the car on the track. Lap time didn’t really matter for me.” At the qualifying in the morning he had impressed with a fabulous time of 1:20.174 min, during the race he put his best lap to 1:40.382 min. “I saw Klaas [Zwart] next to me, hitting the wall. Finally I am really happy, that I finished. But – that was no brilliant performance, one clearly have to point that out.” For the second race on Sunday afternoon (2:15 p.m.) Gerstl is not only hoping for good weather conditions, but for “a real challenge after the disastrous first race”.

Podium of the OPEN class of first race in Hockenheim.

Podium of the OPEN class of first race in Hockenheim.

 

Meanwhile, Phil Stratford, P2 of the OPEN class, was totally happy with the podium: “Most of all I am happy, that I made the car crossing the finishing line in one piece. Today was the first time, I raced this car, even under really difficult conditions. The rain tyres gave me some confidence, but my plan was, to manage a position behind another car and take this car as an orientation for my race. Probably a better time would have been possible, but actually I had more to lose than to win. I want to thank my team, which did a brilliant job and is happy with the result of todays race quite a bit.”

Andreas Fielder was overwhelmed by his first P1 in the FORMULA class at the first race of the season: “I didn’t expect this at all. Particularly after having huge trouble at the qualifying with our setup”, he happily resumed. The BOSS GP newcomer was fine with the weather conditions: “I like driving during such weather. In the beginning of the race I held back, just wanted to finish the race without any trouble. That I made P1 finally in my very first race at BOSS GP – that’s really overwhelming and a great experience.”

Fiedler benefited from a penalty for Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport), who had led the field of the FORMULA class at practice sessions and qualifying. The 25 years old Austrian got an 10-second-time-penalty due to rule-violation, as well as Italian Salvatore de Plano (MM International Motorsport), who finished as fifth at the FORMULA class.

Podium of the FORMULA class of the first race in Hockenheim.

Podium of the FORMULA class of the first race in Hockenheim.

 

Highly ambitious for the second race on Sunday is Mahaveer Raghunatan, P3 of the FORMULA class: „I want to dedicate this podium to my grandfather, without whom I wouldn’t race here”, the 18 years old Indian says. “The potential of the race was higher than my result, if I wouldn’t have raced with Slicks but with rain tyres. But I am very happy with the podium. I will be much faster in the race on Sunday and want to win then”, the youngest driver of the grid was focusing on Sunday’s race directly after the podium ceremony.

Second race in Hockenheim is schedulded on Sunday (23/04/2017) at 2:15 p.m. Find all informations about BOSS GPs race in Hockenheim here: bossgp.com/race/hockenheim-historic-2017

 

UPDATE (23.04.2017 @ 13:50h)

Due to a rule breach by the team of Andreas Fiedler (Fiedler Racing), using a wrong tyre make in race 1, and after consultation with the Hockenheim race direction, the BOSS GP Championship board has decided to penalise Andreas Fiedler as follows:

  1. Full Championship points for P1 will be denied
  2. Start in race 2 from the last position on the grid

sg. Christian Gaense / BOSS GP Championship Coordinator

 

 

MORE:

Find the detailed result of Race 1 at Hockenheim here: Hockenheim 2017: Results of Race 1.

Find the report of the qualifying at Hockenheim here: Hockenheim 2017: Report of Qualifying.

See the report of second free practice at Hockenheim here: Hockenheim 2017: Report of second free practice.

See the report of first free practice at Hockenheim here: Hockenheim 2017: Report of first free practice.

Find all informations about “Hockenheim Historic” here www.hockenheim-historic.de and the website of Hockenheimring itself at www.hockenheimring.de.