Andreas Hasler takes the title in the BOSS GP SUPER LIGHTS. Wins for Gerstl (F1) and Schlegelmilch (OPEN) as well as a crucial victory for Simone Colombo in the FORMULA classification.
The Pirelli Cinturato rain tyres stayed in the garages this time. The ninth of twelve races of the season in Tuscany took place under partly cloudy skies and in the best climatic conditions. 20 minutes had to be completed as usual in Saturday’s race at the “Forza Fanatec” in Mugello. The group of Formula 1 cars was started in the proven manner with a gap to the other three classes.
BOSS GP F1 Class
Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) controlled the first race of the weekend from pole position. In the 2006 Toro Rosso STR 1 the 7-time BOSS GP champion set the pace, only Thomas Jackermeier (GER, Top Speed) was able to keep up at times on his F1 debut at the Mugello circuit. Jackermeier held his own against the fastest driver from the OPEN classification, Harald Schlegelmilch (LVA, HS Engineering), who hung on to the rear of the Toro Rosso STR 3 after an early restart. Jackermeier scored 22 points for second place, which now puts him equal with Ulf Ehninger in second place in the standings behind Gerstl.
BOSS GP OPEN Class
Harald Schlegelmilch brought the improved World Series car home first again and without any technical problems. His team, HS Engineering, celebrated the seventh victory of the season at the seventh event together with their pilot.
BOSS GP FORMULA Class
When it comes to the championship, Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) made a serious mistake on the first lap. The reigning champion spun off the track with cold tyres on lap 1 and had to retire from the race early. This left the way clear for Simone Colombo (ITA, MM International), who controlled the race at the front. However, the gap at the finish to the next driver was not even one second. Salvatore de Plano (ITA, MM International) made it onto the podium for the first time in his third start this year. With 1:37.701 De Plano also drove the fastest lap in his class. Francesco Malavasi (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) was no match for him. However, his 3rd place was his third top-3 result in a row. With three Italians at the front, the “Fratelli d’Italia” (Italian national anthem) was rightly played. Colombo heads into tomorrow’s race with a 58-point lead over Ghiotto. If he maintains a lead of 50 points, Colombo could be celebrated as Ghiotto’s successor on Sunday.
In midfield Marc Faggionato (MCO, Zig-Zag) fought his way through the pack as expected after his bad qualifying. Similar to Alexander Seibold (GER, Seibold Auto + Sport), he managed some impressive overtaking manoeuvres. After a suspension change, Seibold was able to move up to 5th place behind Faggionato by setting quick lap times. Paul O’Connell (IRE, HS Engineering) in the only World Series 3.5 V8 kept ahead of the two GP2 cars for a long time, in the end he finished 6th ahead of Walter Steding (GER, Scuderia Palladio) and Bruno Jarach (ITA, Eesti Motorsport). Unlucky was Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International), who started the race late with electronics problems and finished the race one lap down.
BOSS GP SUPER LIGHTS Class
While Harald Schlegelmilch had already secured the title in the OPEN class after the race weekend in Brno, it was now Andreas Hasler’s (AUT, Hasler Motorsport) turn in the SUPER LIGHTS. The former hillclimb racer won his class for the fourth time this year. Because Alexander Geier (AUT, Geier Racing) could not fix the gearbox problems from qualifying for the race either, Hasler’s most important opponent remained without points this time. This means that Hasler can no longer be ousted from the top spot before the last three races of the season. Second place in Mugello went to Walter Colacino (ITA, Colacino Motorsport) in the 1998 Formula 3000.
The tenth race of the season will take place tomorrow, Sunday, at 13:15 local time. Before that, there will be a ten-minute warm-up of the BOSS GP Racing Series at 10:00 am. Tickets are still available at the box office.
Photo: Angelo Poletto/BOSS GP
