Legendary Formula 1 cars, iconic cars from movie heritage and motorsport at its finest with the BOSS GP Racing Series attracted around 15,000 spectators to the Red Bull Ring in June.
Over 200 automotive jewels lined up at the start line on the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Alps. The highlight for many was once again the BOSS GP Racing Series races. 18 vehicles were entered and divided into four classes to allow a fair competition. During the pit walk, thousands of spectators crowded the pit lane to get up close to the BOSS GP cars and collect autographs from the drivers.
F1 and OPEN
Austrian Ingo Gerstl (Team Top Speed) gave everything he had at his home race to get his Toro Rosso STR1 running after all. Rare technical problems with the Formula 1 car made it impossible for him to take part in the first race on Saturday. The 2006 car then ran on Sunday and Gerstl scored full points in BOSS GP’s F1 Class. It was Gerstl’s first win of the season in the sixth race of the season.
Antonio Pizzonia (BRA, HS Engineering) started the race together with Gerstl from row 1 and the pair put on a powerful show at the front of the field. Pizzonia, who competes for the Austrian team HS Engineering with a 4-litre World Series, had secured overall victory on Saturday. At the end of the race, both thanked the spectators for coming with smoking “donuts”. They responded with a roaring round of applause from the stands.
After the next victory in the OPEN class for Antonio Pizzonia, everything looks set for a successful title defence for the ex-Formula 1 driver. Benetton driver Ulf Ehninger (GER, ESBA Racing) continues to lead the Formula 1 standings ahead of Ingo Gerstl.
FORMULA
Juju Noda (JPN, MM International) secured the first pole position of her still young BOSS GP career. However, the 18-year-old Japanese driver was penalised with a 30-second time penalty for an infringement during the start procedure in the first race. As a result, Noda, who also competes in the Japanese Super Formula, lost out on victory in Saturday’s race. Instead, team-mate Simone Colombo (ITA, MM International) celebrated 25 points and the winner’s trophy for the fourth time in a row. Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) followed behind after a good race. His team-mate Phil Stratford (USA) completed the podium on his race comeback in the BOSS GP Racing Series. Due to a late safety car period, the field remained close together, with Paul O’Connell (IRE, HS Engineering) in the World Series Dallara also finishing less than two seconds off the podium. Roland Rupprechter (AUT, R&B Research and Wealth Management) followed in a strong fifth place.
Satisfaction for Juju Noda in the second race: She initially lost the lead to Simone Colombo, who put in a strong opening lap. However, before this duel came to a head, defending champion Colombo retired with a mechanical failure on the start-finish straight. Noda then also survived the restart after the SC phase and retained the lead ahead of Marco Ghiotto. Ghiotto took over the lead of the standings with another trouble-free drive and his fifth podium finish in a row.
Meanwhile, Noda celebrated her first victory in the BOSS GP Racing Series loudly alongside her team. The young Japanese driver is also the first woman to win a class in the 30-year history of the series. Rookie Michael Fischer (AUT, Red Rose Racing by LRT) delivered another showcase of talent with third place, while O’Connell again narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth place. Alexander Seibold (GER, Seibold auto+sport) finished fifth after a collision had slowed him down on Saturday. Andreas Fiedler (GER, Fiedler Racing) finished sixth ahead of Marco Minelli (ITA, AM Sport System), who was on the grid for the first time this year.
SUPER LIGHTS
As in Hockenheim, BOSS GP rookie Stephan Glaser (SUI) scored the maximum number of points twice in Spielberg. The driver from Jo Zeller Racing extended his lead in the standings. It was particularly close in the second race, where Stefan Eisinger-Sewald (AUT, Red Rose Racing) in his Ralt F3000 approached Glaser’s World Series V6 at the end. Eisinger-Sewald crossed the finish line in second place in his class both times in his home races. Henry Clausnitzer (GER, WF Racing), who finished third twice, is currently tied with Eisinger-Sewald in second place in the overall standings.
The next race will take place at the beginning of August (2nd-4th) in the Netherlands: At Jack’s Racing Day, series from various motorsport disciplins will delight more than 50,000 spectators at the TT Circuit Assen. A show run in the centre of Assen will warm up the fans on Thursday evening (1st).
Photos: Angelo Poletto/BOSS GP