26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

Liverpool FC opened the scoring as this year’s ‘Superleague Formula by Sonangol’ roared into action with a four-hour pre-season test session at Magny-Cours in France. The former home of the French Grand Prix stages the opening rounds of the 2009 football-themed championship on Sunday and the competitors were given a chance to fine tune their upgraded V12 race cars today (Friday).
Earlier this evening thousands of fans packed the downtown pavements to watch a dramatic demonstration as three V12-engined Superleague Formula race cars roared up and down the Avenue General de Gaulle. To the obvious delight of the locals, one of the cars wowing the enthusiastic crowds was the new Olympique Lyonnais entry driven by Nelson Panciatici. The all French rookie team was joined by similar 750bhp race cars representing two of Europe’s other top football clubs: Liverpool FC and PSV Eindhoven driven by Adrian Valles and Dominique Muermans.

The street show was followed by a public autograph session in Place Carnot and then the Drivers’ Draw for qualifying groups at the Palais Ducal. The draw placed Olympique Lyonnais, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Al-Ain FC, Flamengo, Anderlecht, Atlético de Madrid, Tottenham Hotspurs, Liverpool FC, AS Roma in Group A for tomorrow’s first qualifying session; the remaining eight clubs (AC Milan, Galatasaray , PSV Eindhoven , Olympiacos, Basel , Corinthians, FC Porto, Glasgow Rangers, FC Midtjylland) into Group B. The fastest four cars from each group will qualify for the final shoot-out for the top eight starting positions on the grid for the opening race of this year’s Superleague Formula by Sanangol on Sunday morning

www.superleagueformula.com

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26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

Lufttemperatur: 21,9 °C
Streckentemperatur: 26,1 °C
Der Brite Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport, 0:55,367 Minuten) erobert seine erste Pole-Position in der Formel 3 Euro Serie. Auf dem abtrocknenden Norisring fuhr er im letzten Augenblick die beste Rundenzeit und verdrängte das ART Grand Prix-Trio Jules Bianchi (0:55,620 Minuten), Adrien Tambay (0:55,644 Minuten) und Esteban Gutierrez (0:55,712 Minuten) auf die Ränge zwei bis vier.
Das Qualifying begann im Regen. In der zweiten Hälfte des 30-minütigen Zeittrainings trocknete die nur 2,3 Kilometer lange Strecke um die Nürnberger Steintribüne aber mehr und mehr ab. Die besten Rundenzeiten wurden folglich in der Schlussphase gefahren. Bis zum letzten Augenblick wechselten die Namen an der Spitze, ehe Alexander Sims sie schließlich nicht mehr abgab. Nach Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix, 0:56,268 Minuten), der am EuroSpeedway die Qualifying-Bestzeit holte, ist Sims in diesem Jahr bereits der zweite Rookie, dem die schnellste Rundenzeit im Qualifying gelang.
Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport): „Ich freue mich über meine erste Pole-Position in der Formel 3 Euro Serie und meine zweite Pole in meiner gesamten Karriere. Allerdings ist mir der Punkt, den man für die Qualifying-Bestzeit erhält, fast wichtiger, denn es ist mein erster Zähler in diesem Jahr. Ich hoffe, diese Pole-Position ist der Beginn einer ab jetzt erfolgreichen Saison, nachdem es bisher noch nicht so toll lief.“
Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix): „Ich bin zufrieden, auch wenn es nicht die Pole-Position ist. Meine Rivalen um den Titel stehen hinter mir und das ist gut so. In meiner schnellsten Runde musste ich Pedro Henrique überholen, was sicher etwas Zeit gekostet hat. Aber ich muss auch zugeben, dass Alexander Sims eine tolle Rundenzeit gefahren ist und hier sehr schnell ist.“
Adrien Tambay (ART Grand Prix): „Es war mein erstes richtig gutes Qualifying in der Formel 3 Euro Serie und es ist ein gutes Gefühl, so weit vorne zu stehen. Es wäre sogar noch mehr möglich gewesen, aber die letzten beiden Runden habe ich wegen des vielen Verkehrs nicht optimal getroffen. Im Rennen morgen möchte ich so viele Punkte wie möglich mitnehmen.“

www.f3euroseries.com

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26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

German racer leads from Andy Soucek and Robert Wickens

Tobias Hegewald has continued his superb run of form today at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, by taking a stunning maiden pole for tomorrow’s first F2 race.
The German, who has topped every session so far in Spa, set his best time of 2:08.890s shortly after a red flag period to recover Sebastian Hohenthal’s stricken car from the top of Eau Rouge.

Spaniard Andy Soucek, who has an excellent record at Spa, was second, with Canadian Robert Wickens in third - both drivers also setting their time in the final half of the session.

Julien Jousse held provisional pole prior to the red flag, but the Frenchman failed to improve in the latter stages and had to settle for fourth. Kazim Vasiliauskas took fifth, with Henry Surtees sealing an impressive day by securing sixth on the grid.

Milos Pavlovic and Alex Brundle rounded out the top eight ahead of Jolyon Palmer, who enjoyed his best qualifying performance of the season in ninth, with Philipp Eng completing the top ten.

Mikhail Aleshin didn’t take part in the session following damage sustained in an earlier free practice crash.

Tobias Hegewald said: "I’m really happy with today. I tried my best to do a good lap and I didn’t make any mistakes, so it has been a good day for me. After the red flag I was worried that I had wasted my new tyres, and I tried to save them as best as I could on the way back to the pits. After the red though I think the track was in perfect condition. It’s my favoruite circuit and I love driving here, so I’m really happy to be starting from pole tomorrow - hopefully I can finish where I start!"

Andy Soucek said: "After free practice I was a bit disappointed - it’s the first time I’ve been to Spa and not been in the top five. We made a few changes for qualifying and the new rubber made a massive difference which we hadn’t expected, so that was a nice surprise. I have a good position for tomorrow, and with Bortolotti and Aleshin down the order there is a chance to score some valuable points. It’s all about leaving Spa with at least a top three so I can go into the next round with good points in my pocket."

Robert Wickens said: "After the weekend I had in Brno I’m just glad to be back in a press conference! I got caught out a little by the red flag, and then my next lap had the potential to be better until I caught traffic, so I’m a little disappointed. However a top three is still good for the race tomorrow, and I’ll be treating the race as if it were my last - points are so critical, and in the end it could be one point that decides the champion. I’m hoping to pounce on this opportunity to score, especially as some of my championship opponents are starting down the grid."

FIA Formula Two Championship, Spa-Francorchamps, Qualifying One results:

1. Tobias Hegewald, 2:08.890s
2. Andy Soucek, +0.091s
3. Robert Wickens, +0.375s
4. Julien Jousse, +0.559s
5. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +0.923s
6. Henry Surtees, +1.435s
7. Milos Pavlovic, +1.529s
8. Alex Brundle, +1.597s
9. Jolyon Palmer, +1.631s
10.  Philipp Eng, +1.854s                                    www.formulatwo.com

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26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

Die 7. Rallye Triest-Wien nähert sich mit Riesenschritten - in 2 Monaten ist es soweit, knapp 100 Fahrzeuge setzen sich von Opatija aus in zwei Klassen in Bewegung Richtung Wien.

Eine Veranstaltung in dieser Größenordnung ist ohne die Unterstützung von Sponsoren nicht möglich. An dieser Stelle wollen wir sie kurz vorstellen.
An vorderster Stelle steht ein treuer Unterstützer seit vielen Jahren - Horst Linn, Inhaber der erfolgreichen Firma Linn High Therm, die sich auf Hochtemperaturöfen für Labor, Werkstatt, Forschung und Industrie spezialisiert. Horst Linn ist selbst begeisterter Rennfahrer und hat auch als Teilnehmer der Race Class beachtliche Erfolge feiern können.
Heuer neu an Bord ist die Allianz, die ab sofort in Kooperation mit Oldie Car Cover Oldtimer-Versicherungen in Österreich anbietet. Als eines der größten Versicherungsunternehmen promotet die Allianz ihre neue Kooperation über die Rallye Triest-Wien - Details folgen demnächst.
Triest-Wien >>

Schöne Strecken und anspruchsvolles Fahren
Wir freuen uns über unseren neuen Sponsor Jochen70, der mit hochexklusiven Taschen, die speziell auf die Bedürfnisse von Oldtimer-Fahrern zugeschnitten sind, reüssiert. Die Kollektion, die vom weltbekannten Designstudio Lucy D entworfen wurde, wird auch auf der Triest-Wien zu sehen sein.
Vitallo spezialisiert sich auf hochwertige Schuhe und hat unter anderem spezielle Rennfahrerschuhe im Programm. Zwei Paar davon gibt es bei Sonderprüfungen auch zu gewinnen!

Walter Röhrl nimmt an der 7. Classic Rallye Triest-Wien teil
Medienpartner sind dieses Jahr Powerslide und meinklassiker.com. Powerslide ist ein quartalsmässig erscheinendes Magazin rund um den Oldtimer-Rennsport, mit brillianten Fotos und tollen Inhalten. Meinklassiker.com ist ein Portal, das auf die Informationsbedürfnisse von Oldtimer-Besitzern zugeschnitten ist - News, Veranstaltungs- und Werkstattsverzeichnisse sind nur einige der Funktionen.
An dieser Stelle wollen wir unseren Sponsoren für ihre Unterstützung danken - Sie machen es möglich, dass die Teilnehmer von Opatija bis Wien wunderschöne Strecken, harten Rennsport und ausgelassene Abend-Events erleben können!

Wir sehen einander bei der 7. Triest-Wien vom 27. - 29. August 2009!
Mit freundlichen Grüssen
Ihr Veranstaltungsteam der Classic Rallye Triest-Wien

Tel. +43 1 236 62 58
Fax +43 1 236 62 58 - 9
info@wientriest.at

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26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

Liverpool FC opened the scoring as this year’s ‘Superleague Formula by Sonangol’ roared into action with a four-hour pre-season test session at Magny-Cours in France. The former home of the French Grand Prix stages the opening rounds of the 2009 football-themed championship on Sunday and the competitors were given a chance to fine tune their upgraded V12 race cars today (Friday).
The pace was set by two of last year’s front-runners with Adrian Valles powering the Liverpool FC entry to the top of the time sheets, the Spaniard lapping fractionally faster than local French hero Tristan Gommendy in the FC Porto car. Causing an early upset, Kasper Anderson was third quickest for FC Midtjylland, the ambitious Danish club is new to the series.
A total of 15 cars took the track today among them several late driver signings including Ho-Pin Tung representing Athletico Madrid and Duncan Tappy in the Galatasaray entry. Several drivers tipped for the top in 2009 including ex-F1 stars Giorgio Pantano (AC Milan) and Enrique Bernoldi (Clube de Regatas do Flamengo) only completed a handful of shakedown laps and therefore did not set competitive times.

Superleague Formula by Sonangol – Friday test session:
1- Adrian Valles, Liverpool FC - 1m 27.758s
2- Tristan Gommendy, FC Porto - +0.237s
3- Kasper Anderson, FC Midtjylland - +0.287s
4- John Martin, Glasgow Rangers - +0.376s
5- Antonio Pizzonia, FC Corinthians PTA - +0.381s
6- Craig Dolby, Tottenham Hotspur - +0.669s
7- Ho-Pin Tung, Athletico Madrid - +1.707s
8- Pedro Petiz, Sporting Clube de Portugal - +2.352s
9- Miguel Molina, Al-Ain FC - +2.527s
10- Max Wissel, FC Basel - +2.572s
11- Enrique Bernoldi, Flamengo - +3.568
12- Dominique Muermans, PSV - +3.909
13- Giorgio Pantani, AC Milan - +4.045
14- Duncan Tappy, Galatasaray SK - +5.003
15- Davide Rigon, Olympiacos - No time

www.superleagueformula.com

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26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

German driver tops both free practice sessions

Tobias Hegewald topped both free practice sessions at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, today (Friday) to take early control of FIA Formula Two Championship weekend at the legendary venue.

Hegewald led the way in the first practice session after setting a time of 2:10.110s, with a comfortable margin over Mikhail Aleshin and Alex Brundle. In the second session Aleshin damaged his car after making contact with the barriers, whilst Brundle improved to set the second fastest time ahead of Julien Jousse.

Experienced Spaniard Andy Soucek, who has taken podiums at Spa-Francorchamps in GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5, was fourth in both sessions. Behind him there were strong showings from the likes of Milos Pavlovic, Henry Surtees and Philipp Eng, whilst Robert Wickens guided his car to eighth in each session.

Championship leader Mirko Bortolotti could only manage 15^th in the opening session, but improved to tenth as practice drew to a close. On his birthday Carlos Iaconelli claimed fifth spot in opening practice, but fell to 18^th in the second session.

Tobias Hegewald said: "I am happy with the way things have been going so far today, and I just hope I can do the same in qualifying. I have driven here many times and I have a good feeling with the car and the circuit. I am sure it will be very close and I will have to fight hard in qualifying, but I am looking forward to it. This is my favourite circuit, so I am hoping for some good times this weekend.”

Alex Brundle said: "I am obviously happy to show my pace. There is still a lot of work to do for qualifying, but I am happy with the set-up and with this being such a long lap, there is always more time you can gain as a driver. I will see what I can do but I will just keep driving the car the way I am - everything seems to be working and I hope to take some points away from the weekend."

Julien Jousse: "We have worked really hard on set-up as you have to find the right compromise with the fast straights and corners here. We have worked hard and I have learnt a lot, so I am feeling quite good for qualifying. To be towards the top always feels good, but conditions will change and it will be a lot cooler late this afternoon so we will just have to see what happens."

Drivers will return to the circuit at 16:50 later today for the opening qualifying session of the weekend, with rain having just begun to fall in the Ardennes forest.

www.formulatwo.com

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26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

The 13^th and 14^th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next week on Porto’s Circuito da Boavista.
This is the second visit the championship pays to this racetrack that winds along the streets of the Portuguese city and was revived in 2005, half-a-century since it hosted the Portuguese Formula 1 Grand Prix.
In 2007 - on WTCC’s first visit - Chevrolet and BMW shared the glory. In the first race Alain Menu led home a trio of Chevrolet Lacetti cars, followed by team mates Robert Huff and Nicola Larini. The second race saw a BMW double, with Andy Priaulx emerging as the winner ahead of Jörg Müller.
Next week the WTCC competitors will benefit from a 30 minute test session on Friday to re-discover the track; the only major change to the layout that was used two years ago concerns the infamous paddock chicane, which has been completely redrawn.

Two years later, the WTCC goes back to Porto’s Circuito da Boavista

JAMES THOMPSON JOINS LADA SPORT
Touring car ace James Thompson returns to the FIA WTCC joining the LADA Sport team.
Yesterday at Zolder, the 35-year old Englishman had his first test in the brand new LADA Priora he will drive in Porto next week. Thompson will replace team principal and driver Viktor Shapovalov in four of the remaining six events: Porto, Brands Hatch, Okayama and Macau, missing Oschersleben and Imola due to previous commitments. His team-mates Jaap van Lagen and Kirill Ladygin will also switch from the current LADA 110 to the new Priora from the meeting in Oschersleben on September 6^th.
Thompson boasts an outstanding WTCC record, having raced for Alfa Romeo, SEAT and Honda claiming 4 victories and 12 other podium results; in 2007 he classified third in the drivers’ championship. He has started the current season competing in the Danish and the British Touring Car Championships, achieving four wins so far.
"I’m very excited to be back in the WTCC and I feel very privileged that LADA has asked me to be the first person to race their new car," said Thompson. "It’s a great challenge to be involved in a new project like this from the beginning and I am looking forward to it very much."

James Thompson tested the new LADA Priora in Zolder

WTCC TO RACE AT ZOLDER IN 2010
On Wednesday in Paris the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved the calendar for the 2010 World Touring Car Championship.
The series will visit two new venues: Zolder and Algarve. The former that hosted one meeting of the FIA European Touring Car Championship back in 2001, replaces the French round of Pau and will mark WTCC’s return to Belgium after its only visit (at Spa in 2005). As for the new Portuguese racetrack, it will receive the championship for the first time, stepping in for Porto.
Other changes compared to the current season are the dates swapped between Italy and Spain (the name of the Italian venue that will host the first European event will be communicated soon) and the postponement of the Czech event to August 1^st.

YOKOHAMA CONFIRMED UNTIL 2012
Following an invitation to tender, the FIA World Motor Sport Council appointed the Yokohama Rubber Company to supply the control tyre for the next three seasons of the FIA World Touring Car Championship: 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The Japan-based manufacturer has been WTCC official tyre supplier since the 2006 season.

SEAT AND CHEVROLET ARE LIGHTER IN PORTO
The SEAT León Tdi and Chevrolet Cruze LT cars will benefit from a reduction of the compensation weight for the next event of the season in Porto.
According to the calculation that took into account the lap times set in the three previous events (Pau, Valencia and Brno) BMW remains the fastest model and will receive once again the maximum 40kg ballast. At the same time SEAT’s turbodiesel machines will run on the minimum weight fixed by the sporting regulations (1170 kg), while Chevrolet will be a further 10 kilos lighter, just like Alessandro Zanardi’s BMW 320si (the only one equipped with a sequential gearbox).
Both the SEAT León TFSI and the LADA 110 cars will have 20kg deducted from the minimum weight, while the newly homologated LADA Priora will be laden with the maximum ballast for its first two events in the championship.

Compensation weights Porto
+ 40 kg BMW 320si, LADA Priora
± 0 kg SEAT León TDI
- 10 kg BMW 320si Zanardi , Chevrolet Cruze LT
- 20 kg LADA 110, SEAT León TFSI

FASTEST CARS IN THE PREVIOUS EVENTS
Lap time calculation as per art. 79 Sporting Regulations
Curitiba: 1^st SEAT León Tdi; 2^nd BMW 320si (+ 0.252); 3^rd: Chevrolet Cruze LT (+ 0.337)Puebla: 1^st BMW 320si; 2^nd SEAT León Tdi (+ 0.419); 3^rd: BMW 320si GBS (+ 1.497)
Marrakech: 1^st Chevrolet Cruze LT; 2^nd SEAT León Tdi (+ 0.191); 3^rd: BMW 320si (+ 0.831)
Pau: 1^st BMW 320si; 2^nd Chevrolet Cruze LT (+ 0.579); 3^rd: SEAT León Tfsi (+ 1.002)
Valencia: 1^st SEAT León Tdi; 2^nd BMW 320si (+ 0.294); 3^rd: Chevrolet Cruze LT (+ 0.965)
Brno: 1^st BMW 320si; 2^nd BMW 320si Zanardi (+ 0.393); 3^rd: SEAT León Tdi (+ 0.809)

PUYO IS THE SEAT CUP WINNER FOR PORTO
Diego Puyo has won participation in the next World Touring Car Championship races at Porto by winning the SEAT León Eurocup’s second event last Sunday at Brno.
On the Czech racetrack the 25 year-old Spaniard completed the first race in fifth position and won the second one, climbing on top of the standings.
Thanks to these results, Puyo will take the wheel of SUNRED Engineering’s third SEAT León at Porto, succeeding Tim Coronel who successfully drove it at Brno.

ARTISTIC LIVERY FOR MENU’S CHEVROLET
Chevrolet chose the Portuguese event to sport - on Alain Menu’s Cruze car - the special livery winner of this year’s ‘Young? Creative? Chevrolet!’ pan-European contest.
Like in 2008, the brief in the visual arts discipline of Chevrolet’s competition for art school students was the design of a unique livery to be sported one-off by one of the WTCC cars.
The winning project comes from Belgium and was conceived by Britt Raes, from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent.

www.fiawtcc.com

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26.6.2009 von Wolfgang.

Miguel Ferrer, Circuito Renn Arena (Llucmajor, Illes Balears)._Tras conseguir un buen resultado en el curso académico que acaba de finalizar, Juan Carlos Resoagli, Miguel Socías y Anna-Maria James-Wyatt han sido tenido una recompensa, un cursillo privado de karting de dos días de duración.

Los instructores de este miniprograma tienen mucha experiencia acumulada a sus espaldas. El australiano John Smith Darrell actualmente es piloto probador de la casa Rotax, él es el encargado de poner en funcionamiento las nuevas modificaciones de la marca y de su evolución. Lleva casi cuarenta años en el karting y atesora varios campeonatos europeos de karting y varias victorias en el antiguo campeonato de Fórmula A, con varios triunfos destacando el GP de Suzuka en Japón.

Por otra parte James Geidel afincado en Suiza es el director del equipo Mira Motorsport, desde pequeño ha estado vinculado al karting, ha sido piloto, mecánico de competición y actualmente ocupa la función de manager dentro del equipo.

En la jornada del miércoles los dos “profesores” conocieron a sus tres alumnos y se interesaron por sus monturas. Lo primero que les enseñaron fue un poco de mantenimiento de su kart, mirar presiones antes y después de las tandas de entrenos, engrasar la cadena etc.. y la importancia de estos pequeños ajustes que puede hacer todo piloto. Tal vez esa fue la parte más aburrida para los jóvenes pilotos. (Muy agradecida por los mecánicos, que tuvieron sus momentos de relax)

Tanto James como John pasaron rápidamente a la acción y durante toda la jornada del jueves estuvieron en la pista enseñándoles diferentes técnicas sobre adelantamientos, salidas lanzadas, buscar huecos, como cerrar a tus rivales etc.. Las tandas se iban acumulando y los tres pilotos mantenían intactas sus cualidades y su atención en los diferentes ejercicios que iban haciendo.

Justo antes de comer pilotos y profesores se tomaron un pequeño descanso y después de nuevo al trabajo, las lecciones eran interesantes y más aun los ejercicios por lo que la atención de los alumn@s fue mayúscula. En la tarde del jueves pudimos ver una buena progresión en su nivel de pilotaje, no obstante su prueba de fuego será este domingo en el Circuito de los Ángeles en Jumilla donde tendrán que poner en práctica lo aprendido y demostrar sus buenas manos.

Los comentarios de los dos alevines fueron:

Miguel Socías: “Me lo he pasado muy bien, estoy algo cansado, pero ha valido la pena. He aprendido muchas cosas, entre ellas a mirar la presión de las gomas y a engrasar la cadena. Este fin de semana tendré la oportunidad de desarrollar estos conocimientos en carrera.”

Juan Carlos Resoagli: “Ha sido fantástico, hemos estado todo el día compitiendo Miguel y yo siempre bajo la atenta mirada de John y James que nos han estado corrigiendo nuestros fallos, lo mejor han sido las últimas tandas compitiendo nosotros dos contra John.”

Créditos fotos: Wolfgang Lindner

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