Archiv für den Tag: 5.9.2009

El Equipo Mallorca New Limit afronta un mes frenético

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Mallorca New Limit es una escudería que se creó en el año 2004 con el objetivo de competir en la especialidad de Velocidad de Motociclismo, con unos métodos de trabajo, una estructura y una organización profesionales, que nos han permitido ser, tras cinco años de dedicación y esfuerzo, una de las más fuertes y serias de las Islas Baleares, obteniendo unos resultados deportivos óptimos.

La dirección de Mallorca New Limit corre a cargo de Luis Borrás, que a pesar de su juventud ha conseguido formar a su alrededor un gran equipo. Además de dirigir la parte deportiva, también es un reconocido técnico, que le permite hacer él mismo la preparación de los motores y de la parte ciclo de las motos con las que compiten sus pilotos. Completan el equipo César Bisbal, jefe de mecánicos y Lluís Llinás, mecánico, sin olvidarnos de Marina, que es la encargada de la logística y de la administración de la escudería.

Mallorca New Limit tiene un plantel de jóvenes pilotos, que participan en diferentes campeonatos, autonómicos y nacionales, como son el Campeonato de Baleares de Velocidad, el Campeonato Mediterráneo de Velocidad, la Kawasaki Junior Cup, además de alguna incursión en el Campeonato de España de Velocidad (CEV).

Angel Poyatos. Es un joven de 14 años con un futuro prometedor. Es el piloto más veterano en la escudería. Participa en pruebas de motor desde los 6 años, en las categorías de motocross, minimotos y velocidad. Becado por tres veces en la Copa Bancaja, ha obtenido importantes resultados, incluyendo varios sub-campeonatos de Baleares. Actualmente participa en la Kawasaki Junior Cup (en el que ocupa la segunda posición) y en la categoría de Open 125GP en el Regional de Baleares.

Alfonso Ho. Es el piloto con más edad, 17 años, aunque esta es su primera temporada en nuestro equipo. Empezó a montar en moto a los 9 años, aunque no participó en su primera competición hasta hace dos años, en la categoría de 80cc. En 2007 obtuvo el Campeonato de Baleares de Minimotos y de Supermotard. En 2008 participó en la categoría de 125 Pre-GP obteniendo también el título de Campeón de Baleares. Este año también participó en varias carreras del Mediterráneo de Velocidad, con resultados discretos. Esta temporada participa en la categoría del Campeonato de Baleares Open Élite, donde actualmente ocupa la segunda posición. En el Mediterráneo de Velocidad ha obtenido muy buenos resultados, destacando una quinta y una segunda posición. Con una carrera menos, ya que no participó en la primera cita, está situado en la quinta plaza provisional.

Miquel Pons

Con 12 años recién cumplidos, es el piloto más joven, aunque muy veterano, ya que lleva compitiendo desde los siete años. Es el que tiene un palmares más abultado, con cuatro campeonatos y tres su-campeonatos de Baleares en las especialidades de Motocross y Supermotard. Este año participa con una 80cc en la categoría Promo Base del Regional.

Durante los meses de Verano, la escudería Mallorca New Limit no ha parado de trabajar, con entrenos periódicos en el Circuito RennArena de Llucmajor, y con una preparación exhaustiva de sus motos, ya que se tienen que enfrentar a un final de temporada con muchos compromisos, las próximas cuatro carreras, una cada semana.

La primera de ellas es la sexta prueba del Campeonato de Baleares de Velocidad que se celebrará el próximo 13 de septiembre. El 20 de Septiembre el equipo se traslada a Albacete, donde Angel Poyatos y Alfonso Ho participarán en la Kawasaki Junior Cup y en 600 Series. Y por si fuera poco, una semana más tarde (27 de septiembre), de vuelta al Circuito de Albacete, donde Alfonso probará fortuna en la categoría de Supersport en el CEV. El 4 de octubre la escudería vuelve a participar en pleno en la séptima prueba de la temporada del Regional de Velocidad.

En próximas notas de prensa os iremos informando de nuestros resultados.

Un saludo,

Luis Borrás                                                         Koldo Zuazaga – Ferbis Press

Pizzonia upholds Brazilian honour as Corinthians take Estoril pole

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Antonio Pizzonia flew the flag for Brazil at round 4 of Superleague Formula by Sonangol by taking pole position for Corinthians for Sunday’s Race 1 at Estoril.
On a weekend in which the world of football has turned its attention to International fixtures, Pizzonia might also allow himself a wry smile after defeating Argentinean driver Esteban Guerrieri in the Pole Shootout, just a few hours ahead of the crucial Argentina v Brazil World Cup Qualifier this evening.
The Pole Shootout proved to be the most exciting head-to-head battle of the knockout stages as less than 0.2 seconds separated Pizzonia and Guerrieri, who was driving for Greek club Olympiacos for the first time following a summer transfer switch from Sevilla.

The experienced Pizzonia, who defeated the in-form Max Wissel (FC Basel) and John Martin (Glasgow Rangers) in the Semi and Quarter finals respectively, was one tenth up in the first sector of the 4.182km circuit before Guerrieri pegged him back in sector 2, as just two one hundredths separated the pair. A final push around the last few corners saw the Brazilian eke out his advantage once more to grab a third pole position in four rounds.
Championship leaders Liverpool will line-up third on the grid as Adrian Valles enjoyed another strong qualifying session. After cruising through the group stages, the Spaniard defeated Anderlecht, for whom Yelmer Buurman has been fast all weekend, in the Quarter Finals but couldn’t quite match Guerrieri’s pace in the Semis.
Wissel, the star of the last round at Donington Park, completes the top four for FC Basel, who currently sit second in the Superleague by Sonangol League Table. The German youngster impressed again and will line up alongside his main championship rival Valles on the second row.
Beaten Quarter Finalists Glasgow Rangers and Anderlecht will form row three, while AS Roma and FC Porto are in seventh and eighth on row four. The Italian and Portuguese clubs have both made moves in the transfer market over the summer and their new signings, Franck Perera and Alvaro Parente showed genuine pace on their series returns. Roma’s Perera made it through to the knockout phase from a very difficult Group B to make the Quarter Finals after also showing strong pace in practice, while Porto’s Parente was fastest of all 18 drivers in the group stages before being knocked out by Wissel in the Quarters.
Earlier two teams’ championship hopes took a hit after a couple of high profile eliminations in the group stages.
Tottenham Hotspur, who lay third in the Superleague Formula by Sonangol League Table coming into this race, went out in a highly-competitive Group B as Briton Craig Dolby missed the cut off by just four tenths of a second. Fellow title protagonists AC Milan, who sit fourth in the standings, also failed to make it to the knockout stages, Italian driver Giorgio Pantano finishing two tenths outside the top four.
Series debutant Sebastien Bourdais, driving for Sevilla FC, was also knocked out in Group B where eight of the nine cars were separated by just 0.7 seconds. A brief off-track excursion while pushing hard on his final flying lap cost him the chance of progressing to the Quarter Finals.
Pantano will now start Sunday’s first race from ninth on the grid, with Dolby in 13th and Bourdais 15th.
Group A proved to be the slower of the two qualifying groups and saw the elimination of home favourites Sporting Lisbon. Atletico Madrid, who this weekend become the first club in the series’ history to field a female driver, also went out as Spaniard Maria de Villota suffered a small spin early in the session and was unable to recover in time to break into the top four.
Qualifying Quotes
Corinthians: Antonio Pizzonia (BRA)
“I knew it was going to be very close. We had a difficult morning (in practice) but we managed to improve the car a bit and I’m delighted to have a third pole position from four races. Even before qualifying Esteban and I had been making bets about tonight’s World Cup Qualifying game! Matches between Brazil and Argentina are always interesting but I don’t care about the score as long as we win!”
Olympiacos: Esteban Guerreri (ARG)
“I was quite confident joining Olympiacos because the team has performed consistently well so far this season. We have worked well together and improved throughout the weekend and that has resulted in us making the final. It was quite close for the pole but now we’ll prepare for the race tomorrow.”
Liverpool: Adrian Valles (ESP)
“We’ll go for the victory tomorrow rather than just try to be safe and score points for the championship. If you just try to settle for points bad things can sometimes happen. Antonio and Esteban were really fast today but I think third on the grid for the race is pretty good because we have seen guys win from much further back than there in the past.”
FC Basel: Max Wissel (GER)
“I made a big mistake in the Semi Final against Antonio but otherwise we have really strong pace here and I think we can challenge for the victory tomorrow. I want to win as we need points for the championship race.”

www.superleagueformula.com

Tarquini wins pole at Oschersleben

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ROUNDS 17 & 18 – OSCHERSLEBEN
QUALIFYING REPORT

TARQUINI BEATS COLAK IN CRAZY QUALIFYING
Gabriele Tarquini took pole by almost two seconds in the most unpredictable qualifying session in WTCC history. Independent driver Marin Colak from Croatia will line up second followed by Rickard Rydell. Jaap van Lagen qualified fourth giving LADA Sport their best result so far.
The weather played havoc with the field and as the track dried in the dying seconds of Q2 it was still all to play for.

Q1 – Mother nature played a large part in determining the grid for tomorrow. As the green flag signalled the start of Q1 rain began to fall. It then became a battle against time to clock a competitive lap before all grip was lost. With rain falling heavily the track soon turned into a skid-pan and the entire field returned to the pits with 11 minutes left on the clock.
Some key players in the championship fight lost out in the conditions including Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx, despite venturing back out to try their luck when it was too late.
Just as a few of the well known members of the WTCC missed out, there were a couple of surprise names that did make the cut. Marin Colak and Jaap van Lagen landed into their first ever Q2.

Q2 – With the track drying the name at the top of the timesheet was different every few seconds. With the exception of the three BMWs (Müller, Farfus and Zanardi) all the drivers‘ best times came from their last laps. Tarquini’s was best of all (1:39.866) followed by Colak (1:41.692), Rydell (1:42.192) and van Lagen from LADA Sport (1:42.307). A duo of Chevrolets followed in the form of Larini and Huff, while Coronel took seventh place. Müller, Farfus and Zanardi completed the top ten in that order.

www.fiawtcc.com

Mika Mäki gewinnt in Brands Hatch – Bianchi ausgefallen

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f3es_2009-09-05-030

Mika Mäki (Signature) konnte auf dem 1,929 Kilometer langen Indy-Circuit von Brands Hatch sein erstes Rennen der Formel 3 Euro Serie in der Saison 2009 gewinnen. Am Steuer eines von Signature eingesetzten Dallara-Volkswagen überquerte er 0,549 Sekunden vor Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix) die Ziellinie. Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport) wurde als Dritter hinter dem besten Rookie Bottas abgewinkt. Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix), der in der Gesamtwertung in Führung liegt, schied nach einer Kollision mit Tiago Geronimi (Signature) aus. Sein Vorsprung auf den zweitplatzierten Christian Vietoris beträgt noch immer 19 Zähler.
Bianchi und Geronimi kollidierten, als der ART-Pilot den Brasilianer angriff. Sie schlugen heftig in die Streckenbegrenzung von Paddock Hill Bend und sorgten für eine Unterbrechung des Rennens. Beide Piloten blieben unverletzt. Aufgrund des unmittelbar im Anschluss an die Formel 3 Euro Serie folgenden DTM-Qualifyings wurde die Wiederaufnahme des Rennens auf 16:10 Uhr festgelegt. Den Restart hinter dem Safety-Car gewann Mika Mäki, der zum Zeitpunkt der Unterbrechung geführt hatte. Er fuhr einen sicheren Sieg nach Hause.
Mika Mäki (Signature): „Mein erster Sieg des Jahres fühlt sich gut an, nur leider kommt er etwas zu spät. Zu Beginn der Saison fehlten uns der Speed und teilweise auch das Glück. Der Schlüssel zum Triumph hier in Brands Hatch war der Start, als ich Pole-Sitter Valtteri Bottas überholen konnte.“
Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix): „Wenn man von der Pole-Position startet, will man natürlich auch gewinnen. Ich bin nun schon zum fünften Mal Zweiter und will endlich mal ein Rennen gewinnen. Mika machte in diesem Rennen keinen Fehler und fuhr wirklich gut. Deshalb hatte ich keine Chance, ihn zu überholen.“
Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport): „Nach dem Nürburgring-Rennen, als mein britischer Teamkollege Alexander Sims mir den möglichen Heimsieg weggenommen hatte, wollte ich ihn hier in seinem Heimatland unbedingt schlagen. Das ist mir gelungen. Außerdem konnte ich den Rückstand auf Jules in der Gesamtwertung reduzieren. Vielleicht kann ich morgen noch ein paar Punkte holen, so dass ich noch näher an ihn herankomme.“

www.f3euroseries.com

Andy Soucek takes dominant win at Oschersleben

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FIA Formula Two Championship

Spaniard seals fourth victory of season

Andy Soucek scored a dominant victory in the opening race at Oschersleben today (Saturday), converting pole position into his fourth win of 2009.

The Spaniard made a clean getaway from the line to lead the pack into the first corner, but behind him several drivers were caught out as Tobias Hegewald made contact with Robert Wickens, tipping him into a spin.

Wickens had initially got the jump on Mirko Bortolotti, but the Italian responded by sneaking back through on the inside. Hegewald tried to follow suit, but he made his move too late and clipped the Canadian’s Red Bull-backed car. A multi-car accident followed as several drivers tried to take avoiding action – the incident left Hegewald, Julien Jousse, Jens Höing, Miloš Pavlović and Philipp Eng out of the race, whilst Robert Wickens, Jolyon Palmer and Jason Moore had to rejoin towards the rear of the field. Mikhail Aleshin was also lucky to continue after briefly becoming airborne.

The incident led to a safety car period, but Soucek maintained his lead from the restart and never looked back as he took victory by just over six seconds. Mirko Bortolotti, who had started alongside Soucek in second, also maintained position to score his fourth podium of the season.

Kazim Vasiliauskas picked his way the opening lap mayhem to take third from sixth on the grid, and the Lithuanian kept a consistent pace to take the final podium spot at the finish.

Carlos Iaconelli, Mikhail Aleshin and Nicola De Marco were covered by less than 1.5s in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. All three had battled their way past Jack Clarke during the contest, whilst De Marco moved up several places. The young Italian’s race included impressive moves on both Natacha Gachnang and Armaan Ebrahim.

Starting from 15th on the grid, Clarke took a fantastic seventh place after picking his way through the early melee. Wickens rounded out the points-paying positions with a storming recovery drive – the 20-year-old made aggressive moves past Natacha Gachnang and Armaan Ebrahim.

Ebrahim took ninth, ahead of a gutsy drive from debutant Ollie Hancock. The Briton saw off the attentions of both Gachnang and Edoardo Piscopo, before his race ended following a spin coming out of turn two on the penultimate lap. Fortunately the race was red flagged and Hancock was able to keep his tenth place finish as the results were counted back to the previous lap.

Andy Soucek said: "It always looks easy but it never is. I got a very good start, quite similar to the one I got at Donington. Through the race I was just focussing on not making any mistakes, but I was really pushing hard – I got the fastest lap by far, so I’m going to sleep well tonight. I think now I can try and go for the win again tomorrow!"

Mirko Bortolotti said: "I have to be happy with second. Of course I would like to be quicker and be able to fight for victory, but the positions are good at the moment. My target for the next race is to go like this, try to pick up points, and if possible go for the podium or even the win."

Kazim Vasiliauskas said: "I’m improving every weekend. The gap between myself and the leaders is getting smaller – I’m getting consistent and not making so many mistakes like in the beginning of the season, and I’m happy to be on the podium."

Race one – Oschersleben – Provisional Classification:

1. Andy Soucek, 25 laps
2. Mirko Bortolotti, +6.653s
3. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +11.169s
4. Carlos Iaconelli, +17.794s
5. Mikhail Aleshin, +18.747s
6. Nicola De Marco, +19.217s
7. Jack Clarke, +28.770s
8. Robert Wickens, +29.351s
9. Armaan Ebrahim, +34.990s
10. Ollie Hancock, +37.254s                                 www.formulatwo.com

Pole beim Heimspiel – Di Resta mit Bestzeit im Qualifying

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Fawkham. Die Serie ist gebrochen. Nach sechs Pole-Positions für Audi in der DTM-Saison 2009 fuhr mit dem Schotten Paul Di Resta erstmals ein Mercedes-Benz-Pilot in 2009 die schnellste Zeit im Qualifying. Der 23-Jährige benötigte für den 1,929 Kilometer langen Kurs im britischen Brands Hatch in der finalen Session des Shoot-out-Qualifyings 41,750 Sekunden. „Heute die Pole-Position zu holen, ist etwas ganz Besonderes. Bisher war es ein eher enttäuschendes Jahr für mich. Aber so ist das eben im Motorsport. Da gibt es Ups und Downs. Für morgen haben wir gute Chancen und ich hoffe, wir können das heutige Ergebnis wiederholen“, sagte Di Resta nach dem Qualifying. Zufrieden über Startplatz zwei zeigte sich auch der amtierende DTM-Champion und Führende der Gesamtwertung Timo Scheider (D): „Ich bin sehr glücklich mit der ersten Startreihe und freue mich schon auf das Rennen. Die Rennstrecke in Brands Hatch liegt mir. Das ist eine gute Ausgangsposition für das Rennen. Mein Ziel war es, besser als Gary und Mattias zu sein. Das habe ich geschafft. Morgen muss ich nun einen guten Start hinlegen, und vielleicht habe ich so eine Chance, Paul zu überholen.“ Der Rückstand des Audi-Piloten auf Di Resta betrug 81 Hundertstelsekunden. Scheiders Markenkollege Tom Kristensen (DK) und der Kanadier Bruno Spengler in seiner AMG Mercedes C-Klasse fuhren die dritt- und viertschnellste Zeit und gehen aus der zweiten Startreihe in das Rennen am Sonntag um 14:00 Uhr (MESZ).
Nicht ganz optimal verlief das Qualifying für die Verfolger von Tabellenführer Scheider. Der Schwede Mattias Ekström (Audi), der in der Gesamtwertung mit einem Punkt Rückstand auf Platz zwei liegt, verpasste die finale Qualifying-Session und startet von Position sieben. Als Sechster qualifizierte sich Mercedes-Benz-Pilot Gary Paffett (GB), der hinter Scheider und Ekström als Dritter der Gesamtwertung um den DTM-Titel kämpft. Der ehemalige Formel-1-Pilot Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes-Benz) startet von Platz elf in den siebten DTM-Lauf der Saison.
Das Rennen am Sonntag ist über 93 Runden und insgesamt 179,397 Kilometer angesetzt. Start ist um 14:00 Uhr (MESZ). Die ARD überträgt live ab 13:45 Uhr.

www.dtm.com

Maiden pole for Aleshin in frantic second qualifying

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FIA Formula Two Championship

Russian tops the charts ahead of Jousse and Soucek

Mikhail Aleshin took a superb maiden pole position in changing conditions today (Saturday), taking advantage of a drying track to set a time well clear of the rest of the field.

The session started in wet conditions after a heavy rain shower, but continued to dry until a clear dry line meant drivers made the switch to slick tyres with eight minutes remaining. Mikhail Aleshin was able to make the best of the changing conditions to set a time of 1:22.131s, before a late red flag brought the session to a close with many drivers on hot laps.

Julien Jousse set the second fastest time, although the Frenchman admitted he may have been relegated further down the field if the session had not been halted. Spaniard Andy Soucek again showed great consistency to take third, whilst Mirko Bortolotti will join him on the second row.

The session got off to a frantic start as a number of drivers spun, as provisional pole position changed hands on several occasions. Jousse, Tobias Hegewald and Aleshin all spun and recovered in the early stages, whilst Alex Brundle, Miloš Pavlović and Robert Wickens all enjoyed a brief spell at the top of the timesheets.

Jack Clarke spun in the opening ten minutes and was left stranded on the circuit and Jolyon Palmer went off into the gravel at turn six. Both cars were out of the session, which instigated the first of two red flag intervals.

A completely new order was formed in the final five minutes as the grip improved dramatically. Aleshin, Jousse, Soucek and Bortolotti were followed in the order by Robert Wickens and an impressive run from Alex Brundle.

Nicola De Marco pipped Tobias Hegewald to seventh, whilst Sebastian Hohenthal and Jason Moore rounded out the top ten – the Englishman reaching his target as reported on formulatwo.com yesterday.

Mikhail Aleshin said: "My team and I have done a lot of work and this is the result. I want to thank my team, my mechanic and my engineer. In these very difficult conditions it was important how fast they could change the car set up and the tyres, and they did it very well."

Julien Jousse said: "It’s good to be on the front row. I was unlucky with the last red flag because I was behind Hegewald and I couldn’t do better in my last lap, but I was lucky to still take second position! It’s good for the race tomorrow, because I think after the first corner it will be very difficult to pass."

Andy Soucek said: "It was drying up and it was all about who pitted earlier and put on slicks – I think Mikhail was one of the first, so I knew he would be on the front because you get the confidence and grip on the tyres. The championship is still open but I just have to keep my head down – I’m happy to have Mikhail ahead of me rather than Julien or Robert."

Qualifying two – Oschersleben – Provisional Classification:
1. Mikhail Aleshin, 1:22.131s
2. Julien Jousse, +0.632s
3. Andy Soucek, +0.646s
4. Mirko Bortolotti, +0.952s
5. Robert Wickens, +1.092s
6. Alex Brundle, +1.137s
7. Nicola De Marco, +1.249s
8. Tobias Hegewald, +1.265s
9. Sebastian Hohenthal, +1.286s
10. Jason Moore, +1.455s

   www.formulatwo.com

Miguel Socías en la carrera nocturna de la Copa Adrián Vallés que se disputará en el Karting Club Finestrat

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La Copa Vallés celebra su primera carrera nocturna en el Circuito de Finestrat
TRAS EL PARÓN VERANIEGO SOCÍAS VUELVE A LA ACCIÓN

Campanet, (Mallorca, Illes Balears), viernes 04 de septiembre de 2009.
A pesar de las merecidas vacaciones, tanto en el colegio, como en las competiciones
de karting, Miguel Socías ha seguido entrenando de forma gradual en distintos
escenarios para no perder el ritmo y afrontar con ilusiones renovadas esta segunda
parte del campeonato. Asimismo el piloto de la Escudería Mallorca Competició ha
asistido este verano al FCA Campus Karting donde ha perfeccionado su pilotaje.
Al igual que el resto de la temporada el campaneter participará al volante de un kart
de la categoría Alevín con chasis AVK y motor Puma de 64 cc. Los compuestos
serán los habituales Vega Cadetti en formato duro.
En esta ocasión la Copa Adrián Vallés estrena formato ya que se disputará en horario
nocturno y el escenario elegido será el trazado del Karting Club Finestrat, en las
cercanías de Benidorm. Como el trazado es sobradamente conocido por muchos
de los participantes, los organizadores, para hacerlo más interesante, han decidido
que se corra al revés. Para ello han planificado unos entrenamientos libres se iniciarán
a las 14:00 horas y finalizarán a las 18:55 horas con tandas de 10 minutos para cada
categoría. Los entrenamientos oficiales comenzarán a las 20:00 horas durando diez
minutos. Acto seguido empezarán las cronos, mientras que a las 22:00 dará comienzo
la primera manga de carrera de la categoría Alevín y la segunda será a las 00:00
horas. Dos horas más tarde se procederá a la entrega de trofeos en el podio final.
Miguel Socías nos comentaba sobre esta carrera:
"Nunca he competido de noche, aunque sí he entrenado al atardecer. La idea me
parece genial ya que no padeceremos tanto los estragos de la calor, aunque por otro
lado no sé si aguantaré al cien por cien hasta altas horas de la noche. Yo estoy
acostumbrado a irme a dormir sobre las 22:00 horas."
"En cuanto al trazado, me gusta mucho Finestrat, es como mi segunda casa, el
recorrido me gusta de ambas maneras, pero lo que más valoro es el equipo humano
que hay en este circuito, todos son muy atentos y grandes profesionales."FERBISPRESS

Miguel Ferrer Tel. + 34 619.674.644  mferrer@ferbispress.com

Soucek storms to Oschersleben pole

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FIA Formula Two Championship

Inspired Spaniard goes fastest ahead of Bortolotti and Wickens

Andy Soucek recorded an emphatic pole position for race one at Oschersleben today (Friday), producing an inspired lap to finish more than three tenths of a second clear of the rest of the field.

Mikhail Aleshin set the early pace, but Soucek hit the top inside the opening ten minutes. Robert Wickens then began to trade blows with Soucek for pole, but the Spaniard had the final say – setting a scintillating 1:20.402s lap time.

With four minutes of the session remaining, Italian Mirko Bortolotti inched out Robert Wickens for second by just 0.005s. Wickens could not respond as he had already used his prime set of tyres when an unfortunate red flag was thrown in the final ten minutes.

Julien Jousse improved late on to take fourth, ahead of Miloš Pavlović. Kazim Vasiliauskas continues to produce impressive form during his debut season of single seater racing – the Lithuanian rounded out the top six.

Home favourite Tobias Hegewald had to settle for seventh, whilst Carlos Iaconelli set the eighth fastest time. Alex Brundle made a welcome return to the top ten, as he pipped a slightly disappointed Mikhail Aleshin, who dropped to tenth place following a late flurry of improvements.

Sebastian Hohenthal and Natacha Gachnang both set a time of 1:21.498s, but it was the Swede Hohenthal who was rewarded with 11th having completed his lap before the Swiss female racer.

The earlier noted red flag was caused when Jason Moore went off between turn 12 and turn 13 with eight minutes remaining – the Englishman made light contact with the barriers but his car was stranded close to the circuit. Several drivers were on flying laps at this point, but they all had to abandon their efforts.

Germán Sánchez ended his session in the gravel at turn ten, whilst Pietro Gandolfi recovered from an off at turn 13.

Soucek said: "I had a very good second flying lap on the new tyres, which could have been even faster but I hit a yellow and it spoilt the lap. It’s not easy – the level of competition is increasing every race. I think I have found a very good set up and the car is behaving incredibly well and I have a lot of confidence, so I’m in good shape."

Bortolotti said: "I could have improved a bit but I don’t think it would have been enough for pole, so I’m happy with second. It’s my first year in international racing so I’ve had to gain a bit of experience. Sometimes I have made mistakes but that’s racing you know. Now we are on the front row and I’m thinking about tomorrow."

Wickens said: "Second row is better than where I have started in the past. I’m pretty sure the race on this track could be decided on the first corner. Starting third is obviosuly more difficult than starting first, but we’ll just have to see how the race goes and try to salvage some points."

Qualifying one – Oschersleben – Provisional Classification:

1. Andy Soucek, 1:20.402
2. Mirko Bortolotti, +0.387s
3. Robert Wickens, +0.392s
4. Julien Jousse, +0.460s
5. Miloš Pavlović, +0.710s
6. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +0.851s
7. Tobias Hegewald, +0.895s
8. Carlos Iaconelli, +0.933s
9. Alex Brundle, +1.005s
10. Mikhail Aleshin, +1.014s                             www.formulatwo.com

Nigel Mansell: "I like the ambiance and competitiveness of Le Mans Series!"

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The 1992 Formula 1 World Champion, will be back on one of his favourite circuits for the fifth and last race of the 2009 Le Mans Series season: the Autosport 1000 Km of Silverstone.

A major event to be followed in less than two weeks time; when for the first time in motor sport history, a World Champion will race with two of his children at the highest international competition level.

The 56 year old British driver will share the wheel of LNT Team’s LMP1 Ginetta-Zytek with Lawrence Tomlinson and his son, Greg.

Leo Mansell, Nigel’s other son, as since the beginning of the season, will also be on the track in another category with Modena Team’s Ferrari F430 (GT2).

Nigel gave an interview two weeks ago at the 1000 Km of Nürburgring where he was supporting and advising Leo.

Click here to read more                      www.lemans-series.com

Pole für Bottas – Bianchi nach Unfall in der achten Reihe

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Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix, 0:41,438 Minuten) eroberte die Pole-Position für das 13. Saisonrennen der Formel 3 Euro Serie auf dem 1,929 Kilometer langen Indy-Circuit von Brands Hatch. Der Finne gewann in seiner Qualifying-Gruppe vor Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport, 0:41,548 Minuten). In der anderen Gruppe ging die Bestzeit an Mika Mäki (Signature, 0:41,551 Minuten) vor Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport, 0:41,660 Minuten). Der in der Gesamtwertung führende Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix, 0:42,027 Minuten) musste sein Qualifying nach einem Unfall schon nach fünf Minuten beenden und belegte den achten Gruppen-Platz.
Bianchi führte das Feld an, als er ausgangs Paddock Hill Bend von der Strecke abkam und einen Einschlag in die Streckenbegrenzung nicht mehr vermeiden konnte. So musste der Franzose mit ansehen, wie er im Ranking immer weiter zurückfiel. Sein Teamkollege und Rookie Valtteri Bottas freute sich hingegen über seine zweite Pole-Position in dieser Saison. Wegen der kurzen Strecke und der hohen Starterzahl wurde das Qualifying in zwei Gruppen ausgefahren, die nach geraden und ungeraden Startnummern aufgeteilt waren.
Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix): „Ich starte morgen von der Pole-Position und das ist super. Ich habe alles aus dem Auto herausgeholt. Hier ist das Überholen sehr schwierig, deshalb ist morgen ein guter Start umso wichtiger. Wenn ich danach fehlerfrei fahre, sollte auch ein Sieg möglich sein.“
Mika Mäki (Signature): „Es war ein gutes Qualifying, aber die zweite Gruppe war schneller. Sie hatte allerdings auch die besseren Bedingungen. Ich habe mein Bestes gegeben und denke, dass ich morgen mindestens Zweiter werden kann. Gegen Ende des Qualifyings war ich in der ersten Kurve zu schnell, mein Auto übersteuerte und ich konnte den Einschlag nicht mehr vermeiden.“
Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport): „Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit dem zweiten Platz in meiner Gruppe und glaube, dass ein Sieg im Rennen morgen auf jeden Fall möglich ist. Startplatz drei ist eine gute Ausgangsposition dafür. Ich merke, dass ich von Rennen zu Rennen besser werde.“

www.f3euroseries.com

Andy Soucek responds to set practice pace

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FIA Formula Two Championship

Spaniard holds off Wickens and Jousse

Championship leader Andy Soucek recorded the fastest lap time of the day (Friday) during the second Formula Two free practice session at Oschersleben.

The Spaniard’s time was set relatively early on in the 30-minute session, whilst his title rivals tried to respond in the latter stages. Robert Wickens and Julien Jousse are second and third respectively in the current overall standings, and both drivers secured the same positions during the final moments of the second free practice session.

Whilst Soucek remains out in front, both Wickens and Jousse are confident of a good weekend ahead: "The weekend has started pretty well," commented Wickens. "I have come into the event in a positive frame of mind and I am happy with the progress we have made. I didn’t use the boost either so I can still find some time there. I really enjoy technical circuits like this – it seems to suit my driving style. Andy is in front, but it was only practice!"

"I am feeling confident," said Jousse. "The track is quite difficult to learn however, as it is quite bumpy. It is very easy to make a mistake here. My time was with the boost, but I don’t know what everyone else was doing. It will be very close in qualifying on new tyres."

Edoardo Piscopo set the last flying lap of the session, which included the fasted final sector of any driver. Unfortunately his first two sectors did not reach the same heights, but the Italian’s lap was still good enough for fourth.

Tobias Hegewald was bumped down to fifth and Miloš Pavlović set a last minute lap to take sixth away from Austrian racer Philipp Eng.

Carlos Iaconelli and early pace-setter Mikhail Aleshin were eighth and ninth, but both drivers had late spins at the tight turn one whilst trying to improve their times. Lithuanian talent Kazim Vasiliauskas rounded out the top ten.

The tight, twisty and slippery nature of the Oschersleben circuit caught out several drivers, most notably Armaan Ebrahim, who spun into the gravel at the exit of turn nine, and debutant Ollie Hancock, who made contact with the barriers after a late off. It was an unfortunate incident for the Briton as he had set his fastest lap of the session during the previous tour. British trio Alex Brundle, Jolyon Palmer and Jason Moore were also amongst those who recovered from spins.

Earlier in the day Julien Jousse and Mikhail Aleshin had set the pace in the first free practice session, both drivers remarkably recording the same lap time of 1:21.514s.

Free Practice two – Oschersleben – Provisional Classification:

1. Andy Soucek, 1:20.900
2. Robert Wickens, +0.026s
3. Julien Jousse, +0.169s
4. Edoardo Piscopo, +0.231s
5. Tobias Hegewald, +0.355s
6. Miloš Pavlović, +0.416s
7. Philipp Eng, +0.479s
8. Carlos Iaconelli, +0.524s
9. Mikhail Aleshin, +0.555s
10. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +0.634s                          www.formulatwo.com

BIRTHDAY AT THE BMW PLANT

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BMW Team Germany drivers Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller, both celebrate their birthday on September 3rd. This year they celebrated it together by visiting the BMW factory in Leipzig, a few kilometres away from Oschersleben.
Farfus and Müller enjoyed visiting the assembly line of the new BMW X1 and meeting the workers before signing autographs for the employees during the shift changeover.
"I’ve never been here before, I’m surprised how modern everything is. Really great. At my home race I want to win my first race this year, that is for sure", said Jörg Müller.
The tour ended with the team mates being offered a double birthday cake.


Farfus and Müller during their visit at the BMW factory in Leipzig

CHINESE COMMITTEE VISITS OSCHERSLEBEN
A large committee of FASC (the Federation of Automobile Sports of China) is visiting the WTCC paddock at Oschersleben this weekend.
The group is led by Xian Tongchun, Division Chief in charge of Touring Cars and includes key persons in charge of organising and promoting the Chinese Touring Car Championship that will switch to the FIA S2000 technical regulations next year.
"We are very happy to welcome the Chinese delegation and show them how the WTCC works. It is great to see the CTCC embracing the FIA regulations, because this is a crucial market for car manufacturers. Even those who are interested in joining the WTCC in the near future are keen to have the opportunity to race in China with the same cars. It is something that the FIA and ourselves have worked on, together with FASC president Mr Yu Zaiqing, for a long time," said WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti.

SHAPOVALOV BACK IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
The LADA Sport team spent the summer break building two new Priora cars. This enabled the team to respect the original plan of switching to a full trio of Prioras from this weekend’s meeting at Oschersleben.
The Russian car recently completed a test session at Magny-Cours that focused on general development of chassis and engine. With James Thompson unable to race in Oschersleben, due to a clashing commitment, team principal Viktor Shapovalov is back in the driver’s seat.
"Of course I’ve missed driving, so this is a very nice opportunity for me," said Shapovalov. "I’ve been out of competition for a couple of months so I might not be up to speed straight away, but I’m certainly going to be trying my best."

www.fiawtcc.com

Estoril set for derby match-up

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The Superleague Formula by Sonangol circus rolls into Estoril next weekend (5/6 September) where two titans of Portuguese football will go head-to-head. Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto may not have played each other on a pitch yet this season, but the pair has been in close quarters on track throughout the 2009 Superleague campaign.
FC Porto scored their first ever series victory in race two at Donington Park last time out to earn their place in the Super Final. Tristan Gommendy was at the wheel that day but the Frenchman will step aside in Estoril to allow Porto-local and GP2 race winner Álvaro Parente to make his Superleague debut.
“The connection with FC Porto has existed since the beginning of the Superleague project, but competing in GP2 has made it impossible to co-ordinate everything,” said Parente. “Happily, this time things are different as I’ve got a window to race for Porto at Estoril, which makes me very happy because they have always been my club. “Although I don’t know the car, I’m expecting a good result and that’s what I am going to work towards. I know the Estoril circuit quite well, which is always an advantage, and I think my experience in GP2 will also allow me to get up to speed with the car quickly. It’s a new challenge in my career and I want to make the most of it. Racing at home is always good and hopefully I will enjoy lots of support from the Porto fans.”

Looming large on his radar is bound to be the green and white hoops of Sporting’s Pedro Petiz who finished runner-up behind Porto in that second Donington race. The Portuguese duo know each other well from childhood but won’t be offering any quarter once the lights go out come Sunday. “Alvaro’s a good friend,” confirmed Petiz. “We grew up and went to the same school together. But that’s all going to be put to one side once we’re out on the track. It’s going to be a great battle. There’s been a lot of media attention regarding the derby between Sporting and Porto. The race has been promoted really well so I’m confident that there will be a lot of green and white in the stands.
“I’m really aiming for at least a podium finish. We were fast at Donington and have improved every single weekend. We’ve worked hard over the first half of the season specifically for this race and the second half of the championship in order to gather as many points as possible. We’re confident. Sporting has put a lot of trust in me so I’m really hopeful we can give them a podium at least.”
The new football season meanwhile has already witnessed a number of teams go head-to-head, both domestically and in Europe, since the championship’s previous round in July where Rangers’ John Martin scored victory in the Super Final, netting himself €100,000. League leaders Liverpool and driver Adrian Valles will be looking to avenge their 2-1 first day Premiership defeat at the hands of Tottenham whose star striker Craig Dolby finished second in Britain and lies third overall. Anderlecht too will be hoping for better fortune on the race track after they were humbled 8-2 on aggregate against Superleague rivals Olympique Lyonnais during Champions League qualifying.
As well as the debut of Parente, round four also marks the 2009 series bow of four other drivers. In a major coup, four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais transfers from Formula 1 to Superleague’s FC Sevilla, Dutchman and reigning Japanese F3 champion Carlo Van Dam takes over the PSV Eindhoven hot seat, Franck Perera swaps his GP2 duties for the familiar surroundings of an AS Roma cockpit (the Frenchman drove for the team in six races last term) while Maria de Villota becomes Superleague Formula’s first female driver after joining Atletico Madrid. Previous incumbent Ho-Pin Tung takes Scott Mansell’s place at Galatasaray while former FC Sevilla driver Esteban Guerrieri is installed at Olympiacos.
Aside from rivalries and driver changes, a new system for deciding the six Super Finalists will debut in Portugal. The standing start first tested at Donington has been retained with the top half dozen point scorers over the two feature races taking their place on the grid. This is in contrast to the two previous Super Finals where the top three from each feature race were rewarded.
Superleague Formula’s show will star on Friday, September 4th when at 16.30 Porto FC, Sporting Club, Corinthians and Flamengo’s car will run around Estoril streets. The program continues with the drivers draw for qualifying, where, at the Casino de Estoril, each of the 18 teams are divided into two groups of nine prior to the weekend’s racing.
You can catch hour-long Superleague Formula by Sonangol highlights on British Eurosport 2 (Sky Digital 411 and Virgin Media 525) on Sunday, 6 September at 6.30pm BST.
To purchase your tickets for the Portuguese round, visit http://www.ticketline.pt/Espectaculo.aspx?IdEspectaculo=778