Die hervorragende Arbeit des GU Racing Teams zahlt sich endlich aus.
Erneuter Sieg in Estoril.

Superfinal

Im Superfinal startete Esteban von P5 ins Rennen.Schon am Start überholte er Anderlecht.Runde für Runde jagte er seine Gegner und brachte durch seine Überholvorgänge das Publikum zum Staunen.Am Ende war er nur knapp hinter Bourdais ( der neue Reifen benutzte ) auf Platz 2.

Estoril Rennen 2

Max mußte nach repariertem Schaden von der letzten Position ins Rennen gehen und Esteban auf Grund seines Sieges von der vorletzten.Beide Fahrzeuge waren schon kurz nach dem Start im Mittelfeld zu finden.Nach nur 2 Runden mußte Esteban die Box ansteuern.Ein Kontrahent hatte im den Flügel abgefahren.Die komplette Nase mußte gewechselt werden.Diese Aktion kostete ihm knapp 2 Runden.Kurze Zeit später kam Max an die Box.Durch ein Mißverständnis kam er zu früh zu seinem Boxenstop.Die Crew war aber noch nicht vorbereitet.Trotzdem gelang ein einigermaßen schneller Stop und Max konnte im Anschluß die schnellste Rennrunde fahren.Ihm gelang es auch bis auf Platz 8 vorzufahren.Er wurde aber nachträglich mit 25 sec. Strafe belegt.( zu früher Boxenstop).Am Ende zeigte er aber durch die schnellste Rennrunde sein Potential.

Estoril Rennen 1

Das erste Rennen begann mit einer herben Enttäuschung für das Basel Team.Nach der inlap und einem simulierten Boxenstop war bereits das aus für Max.Sein Getriebe verabschiedete sich mit einem gebrochenen Cluchring.Das bedeutete Schwerstarbeit fürs Team um das Auto fürs zweite Rennen fit zu machen.Besser lief es für Esteban.Vom Start weg übernahm er die Führung und gab diese bis zum Pitstop nicht mehr her.Beim Stop behinderte das Team von Olympic Lyon die Einfahrt und Esteban verlor ein paar sekunden.Dies führte zum Führungsverlust.Liverpool und Corinthians waren schneller.Durch beherzte Überholmanöver holte sich der GU Pilot jedoch die Spitze zurück und gewann suverän sein erstes Rennen für GU und Olympiakos.

Estoril freies Training

Max Wissel ( FC Basel )konnte sich im ersten freien Training direkt auf P2 und Neuzugang Esteban Guirrieri ( Olympiakos) auf P3 positionieren.Von Anfang an zeigten beide Piloten das Ihre Fahrzeuge bestens vorbereitet sind.Im zweiten Zeittraining dann der nächste Streich,Max P 1 und Esteban P2 ! Spätestens jetzt war klar beide GU Piloten gehören zum Favoritenkreis in Estoril.In Free Praktice 3 dann eine leichte Verschiebung.Esteban P4 und Max P 6.Dieses Training benutzten das GU Team jedoch nur zum Reifen anfahren fürs Qualifying.Im Qualifying dann die nächsten Erfolge.Esteban und Max setzten sich sofort durch.Im Shoot out ging es weiter zur Sache.Max gewann gegen Alvaro Parente( Sieger letztes GP 2 Rennen in Spa ).Esteban setzte sich gegen Frank Perrera durch.Im Halbfinale unterlag Max dann Antonio Pizzonia und erreichte damit Startplatz 4.Esteban gewann dagegen sein Shoot out gegen Adrian Valles.Im Finale dann eine hauchdünne Niederlage gegen Pizzonia.Damit Startplatz 2 für Esteban.

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Este fin de semana la Superleague Formula ha llegado al circuito de Estoril con una parrilla del máximo interés y todos los pilotos y equipos concentrados al máximo para lograr una buena posición cara al tercio final del campeonato.

El piloto del Liverpool ha sabido dar muestra de su solidez e inteligencia sacando el máximo rendimiento posible de su monoplaza:

En las sesiones clasificatorias del sábado logró llegar a semifinales, logrando el tercer puesto de parrilla para la primera carrera del domingo, sin tener que sacrificar ningún juego de ruedas nuevas.

Ya en la primera carrera, Olympiacos, Corinthians y Liverpool no tardaron en marcharse del resto, llegando al cambio de ruedas en las posiciones de partida. Un excelente Pit-stop permitió a Adrián salir por delante del Olympiacos y, posteriormente, también de Corinthians que entró una vuelta mas tarde.

Finalmente Adrián cruzó la meta en segundo lugar, solamente por detrás de un frenético Olympiacos que tuvo que poner toda la carne en el asador para conquistar el primer escalón.

La segunda carrera el monoplaza de los reds remontó desde la 16ª posición de salida en la que le colocaba la parrilla invertida hasta lograr el 9º puesto final.

La suma de puntos de las dos carreras colocaban a Adrián en tercer lugar de la Superfinal, puesto que supo conservar en las cinco vueltas que dura esta carrera al sprint.

Clasificación Superleague Formula 2009

Liverpool 282

Tottenham 224

FC Basel 223

AC Milán 212

Corinthians 211

FC Porto 203

Anderlecht 189

Olympiacos 178

Adrián Vallés:

“No cabe mas que decir que objetivo cumplido: llegamos con diez puntos de ventaja y nos vamos con 58.

En la primera carrera ha sido fundamental el fenomenal cambio de ruedas que ha hecho el equipo en la primera carrera, quiero agradecérselo desde aquí. Después tuve problemas con los frenos traseros y tuve que emplearme a fondo para lograr el segundo puesto final. En la segunda hemos conseguido remontar y sumar un buen puñado de puntos.

Tenemos que mantenernos concentrados al máximo para aumentar la ventaja en Monza, el objetivo volverá a ser ganar, luego la carrera dirá cual es la mejor manera de conseguirlo.”

Sebastien Bourdais netted Spanish club Sevilla a €100,000 prize by sensationally winning the Superleague Formula by Sonangol ‘Super Final’ on his championship debut at Estoril.
The Frenchman, who recently lost his place on the Formula One grid, bounced back in the best possible fashion by producing a stunning drive, taking second in race 2 to qualify for the weekend-ending six-car sprint, before going on to win.
Starting from fourth in the five-lap Super Final, he dived past Anderlecht into turn 1 to take third and was into second when Corinthians driver Antonio Pizzonia slid wide and out of the lead in turn 4.
With just Liverpool standing beaten him and a memorable debut victory, Bourdais sliced up the inside of Adrian Valles’ car before the end of the lap and never looked like losing his lead from thereon.
Olympiacos’ Esteban Guerreri, who earlier took a superb win in race 1, followed Bourdais past Liverpool for second, having started from fifth, with Valles holding off Anderlecht driver Yelmer Buurman for the final podium spot.

Spaniard Valles may have missed the top prize in the Super Final, but he boosted Liverpool’s championship hopes massively during the weekend with a strong points haul from the two main 45 minute races. He extended the English club’s lead at the top of the Superleague Formula by Sonangol League Table to 58 points as both his major rivals hit trouble.
FC Basel, whose young driver Max Wissel starred in the last round at Donington, were lying in second going into the weekend but didn’t even start the first race due to gearbox problems before finishing 11th in a troubled race 2. Tottenham Hotspur’s Craig Dolby, third heading to Portugal, managed a solid eighth in race 1, but retired on the first lap of the second race. Although Spurs moved to second in the table, the London-based club has lost significant ground in the title race to their FA Premier League rivals.
Earlier, the 45 minute-long race 2 saw a popular ‘home win’, despite Estoril very much being Sporting Lisbon territory, for FC Porto whose fans celebrated Alvaro Parente’s victory, the Portuguese club’s second triumph in as many weekends after Tristan Gommendy took the race 2 honours at Donington.
From the front row of the grid following his race 1 retirement, lifelong Porto fan Parente beat pole sitter Galatasaray off the line but was still in second at the first corner as Flamengo’s Enrique Bernoldi made a stunning start from row 3 to lead.
Sevilla’s debutant Bourdais was also a fast starter as he went from seventh to third on the opening lap ahead of AS Roma’s Franck Perera who made similar gains going from 12th to fourth!
Bernoldi was three seconds clear at the pit stop, but Flamengo’s decision to bring its car in after all their rivals didn’t pay off as he lost his lead to Parente.
Bourdais then demoted Flamengo to third and began the pursuit of the Porto car five seconds up the road. The Frenchman showed stunning speed as he closed the gap to under a second, but Parente responded in the last five minutes to ensure victory for the reigning Portuguese League champions.
Bourdais was second for Sevilla, with Bernoldi holding onto third for Flamengo. Yelmer Buurman produced a star performance to finish fourth for Anderlecht, despite being forced off the track at turn 2 at the start. He stormed back through the field, passing AC Milan and Corinthians in the final stages to just miss out on a podium.
Antonio Pizzonia was fifth for Corinthians after charging through from 16th on the grid whilst Giorgio Pantano was sixth for Milan. Ho-Pin Tung, who started from pole on the fully reversed grid, was seventh for Galatasaray, holding off John Martin for Rangers and the table-topping Liverpool car of Valles who settled for strong points after main challengers Tottenham and FC Basel suffered problems. PSV Eindhoven’s series debutant Carlo Van Dam completed the top ten.
Perera’s fine drive in the AS Roma machine didn’t earn its due rewards as a problem at his pit stop put him out of fourth place and left him outside the top ten at the chequered flag. Race 1 winner Olympiacos, starting from the back of reversed grid, suffered some contact on the opening lap which forced Esteban Guerrieri to pit for a new nose. He rejoined two laps down and showed prodigious pace on his way to 14th.
Super Final Race Quotes
Sevilla FC: Sebastien Bourdais (FRA)
“This feels pretty good! It’s nice to be back on the top step of the podium again. This has been a rollercoaster weekend with lots of ups and downs. We started slowly but picked up the pace all the way through and now it has finished with a massive high. I’ve never even attempted a standing start in this car before, but it went pretty well in the Super Final. I was using a new set of tyres that allowed me to push and I was able to get through to win. This championship is pretty tough. There are lots of very good drivers all using the same machinery which makes it a real challenge. But if I can continue to learn the car and repeat what we achieved here in the next two rounds, then I am definitely up for it!”

Olympiacos: Esteban Guerrieri (ARG)
“I’m really proud for the team who has done a very good job all weekend long. The car has been consistently fast which we showed by winning race 1. In the Super Final I tried to push Sebastien as hard as I could to force him into a mistake, but he drove really well. I’m happy for all Olympiacos fans and now I’m hoping to stay with the team for the final two rounds of the season.”
Liverpool: Adrian Valles (ESP)
“Our aim before the start of this weekend was to create a big gap to our rivals in the championship race and we have done that. We’re extremely competitive and more wins are possible for the rest of the season and we need to keep pushing to increase our advantage ahead of the final round at Jarama. We can’t relax because everyone is really quick and teams like Corinthians have shown real pace this weekend which can make them a threat.”

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Olympiacos scored a superb first-ever Superleague Formula by Sonangol victory after a stunning second half fight back saw the Greek giants grab a win from Liverpool with just three minutes remaining in race 1 at Estoril.
New signing Esteban Guerrieri, a summer transfer from Spanish club Sevilla, made a scintillating debut for his new club but still had to win the hard way. Leading at the first corner from second on the grid, the Argentinian driver was in control of the race early on but dropped to third during the compulsory pit stops. A late charge, aided by some slower traffic, saw him recover the win with clean passing moves on Corinthians and Liverpool in the dying stages.
Liverpool and their driver Adrian Valles will not be too disappointed with second place however, as the British club extended its lead at the top of the Superleague Formula by Sonangol League Table to a healthy 43 points as main title rival FC Basel failed to even make the grid due to gearbox problems.
A messy start to the race combined to give Guerrieri a comfortable lead by the first corner. Pole sitter Antonio Pizzonia in the Corinthians car slowed dramatically just before the cars crossed the start/finish line on the rolling grid which allowed Olympiacos to streak into the lead. Pizzonia’s poor getaway also caused problems for third placed Liverpool, Valles ramming the back of the Cornithians machine, although both drivers escaped relatively unharmed to slot into second and third.

The front three pulled away from the rest of the pack in the opening stages, Guerrieri, Pizzonia and Valles all posting similar lap times in the 1 minute 30 second range as the rest of the field failed to break the 1 minute 31 second barrier.
The pit stops began on lap 9 with leaders Olympiacos and third placed Liverpool both diving in. Despite Liverpool trailing the Greek club by two seconds prior to the stop, a stunning job by the British club’s mechanics saw Valles vault into the lead. Worse was to follow for Olympiacos on the next lap as Corinthians made its stop, Pizzonia also emerging ahead of Guerrieri, but behind new leader Valles.
The gaps between the top three remained fairly stable until the last third of the race when the late-stopping Atletico Madrid car of Superleague Formula by Sonangol’s first female driver Maria de Villota, emerged from the pits right in front of the leaders.
As Liverpool tried to lap the Spanish club, Valles was frustrated at being unable to find a gap, his lead disappearing all the time as Corinthians closed in. After Liverpool eventually squeezed through, it was the Brazilian club’s turn to be stuck behind the tail ender, Pizzonia struggling to get by as Olympiacos closed in behind.
Both clubs eventually made it past but now Guerrieri was right with Pizzonia. Argentina soon got revenge on Brazil for last night’s World Cup Qualifying defeat, as Guerrieri got the better of the former Grand Prix driver after a dice which saw the pair go side-by-side through turn 6 and swap places twice on the run through turn 7 before the move was finally made decisive in the turn 8 right hander.
Guerrieri, who admitted he had been looking after his tyres throughout this period, now began the hunt of Valles and quickly caught the Liverpool man with just five minutes remaining. After stalking his prey for a couple of laps, Guerrieri made his move, diving inside into turn 3 after Valles had run slightly wide on the exit of the previous corner.
From there the win was a formality as Olympiacos celebrated a first ever Superleague Formula by Sonangol victory from Liverpool in second and Corinthians third.
Best of the rest was Belgian club Anderlecht, for whom Yelmer Buurman has been a star performer all weekend. After holding his fifth place off the line, Buurman used the pit window to good effect, tying the time for fastest lap on his first tour on new tyres to jump Rangers and take fourth.
Australian John Martin, who won the Super Final in the last round at Donington Park, guided Rangers to fifth ahead of Italian giants AC Milan and AS Roma in sixth and seventh. Tottenham Hotspur moved to second in the League Table as Craig Dolby avoided the midfield maladies which often come with starting from 13th, to claim eighth, with home outfit Sporting Lisbon and Dutch side PSV Eindhoven completing the top ten.
Sporting’s Pedro Petiz did a strong job in the early stages, charging from 12th to eighth in the first few laps, but he lost several spots at the pit stop and couldn’t recover.
FC Porto were hoping to cause an upset in Sporting’s back yard, especially after Alvaro Parente starred in qualifying during his first Superleague Formula by Sonangol race meeting of the season. He too started strongly, much to the delight of the watching club President Jose Nuno Pinto da Costa and former star goalkeeper Vitor Baia, but just after his pit stop he ended his race in the barriers after spinning in avoidance of the sliding Atletico car.
The cruelest tale of woe from the opening race was reserved for FC Basel and German driver Wissel. A gearbox problem prior to the race, which the team was due to start from fourth on the grid, meant the star of the Donington weekend was forced to sit out the race, severely denting his title bid.
Race 2 will see the entire grid reversed, with Guerrieri, Valles and Pizzonia hoping to charge from the back to score strong points.
Race Quotes
Olympiacos: Esteban Guerrieri (ARG)
“We got a good start and pulled away. Then when I came into the pit lane the cars around us were very close and I couldn’t stop straight. So when I came out I’d lost time. I pushed but not at 100%. I think the other two went a bit harder and wore out their tyres whereas I still had some life left in mine. It will be tough to come through from the back in race two but I’ll try to avoid incidents and get to the front.
Liverpool: Adrian Valles (ESP)
“We had a bit of trouble with the brakes at the end. But I think we’ll be able to have a good second race. The important thing will be to build a bigger gap in the championship before we get to Monza.  At the start Antonio was on full power and then on the brakes so I crashed into the back of him. We didn’t damage the car so second place was a good result and important for the championship.”
Corinthians: Antonio Pizzonia (BRA)
“The race director said he would only start when the grid was packed which didn’t happen. There were lines of three cars maybe and Guerrieri was maybe four car lengths ahead of me when the lights went green so it was ridiculous. I was trying to hold everyone up and make sure they were all in line. I was looking in my mirrors and they were everywhere.
My diffuser was destroyed although I don’t think we had a car quick enough to win race one anyway. Starting from the back in the second race will be difficult but we’ll see. The target is to make the Superfinal and try to get points.”  

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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.”

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