F2 arrives in Oschersleben for rounds 11 & 12 (4/5/6 September)
Andy Soucek will be looking to increase his lead in the overall standings as the FIA Formula Two Championship arrives in Germany for rounds 11 and 12 this weekend (4/5/6 September).
The Motorsport Arena Oschersleben will play host to the event as F2 reaches a critical stage in the 2009 campaign. Soucek extended his championship advantage at Donington Park last time out as the Spaniard took his third victory of the season, whilst his main title rival Robert Wickens failed to score points in either race during a frustrating weekend. Whilst the Canadian was able to maintain second place in the standings, he will be keen to get his championship challenge back on track in Germany. Wickens has raced in various categories below F2 this season to gain as much race experience as possible to bolster his championship challenge, and the 20-year-old enjoyed success at a round of the Formula Atlantic Championship last weekend, scoring a strong fourth place finish at Mosport in his homeland.
Julien Jousse took a superb maiden F2 victory at Donington to fire himself back into title contention and the Frenchman is just two points behind Wickens in third place, with German racer Tobias Hegewald narrowly behind in fourth. Having won both races at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps in June, Hegewald will be searching for his third victory of the season as he races in front of his home fans for the first time.
The Red Bull Junior Team duo of Mikhail Aleshin and Mirko Bortolotti, who was recently linked to Luca Badoers seat at Ferrari, currently lie fifth and sixth respectively in the championship order, whilst Austrian Philipp Eng is tied with Bortolotti on 31 points. Eng dropped four places in the table during the last round in England, illustrating the importance of consistent scoring at every event in Formula Two.
Incredibly, just eight points separate second to seventh in the championship standings. Six drivers have scored victories in the opening ten rounds this season – the podium has seen twelve different visitors and a staggering 20 drivers have already scored championship points.
It will be a vital weekend for many F2 drivers in Oschersleben, not least for local driver Jens Höing – the Berlin-born racer will be searching for his first points finish of the season at his home circuit. 22-year-old Ollie Hancock will make his F2 debut this weekend after signing up to contest the final six races of 2009, and the young Briton enjoyed a successful maiden run in an F2 car at Bedford Autodrome last week.
Located in Oschersleben, Börde, the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben is a relatively new racetrack having only opened in July 1997. Germany’s third permanent circuit after the Nürburgring and Hockenheimring, Oschersleben hosts rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, DTM and FIA GT Championships. F2 will partner the WTCC this weekend and both races will be screened live on Eurosport.
