Rookie Alexander Sims feiert ersten Formel-3-Sieg

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f3es_2009-08-16-033

Der Brite Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport) gewann auf der 3,629 Kilometer langen Sprintstrecke des Nürburgrings sein erstes Rennen in der Formel 3 Euro Serie. Der Mücke-Pilot, der im vergangenen Jahr den McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award gewann, überholte den im Ziel Zweitplatzierten Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport) bereits vor der ersten Kurve. Mika Mäki (Signature) komplettierte die Top 3. In der Gesamtwertung hat der Führende Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) nach zwölf Saisonrennen einen Vorsprung von 25 Punkten auf Vietoris. Bianchi beendete das Sonntag-Rennen in der Eifel auf Rang fünf.
Bianchi wurde in der letzten Runde von seinem Teamkollegen Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix) angegriffen. Der Mexikaner musste sich schließlich mit 0,072 Sekunden geschlagen geben und wurde als Sechster abgewinkt.
Das Rennen begann mit einer Satefy-Car-Phase, nachdem Pedro Enrique (Manor Motorsport), Basil Shaaban (Prema Powerteam) und Nick Tandy (Kolles & Heinz Union) durch eine Kollision ausschieden.
Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport): „Es war ein sehr guter Tag für mich. Wichtig waren mein guter Start und die Tatsache, dass Christian mir in der ersten Kurve genügend Raum gelassen hat. In der zweiten Rennhälfte konnte ich mich dann von ihm absetzen und einen relativ sicheren Sieg nach Hause fahren.“
Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport): „Alexanders Start war besser als meiner, das war der Schlüssel zu seinem Sieg. Ich habe ihm in der ersten Kurve genügend Platz gelassen, denn ich denke natürlich auch an die Gesamtwertung. Selbst wenn die Chancen auf den Titelgewinn für mich nicht mehr so hoch sind, so gebe ich erst auf, wenn auch theoretisch keine Chance mehr besteht.“
Mika Mäki (Signature): „Gegen meine Vorderleute hatte ich keine Chance. Ich habe nur versucht, Valtteri Bottas hinter mir auf Distanz zu halten und den dritten Platz nach Hause zu bringen. Ich konnte einige Punkte und einen Podestplatz mitnehmen, das ist in Ordnung.“

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Jousse tops the timesheets in qualifying two

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FIA Formula Two Championship

Frenchman claims maiden pole at Donington

Julien Jousse has taken a maiden pole position for tomorrow’s second Formula Two race, after a dramatic qualifying session at Donington Park this afternoon (Saturday).
After a thrilling contest with Sweden’s Sebastian Hohenthal, Jousse ultimately prevailed and topped the timesheets with a laptime of 1:23.507s, a tenth of a second ahead of his rival.

It was Hohenthal who held provisional pole for much of the session, until Frenchman Jousse began to trade times with 24-year-old Swede. Only Soucek threatened to steal the show as he set the fastest time in the session with 11 minutes remaining. Soon after, the championship leader went off and ended his session at the entry to the Craner Curves.

It was left to Jousse to attack Hohenthal’s benchmark and he clinched the pole in the final ten minutes: "I am very happy because I have been looking for this result in qualifying for a very long time," said Jousse. "I have been fourth or fifth but never on the top. I was fast in the first qualifying session but I made too many mistakes. I was lucky in this session to avoid the yellow flags and find a good opportunity.

"I think it is a good beginning for this weekend because I need to score a lot of points to catch the leader of the championship. There are three meetings to go after Donington, so a lot of things can happen. I just need to concentrate on scoring well and we will take each race one at a time. Hopefully I can perform like this tomorrow!"

Mirko Bortolotti took third, whilst Kazim Vasiliauskas acheived his best qualifying position of the season with fourth. Edoardo Piscopo was just 0.005s behind the Lithuanian in fifth, whilst Soucek rounded out the top after tumbling down the order following his spin.

Mikhail Aleshin will be disappointed to be starting tomorrow’s second race from row four, as will his Red Bull Junior Team colleague Robert Wickens. This morning’s pole sitter Tobias Hegewald endured another spin whilst on the quickest lap of the session. The German had to settle for ninth, ahead of Philipp Eng. In one of the tightest qualifying sessions yet this season, less than half a second separated the entire top ten.

There were personal best qualifying performances from both Germán Sánchez and Armaan Ebrahim who will line-up 13th and 14th respectively for the race. Pietro Gandolfi was one of the drivers who was again caught out at Goddards, whilst Tom Gladdis was a spinner at the Melbourne Loop. 

The opening race will get underway at 10:50 tomorrow (Sunday) UK time and the final race of the weekend will take place at 15:45.
Qualifying Two Provisional Classification:

1. Julien Jousse, 1:23.507s
2. Sebastian Hohenthal, +0.128s
3. Mirko Bortolotti, +0.174s
4. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +0.202s
5. Edoardo Piscopo, +0.207s
6. Andy Soucek, +0.256s
7. Mikhail Aleshin, +0.340
8. Robert Wickens, +0.3.77s
9. Tobias Hegewald, +0.436s
10. Philipp Eng, +0.496s

www.formulatwo.com

Victoria y campeonato para Pedro Roca

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El mallorquín Pedro Roca ha conseguido su tercer título de campeón de la copa CM de montaña tras la disputa de la fase A de la Subida a Cortegada, penúltima prueba del calendario. El piloto de Silver-Car llegaba a esta prueba con el campeonato prácticamente en el bolsillo y sin la necesidad de arriesgar, pero de nuevo ha demostrado su gran estado de forma consiguiendo una contundente victoria con más de un segundo de ventaja sobre Iñigo Martínez, su máximo rival en la lucha por el campeonato. Mañana domingo se disputará la fase B de la prueba en la que de nuevo Pedro volverá a ser el máximo favorito.


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Hegewald grabs pole for race one

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Tobias takes pole

German recovers from spin at Donington to top the timesheets in qualifying

Germany’s Tobias Hegewald has taken pole for tomorrow’s first F2 race at Donington Park, after recovering from a high-speed excursion earlier in the session at Redgate corner. Russia’s Mikhail Aleshin finished in second position, with championship leader Andy Soucek in third.

Miloš Pavlović, Edoardo Piscopo and Kazim Vasiliauskas all briefly held top stop in the early stages, until a mid-session change of tyres led to several changes in the running order.

Aleshin took his turn at the top, going quickest after a solid double flying lap run, whilst Julien Jousse slotted into second. The top three were separated by less than a tenth of a second until Hegewald blew the opposition away with just over ten minutes of the session remaining. The 20-year-old’s lap of 1:23.486s would not be beaten for the remainder of the session.

After struggling last time out at Brands Hatch, Hegewald will be hoping to repeat his Spa-Francorchamps form, where the German took two pole positions, two wins and set two fastest laps, thrusting himself into championship contention in the process.

Spaniard Andy Soucek moved into third during the final five minutes, whilst Hegewald spun again. The pole-sitter lost control at Goddards, but he wasn’t alone in being caught out at the slow final turn. Pietro Gandolfi, Jolyon Palmer and Jens Höing also spun there, but it was an off for Jack Clark at Coppice that eventually brought out the red flags with less than two minutes to go.

Jousse hung on to fourth in the end, ahead of Pavlović and Piscopo. Kazim Vasiliauskas, who set the seventh fastest time, will be demoted two places on the grid following an infringement in free practice this morning.

Sebastian Hohenthal and Robert Wickens had to settle for eighth and ninth respectively – the pair were unable to improve upon times set earlier in the session after suffering problems. Brands Hatch race winner Philipp Eng rounded out the top ten.

Tobias Hegewald said: "I’m really happy to be back in the top three for qualifying. I had a lot of problems in the test and free practice, but we worked on the car and I worked on myself – that’s why we have ended up where we are. Of course when you are on pole you always want to win – you never know what is going to happen in the race, but of course victory is the target for me tomorrow."
Qualifying 1 Provisional Classification:

1. Tobias Hegewald, 1:23.116s
2. Mikhail Aleshin, +0.313s
3. Andy Soucek, +0.321s
4. Julien Jousse, +0.344s
5. Miloš Pavlović, +0.426s
6. Edoardo Piscopo, +0.507s
7. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +0.583s
8. Sebastian Hohenthal, +0.586s
9. Robert Wickens, +0.712s
10. Philipp Eng, +0.823s

www.formulatwo.com

Pole für Tomczyk am Nürburgring

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Nürburg. Und wieder Audi. Auch im sechsten Qualifying des Jahres fuhr ein Pilot des Ingolstädter Automobilherstellers auf Startplatz eins. Der Rosenheimer Martin Tomczyk benötigte für die 3,629 Kilometer lange Strecke des Nürburgrings 1:23,489 Minuten und sicherte sich so seine siebte Pole-Position in der DTM. „Ich freue mich natürlich, auf der Pole zu stehen. Der Nürburgring ist eine meiner Lieblingsstrecken. Nach dem Freien Training heute morgen war ich sehr zuversichtlich. Die schnellste Runde am Samstag zu fahren, war dann noch das i-Tüpfelchen“, sagte der 27-Jährige. Neben Tomczyk geht der Kanadier Bruno Spengler in der AMG Mercedes C-Klasse als Zweiter in das Rennen am Sonntag. Sein Rückstand auf den Pole-Mann betrug 0,195 Sekunden. Spengler sagte nach dem Qualifying: „Ehrlich gesagt, bin ich sehr glücklich über den zweiten Platz. Das war heute gar nicht so einfach. Ich habe mich aber angestrengt, und die Balance des Autos war sehr gut. Ich freue mich auf morgen und werde beim Start alles geben. Ich werde versuchen, ein Rennen ohne Fehler zu fahren.“
Die drittbeste Zeit fuhr bei hochsommerlichen Temperaturen Mattias Ekström im Audi A4 DTM. Der Schwede teilt sich mit Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) aus Großbritannien in der Gesamtwertung mit 28 Zählern die Führung. Paffett hat jedoch im Rennen eine deutlich schlechtere Ausgangsposition, da er nach Problemen mit der Zündung lediglich den 16. Startplatz erreichte. Mit Timo Scheider steht neben Ekström ein weiterer Audi-Pilot in der zweiten Startreihe. Eine Konstellation, die für viel Spannung im Rennen sorgen wird, da der amtierende DTM-Champion in der Gesamtwertung nur einen Punkt hinter Ekström liegt.
Eine erneut tolle Leistung im Qualifying zeigte der Brite Oliver Jarvis. Als bester Pilot eines Fahrzeugs des Jahrgangs 2008, geht der 25-jährige Audi-Pilot in der Eifel von Platz fünf in den sechsten Saisonlauf der populärsten internationalen Tourenwagenserie. Für Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes-Benz) war das vierstufige Qualifying bereits nach der ersten Session beendet. Der ehemalige Formel-1-Pilot geht als 15. in das Rennen.
Das Rennen am Sonntag ist über 48 Runden und insgesamt 174,192 Kilometer angesetzt. Start ist um 14:00 Uhr (ARD live ab 13:45 Uhr).

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Dreifach-Erfolg für ART Grand Prix

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Lufttemperatur: 23,2 °C
Streckentemperatur: 36,2 °C
Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) setzte auch auf dem 3,629 Kilometer langen Sprintkurs des Nürburgrings seine Siegesserie fort. Zum fünften Mal in Folge gewann er in diesem Jahr ein Samstag-Rennen der Formel 3 Euro Serie. Damit liegt sein Vorsprung auf Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport) in der Gesamtwertung bei nunmehr 28 Punkten. Der Deutsche beendete sein Heimrennen auf dem achten Platz. Neben Bianchi kletterten Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix) und Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix) auf das Podium.
Jules Bianchi musste nur am Start um seine Führung kämpfen, als sich Valtteri Bottas neben ihn setzte. Danach setzte sich der Franzose vom Feld ab und feierte mit einem Vorsprung von 13,722 Sekunden seinen sechsten Saisonsieg. Neben Bianchi und Bottas, der zum vierten Mal in dieser Saison als Zweiter abgewinkt wurde, schaffte Esteban Gutierrez erstmals in seiner Formel-3-Karriere den Sprung auf das Podium.
Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix): „Es war nicht so einfach. Ich habe von Beginn an viel Druck gemacht, um eine Lücke zu meinen Verfolgern aufbauen zu können. Mein Auto lief mal wieder fantastisch und ich bin happy, das Rennen gewonnen zu haben. Morgen starte ich von der achten Position und werde versuchen, einige Punkte zu holen. Mein Vorsprung von 28 Zählern in der Gesamtwertung ist zwar nicht wenig, aber noch sind neun Rennen zu fahren. Wir müssen nun so weiterarbeiten und dürfen uns nicht ausruhen.“
Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix): „Nun bin ich schon zum vierten Mal Zweiter geworden. Gegen Jules hatte ich einfach keine Chance. Aber ich bin ja noch Rookie und muss im Vergleich zu Jules noch einiges lernen. Mit dem zweiten Rang bin ich im Großen und Ganzen zufrieden.“
Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix): „Ich lerne von Rennen zu Rennen. In einer so starken Serie wie der Formel 3 Euro Serie muss man nicht nur körperlich fit sein. Ich schaffe es aber mehr und mehr, den Rückstand auf meine Teamkollegen zu verringern. Ich muss zugeben, dass ich bei meinem ersten Start aus der ersten Reihe heute etwas nervös war.“

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La subida a Cortegada podría dar el título a Roca

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La localidad gallega de Cortegada acogerá este fin de semana la penúltima prueba del campeonato de España de montaña. El piloto mallorquín Pedro Roca está muy cerca de conseguir su tercer título consecutivo de la copa CM de montaña, la ventaja sobre el segundo clasificado, Iñigo Martínez, le puede permitir cantar el alirón este fin de semana. Aunque el piloto del Silver-Car no tiene la necesidad de arriesgar, su principal objetivo será el de conseguir una nueva victoria.
La prueba tiene un trazado de 3.800 metros, con una pendiente media del 5,92%. El sábado por la tarde dará comienzo la prueba con la fase A que estará formada por dos ascensiones de entrenos y una última de carrera. Ya el domingo por la mañana se disputará la fase B con idéntico formato.
Pedro Roca comentaba antes de la prueba: “Hemos llegado aquí con mucha ilusión y con la moral muy alta, ya que tenemos muchas posibilidades de revalidar el título sin necesidad de arriesgar mucho. De todas formas nuestro principal objetivo será el de ganar, sobretodo en beneficio de la marca que esta temporada ha vuelto a confiar en mi”.


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Jules Bianchi dominiert Qualifying auf dem Nürburgring

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Lufttemperatur: 22,5 °C
Streckentemperatur: 23,3 °C
Zum dritten Mal in Folge ging die Bestzeit eines Qualifyings der Formel 3 Euro Serie an Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix, 1:22,823 Minuten). Hinter dem Franzosen machten Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix, 1:23,114 Minuten) und Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix, 1:23,262 Minuten) den Dreifach-Erfolg der Mannschaft ART Grand Prix auf dem 3,629 Kilometer langen Sprintkurs des Nürburgrings komplett. Bianchi erhält für seine Pole-Position einen Punkt, damit vergrößert er seinen Vorsprung in der Tabelle der stärksten Nachwuchsserie auf nunmehr 19 Zähler.
Von Beginn an bestimmte ART Grand Prix das Qualifying. Nach der Hälfte hatte Rookie Valtteri Bottas die erste Position inne, doch kurz vor Schluss wurde er erst von Jules Bianchi und dann von Esteban Gutierrez auf Rang drei verdrängt. Der Schlussangriff von Sam Bird (Mücke Motorsport, 1:23,290 Minuten) brachte den Briten knapp hinter Bottas auf Platz vier. Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport, 1:23,396 Minuten), der beim heutigen Pre-Event-Test noch die schnellste Rundenzeit realisierte und als Zweiter der Gesamtwertung zum Nürburgring reiste, musste sich bei seinem Heimspiel mit dem achten Rang zufrieden geben. Insgesamt 15 Piloten klassierten sich innerhalb einer Sekunde, was einmal mehr die hohe Leistungsdichte der Formel 3 Euro Serie unterstreicht.
Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix): „Ich bin sehr glücklich über meine Pole-Position. Ich glaube, ich hatte aber auch etwas mehr Glück als Esteban. Nach dem Test heute Mittag, bei dem ich nur die achte Position belegt hatte, haben wir viel gearbeitet. Das hat sich gelohnt.“
Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix): „Ich bin hier extrem motiviert und merke, dass ich immer besser werde. Ich bin noch Rookie und lerne mit jedem Kilometer dazu. Auch mein Team hat einen super Job gemacht. Zur Pole hat es heute nicht ganz gereicht, denn Jules war einfach schneller.“
Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix): „Ich bin relativ zufrieden, aber lieber wäre ich natürlich Erster geworden. Mit dem zweiten Reifensatz konnte ich mich nicht so steigern wie Jules und Esteban. Aber mit einem guten Start ist im morgigen Rennen noch alles möglich.“

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Bridgestone Motorsport Valencia GP2 Series Preview

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The seventh round of the Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series will take place at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, on 21-23 August. Valencia’s modern street circuit makes its second ever appearance on the GP2 calendar, and offers drivers the chance to work with the soft tyre for the third time this season. Bridgestone  has  made  a  change  from 2008 when the medium specification tyre was brought to Valencia, the soft compound being allocated for this year’s event. With  warm  weather  and  high  track  temperatures  expected  during  the  race  weekend,  drivers  will  need  to anticipate how their car set-up can be adjusted to ensure effective management of tyre degradation.   In 2008, Campos stole the limelight in GP2 at Valencia’s street circuit during its Formula One debut event, as team-mates Vitaly Petrov and Lucas di Grassi both won races here. Quote from Hirohide Hamashima – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development “Valencia is a very high speed street course, with drivers experiencing the highest speeds after the bridge in the  second  sector.  It  is  much  faster  than  Monaco  and  due  to  the  hard  braking  required  in  Valencia  the drivers  need  to  be  careful  not  to  flat  spot  the  tyres.  In  addition,  being  a  street  circuit,  high  levels  of concentration and car control are essential as there is not much room for driver error. It can also be difficult to overtake, with the best chance being at turn twelve. Degradation is expected to be fairly high due to the hot weather and high track temperatures anticipated.”

www.bridgestonemotorsport.com

Bridgestone GP2 Series: Q&A with Lucas di Grassi

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Lucas  di  Grassi  is  now  in  his  fourth  GP2  main  season  and  is  currently  with  the  Fat  Burner  Racing Engineering  team.  He  has  just  missed  out  on  the  title  twice,  but  won  the  Valencia  sprint  race  last season. That puts the Brazilian driver in the hot seat for this year’s title fight and makes him a perfect person  to  interview  ahead  of  the  Valencia  round,  which  is  the  second  street  circuit  on  the  calendar. Bridgestone e-reporter finalist Tim Biesbrouck took on the role of interviewing this charismatic driver. Q: The Valencia street circuit is one of the two street circuits on this year’s calendar, do you like racing on this type of circuit? A: I really do like racing on street circuits, mainly because the feeling of speed is greater and the walls are nearer to you. And on top of that, there is no room for mistakes. I really enjoy driving on the Monaco circuit  and  I  won  the  second  race  in  Valencia  last year. Valencia is a great circuit and it was a great experience when I drove there for the first time. There are a lot of straights, overtaking possibilities are good  and  the  circuit  is  well  made  and  safe.  Valencia  is  also  a  beautiful  city  to  host  a  Grand  Prix weekend. Q: In what ways can you compare it with the Monaco circuit? A: Honestly I find Monaco nicer to drive, because it’s more technical and difficult. In comparison with Monaco, the Spanish circuit is very wide and open, so you can miss your braking point and still come back. If you make one single mistake in Monaco, you are finished. Q: Last year you drove on medium compound tyres during the Valencia race weekend and it will switch to soft tyres this year. Will that improve your overall performance there? A:  I  think  it  will  improve  my  performance.  Like  in  Turkey  we  switched  from  hard  to  medium  and  we gained performance. So, I expect the same will happen in Valencia. If it’s really hot, then the tyres will show degradation. Sometimes they get overheated, so that’s our only main concern with conserving the tyres. Of course I find it better to race with softer tyres because the grip level with new tyres is really high and you can do really fast laps. So I think it’s a really good solution to go on softs for Valencia. Q: What strategy would you use to conserve your tyres in Valencia? A: We change the set-up of the car during the weekend and you really have to think about your driving style. The race is different from qualifying, because in qualifying you need to push one hundred percent and during the race you need to take care and make sure the tyres will hold for the race. There is not much grip in Valencia, which is normal for street circuits, so I expect we won’t have high tyre wear. I don’t have concerns about it. Q: After winning the sprint race in Valencia, you moved into the title battle. Do you think you are able to strengthen your position in the championship there? A: Yes definitely. We had a good start to the season, but we wasted some points. It was not because of our performance, so I believe we are in a good position to catch up, getting back into the title fight. But the season is long and there are still many points to collect. It can turn around much quicker in GP2 than in other series. I really need to concentrate to get the most out of the weekend and we will see what happens next.

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Meeke tips Kopecky for Zlin victory

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Jan Kopecky has been tipped to win Barum Czech Rally Zlin, round eight of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, by the current leader in the IRC standings, Britain’s Kris Meeke.
Twenty-seven-year-old Kopecky will drive a Skoda Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 on his home event and Meeke believes that Kopecky’s pace will be hard to match.
“Jan showed in Ypres how quick he could be and I’m sure there will be no driver quicker than him,” said Meeke. “He knows the event well and he’ll be wanting to prove he’s the top Czech driver.”
Kopecky has yet to register his first IRC win but has finished on the podium on three occasions this season. His Skoda team-mate Juho Hanninen was victorious when the IRC visited Russia in July.
“I am certain this will be a fantastic rally for us and I am really looking forward to it,” said Kopecky. “I wish to invite all our fans to come to the rally.”

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Kopecky has been flying on asphalt and wants a home victory

Wittmann leads huge entry for Ralliart

The Ralliart challenge on Barum Czech Rally Zlin has been boosted by the addition of several star crews.
Ralliart is currently third in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge manufacturers’ standings after seven events thanks largely to the efforts of Austrian Franz Wittman Jr.
The Interwetten Racing driver has had to shoulder the burden of the firm’s expectations for much of this season. However, the Ralliart line-up will also include Dutch driver Jasper van den Heuvel and Czech Vaclav Pech when the IRC resumes next week.
“There will be great competition, I can’t wait,” said Wittman Jr, whose father Franz Sr won the event twice in the past. “Our goal is to close the gap to the Super 2000 cars. It’s not easy because our car has less power and more weight but it’s good we have more cars to help.”

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Franz Wittmann hopes to close the gap to S2000 cars

Prokop ready for BF Goodrich outing

Jacques Morelli, the man in charge of tyre firm BFGoodrich’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge campaign, has spoken of the high hopes he has for Martin Prokop on Barum Czech Rally Zlin.
Prokop was selected to drive the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team entry on the Tarmac event. Although Prokop has scant experience of the Peugeot 207 Super 2000 he will use, Morelli said he was confident he would replicate the performances of Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville, who represented the team in Monte Carlo and Ypres respectively.
“It promises to be another exciting event,” said Morelli. “Martin is quick on all types of surfaces and he is very experienced too, which he showed by sewing up the Junior World Rally Championship in Finland recently.”
A jury of journalists and representatives of the Czech motorsport governing body, BFGoodrich and Kronos Racing, which runs the Peugeot 207, chose Prokop for the seat ahead of four other Czech drivers.

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The BF Goodrich Drivers Team is a much-prized drive for local talent

Bouffier joins Proton for Barum Rally Zlin

The factory Proton effort will double in number for the first time this season when Bryan Bouffier joins Guy Wilks in the Malaysian manufacturer’s team.
Bouffier, who gave the Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 its competition debut last season, will contest Barum Czech Rally Zlin with the fledgling squad. The agreement is currently for the eighth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge only.
“It was always the plan to run a second car and Bryan is a great driver to have on board because of his experience,” said Chris Mellors, whose MEM operation is responsible for Proton’s IRC campaign.
Proton’s best result since joining the IRC on June’s Belgium Ypres Rally is the fourth place Wilks recorded on Rally Russia last month.
“We’ve got ideas of how we can go even faster,” said British driver Wilks. “It’s still a new car and the most important thing is to get to the finish of each event so we can build the experience.”

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Bryan Bouffier joins Guy Wilks in a two-car Proton squad

www.rally-irc.com

BMW DRIVERS GET READY FOR HOME RACES

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BMW drivers are getting ready for when the WTCC resumes at Oschersleben in three weeks. The German event will mark the beginning of the championship’s final phase and also BMW’s home race meeting.
Augusto Farfus, third in the drivers‘ classification, is visiting Asia: "I came here on behalf of Formula BMW Pacific and PETRONAS to be involved in a young drivers‘ development programme. After my return to Europe I will work hard with the team to ensure that we are best prepared for the final races," he said.
Test drives, PR appointments and other events equally fill the agenda of Farfus‘ team-mate at BMW Team Germany, Jörg Müller: "It’s hardly a summer break for me, there is always something happening. The break is more important for the engineers and technicians, as they work on the cars every day in search of more speed."
Andy Priaulx of BMW Team UK puts his family as top priority during a break. "Quality time with the family is always my priority. To get several days together without me flying off for a test or race is bliss," said Priaulx who will visit the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.
BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández are enjoying deserved holidays, but they will return to the wheel of their BMW 320si cars for a test at Adria at the end of August.


The next WTCC meeting at Oschersleben will mark BMW’s home event

LADA SPORT TO RACE THREE NEW CARS
The Russian Bears team that run the LADA factory squad are ready for a complete switch to the Priora car.
The new model was introduced in Porto last month, where James Thompson joined the team to drive the new car alongside two 110 2.0 machines for Jaap van Lagen and Kirill Ladygin. The same happened in Brands Hatch two weeks later. But from the next event in Oschersleben the team will race three Priora cars.
Thompson will be forced to miss Oschersleben due to his commitments in the Australian V8 Supercar championship, which were already in place before he signed for Lada. He will be replaced by team principal Viktor Shapovalov.
After having tested in Zolder last week, the team have another test scheduled at Magny-Cours on August 22, which will focus on the engine.


The LADA Sport team will race three Priora cars from Oschersleben

WTCC DRIVERS KEEP ON RACING DURING SUMMER BREAK
While the championship is having a long summer break, some of the drivers keep on racing in other series.

THOMPSON WINS IN DENMARK
James Thompson extended his lead in the Danish Touring Car Championship winning two out of the three races held last Sunday.
At the wheel of his Hartmann Racing Honda Accord Euro-R, Thompson claimed victory in the first and the third race beating the Chevrolet Lacetti cars of Henrik Lundgaard and Michel Nykjær.
With these results, Thompson has now an 18-point margin over Nykjær, while Lundgaard is 32 points behind him.

CORONEL AND ENGSTLER AT SEPANG
Tom Coronel and Franz Engstler took part last Sunday in the 10th 12 Hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race at Sepang, Malaysia.
They both drove Porsche 996 GT3 cars – Lammertink Racing for Coronel, Autoracing Club Bratislava for Engstler – and both retired because of technical failures.
The race was won by dominated by Manabu Orido in a BMW Z4 of the Petronas Syntium Team; Orido drove for Chevrolet in selected races of the 2008 WTCC.

MENU RETURNS TO BUENOS AIRES
For the fifth time in six years, Chevrolet driver Alain Menu will take part this weekend in the Buenos Aires 200 km.
The race counts as the seventh round of the Argentine TC2000 championship and the second round of the Endurance Series.
Menu will share with local ace Guillermo Ortelli a Chevrolet Astra car run by the Chevrolet Elaion team.
During his previous visits to Buenos Aires, Menu always managed to finish on the podium: he claimed victory in 2006, was classified second in 2004 and third in 2005 and 2008.

www.fiawtcc.com

Startschuss zur zweiten Saisonhälfte der Formel 3 Euro Serie

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Streckenlänge: 3,629 Kilometer
Rundenrekord F3ES: 1:22,744 Minuten / Lewis Hamilton 2005
Distanz: Sa: 22 Runden / So: 29 Runden
Sieger 2008: Nico Hülkenberg / Jon Lancaster
Auf der 3,629 Kilometer langen Kurzanbindung des Nürburgrings beginnt am kommenden Wochenende die zweite Saisonhälfte der Formel 3 Euro Serie. Nach zehn Saisonrennen hat Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) die Führung in der Gesamtwertung inne. Der Franzose gewann seit dem zweiten Rennwochenende des Jahres alle Samstag-Rennen. Seine Rivalen möchten diese Serie in der Eifel endlich beenden.
Erster Verfolger ist zurzeit Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport), der als Tabellen-Zweiter zu den Saisonrennen elf und zwölf kommt. Für den 20-Jährigen ist es ein echtes Heimrennen, er wohnt gerade einmal 15 Minuten vom legendären Nürburgring entfernt. An die in die Landschaft der Eifel eingebettete Rennstrecke hat Vietoris gute Erinnerungen: Im vergangenen Jahr sicherte er sich dort seine erste Pole-Position in der Formel 3 Euro Serie. Auch Jules Bianchi erinnert sich gerne an das Nürburgring-Wochenende 2008. Er stand damals als Rookie in beiden Rennen auf dem Siegerpodest.
Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport): „Der Nürburgring ist eine anspruchsvolle Strecke, vor allem der erste Sektor ist nicht einfach. Dort reiht sich Kurve an Kurve und es ist wichtig, die richtige Linie zu wählen. Auch für die Ingenieure ist es keine einfache Aufgabe, die optimale Abstimmung zu finden. Sie müssen einen Kompromiss suchen zwischen steilen Flügeln für den relativ langsamen ersten Sektor und hohen Top-Speed für den schnellen dritten Sektor. In der Gesamtwertung hat Jules mit 18 Punkten zwar einen relativ großen Vorsprung, aber ich gebe im Titelrennen noch nicht auf. Mein Ziel für das kommende Wochenende ist ein Sieg, am liebsten am Samstag.“

www.f3euroseries.com

Star drivers test new Superleague Formula video game

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Giorgio Pantano, Craig Dolby, Max Wissel, Davide Rigon and Enrique Bernoldi were among the star Superleague Formula by Sonangol drivers to try out the series’ brand new video game during the recent race meeting at Donington Park.
Featuring a grid of powerful 750bhp single-seater racing cars, Superleague Formula by Sonangol is the only competition in the world to unite premier league-quality motorsport with some of the world’s most famous football clubs. Supporters of those clubs and motorsport fans worldwide will soon get the chance to drive their own team’s car when the exciting new video game is launched in September.
“The game is really cool and I think football and motorsport fans will love it,” said Dolby, who kept Tottenham Hotspur in the title race at Donington with fifth place in race 1 and fourth in race 2, before netting a €70,000 prize fund for finishing second in the Super Final. “The lap times we did on the game were actually pretty close to the ones we set for real on race day. That means the fans can watch us race on a Sunday and then try and beat our times when they get home!”

Ex-Formula 1 drivers Pantano (AC Milan) and Bernoldi (Flamengo) also enjoyed their digital thrash around the British circuit on the game designed by Media Game and Image Space Incorporated, whose portfolio of video games already includes rFactor, F1 Challenge and NASCAR Thunder.
“I played it on Saturday before qualifying and I really liked the game,” said Pantano who took fourth place in race 1 at Donington before being knocked out of race 2 on the opening lap. “It’s very realistic and on the demo version we were driving my AC Milan car which was really nice!”
Bernoldi also emphasised the realism of the game after trying it out before a race day which unfortunately saw him post two DNFs. “We drove the Donington circuit and the braking points are almost exactly the same as in real life. The graphics are also really good and the view from the cockpit is very similar to what you actually see when you’re sat in the car for real. The fans are going to love it.”
Italian Rigon, who helped Chinese club Beijing Goan to win the inaugural Superleague Formula title last season before transferring to Greek giants Olympiacos for 2009, commented, “The game was great and I think the Olympiacos fans will really enjoy racing their car against all the other great teams we have in Superleague Formula” .
Perhaps the biggest endorsement should be reserved for FC Basel driver Wissel, who was the star of the weekend on track at Donington. He won race 1, a first Superleague triumph for the Swiss club, before finishing third from the very back of the grid in race 2 and netting another podium in the Super Final. “It’s really good and very close to reality,” he said. “I was watching the revs and speedometer on the game as I was playing and it’s pretty much exactly the same as real life. I already knew Donington quite well, but for some other circuits it could be quite useful for us drivers as the track layouts are so lifelike.”
The exciting new PC game will be released in September and will be distributed online from the official Superleague Formula website: www.superleagueformula.com