Month: August 2018

The Heroes of Racing on TV

Heroes of Racing

This series is full of exciting characters and stories. What unites them is their passion for motorsport and their slogan: Full throttle! A new documentary series makes the BOSS GP a television event.

In the leading roles of the new docutainment series are top star Ingo Gerstl, team boss Markus Lehmann and the fastest couple in the world: Wolfgang Jaksch and Veronika Cicha. Ex-racing driver Sebastian Stahl reveals interesting facts about the technique behind, explained in an understandable language for non-experts and nevertheless a rare insight for freaks.

The new series tells the stories of success and suffering of the protagonists on and off the race track in seven episodes with up to four repetitions per day on the television station auto, motor und sport TV – available throughout Europe as Pay TV via cable or IPTV. From October, the episodes will also be available on Amazon Prime.

Das Paar hinter der Idee zur Fernsehserie: Christian Effer und von der 7 Berge Filmwerkstatt

The duo behind the idea of the TV series: Christian Effer and Christina Hermanns from 7 Berge Filmwerkstatt

 

Premiere on auto, motor und sport TV:

1st episode: August 17

2nd episode: August 31

3rd episode: September 14

4th episode: September 28

5th episode: October 12

6th episode: October 26

7th episode: November 9

 

Photos: 7 Berge Filmwerkstatt (poster), Michael Kavena/BOSS GP

Report: Race 2 Assen

Ingo Gerstl (Toro Rosso STR1)

Roy Glaser wins the FORMULA class with a dominant performance, win number 2 for the Suiss; Gerstl ahead of Stratford in the OPEN.

It was the weekend of the comebacks: Roy Glaser (SUI, Speed Center) was the fastest driver of the FORMULA class yesterday, but two spins prevented a top result. Today, however, Glaser did not give his competitors the slightest chance. The Swiss won his class superiorly, in the overall rankings he thus made it to rank 3.

In front of him classified the fastest pilots of the OPEN class. Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) clinched season’s victory number 8, allowing the Salzburg-born racing driver to crown himself BOSS GP Champion 2018 at the penultimate race weekend in Brno (September 7-9).

Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom Racing) climbed on the podium for the seventh time this year, and for the seventh time in second place – for Stratford with his Benetton B197 it was the smoothest weekend of the whole year. In contrast to last year’s Assen winner Wolfgang Jaksch (DEU, F Xtreme Racing), who already had to retire his 2006 Super Aguri at the end of the race, a technical problem forced him off the track several times before.

In front of full stands with enthusiastic Dutch fans the duels in the midfield were especially worth seeing. Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center) was the big surprise of the weekend. The Swiss drove the best race weekend of his BOSS GP career, despite an accident in free practice. With second place in the FORMULA class he confirmed his performance of the previous day.

Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed), who had a tough race, also made it on to the podium today. After yesterday’s accident, he had to switch to a spare car in the second race. Without power steering and with the consequences of an operation, the German went to his physical limits – with rank 3 he extended his championship lead. One reason for this was the retirement of Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing), who was in the second place when he was forced to stop the car due a technical failure.

Looking ahead: Next, the BOSS GP will be the headliner of the Masaryk Racing Days at the beginning of September (7-9) in Brno, Czech Republic. The season finale will take place two weeks later in Spielberg (21-23 September), as part of the DTM weekend.

 

Quotes after the race:

New track record holder and double winner Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed): “Of course, the record was great, now it counts. I was even faster in qualifying. The second race was smooth, but the 25 minutes of racing time are really long in a Formula 1 car.”

FORMULA winner Roy Glaser (SUI, Speed Center): “Two race weekends, two wins – what more could you ask for? In the end, I drove without risk today. Unfortunately I can’t be at any more races this year because of my job.”

3rd FORMULA Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed): “After the accident yesterday I had to change the car. Once you drive a car with power steering, you’ll never drive anything else. I was about to give up halfway through the race. In the end I had to slow down, I couldn’t hold it anymore.”

 

Photos: Michael Kavena/BOSS GP

Report: Race 1 Assen

f.l. Veronika Cicha and FORMULA winner Andreas Fiedler

Ingo Gerstl sets lap record and wins for the seventh time this season. Andreas Fiedler wins the FORMULA classification for the first time and makes up ground in the championship.

GAMMA Racing Day attracted tens of thousands of spectators to the beautiful race track in Assen on the first day of racing. The highlight for many of them have been the races of the BOSS GP for years. So probably also this year, because the grandstands were well filled just in time for the first race at 4:30 pm – with light wind and cloudy sky (22 degrees outside temperature).

It had already been promised in qualifying, and Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed) made it official in the race: The Austrian not only won the race and the OPEN class for the seventh time this season, but also set a new lap record at the TT Circuit Assen with 1:18,298 min. After Gerstl had already driven the fastest lap ever in qualifying (1:17,157), the record only became official in the race. Gerstl’s old record was 1:19,371 from 2016.

Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing) finished second behind Ingo Gerstl. The US-American complained about wearing down tyres on his Benetton B197, but was never pressed by the pursuers – all in all a problem-free race.

Unlike Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing), who had his hands full throughout the race. With Andreas Fiedler, Wolfgang Jaksch and partner Veronika Cicha as well as Peter Göllner and towards the end of the race Roy Glaser formed an exciting fighting group. Jaksch was not only involved in all kinds of action, but also drifted in Fast and Furious style in the Super Aguri in the first lap to stay on track. Despite all the chaos, he became third overall.

Even before the start of the race there was an accident: Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) spun so hard into the barriers during the tyre warm-up that the broken car had to be lifted. The German could leave the car on his own, but lost valuable points in the championship. In return Andreas Fiedler (Fiedler Racing) made a considerable leap forward. After the injury-related non start at Hockenheim in July, he won the FORMULA class at the comeback. Now he is only 14 points behind Schnitzenbaumer.

Veronika Cicha (H&A Racing) climbed the podium with Fiedler. The Czech was on the podium for the first time this year. A flawless race enabled her, as did Peter Göllner (Speed Center), to take a champagne shower. Göllner started after a practice accident in the spare car, and had to get used to the circumstances.

The fastest lap of the FORMULA drivers went to Roy Glaser (Speed Center), but the Swiss pole setter can’t buy anything for that. Glaser spun at the restart of the race, and was left behind by the rest of the field. After a furious chase to catch up, Glaser exaggerated his attempt to attack third-placed Jaksch. A shame: A spin ended his race shortly before the end.

Christian Eicke (Speed Center) started from the pits, he became inconspicuous seventh. Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition), who couldn’t get away at the restart, should also be unhappy. He also chased the field with a delay. Too bad, because the German had shown a good pace so far this weekend.

Tomorrow’s second race starts at 16:06 CET +1 and a live stream is available at www.podium.tv

 

Quotes after the race:

FORMULA winner Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing): “My mechanic said I should slow down at the beginning and only push at the end – but that didn’t work out like this anymore. I was almost certain that Roy would make another mistake, he was eager to get Jaksch. I just didn’t want to make a mistake, take the points home. I had the championship in mind the whole time.”

2nd OPEN Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom Racing): “The race was difficult because the track is so demanding. I’ve never been here before, six laps in practice and then right into qualifying. I’m certainly not at the limit yet.”

2nd FORMULA Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center): “A sensation! This podium was expensive to buy after the accident in the morning.”

 

Photos: Michael Kavena/BOSS GP

Report: Qualifying Assen

Roy Glaser (Dallara GP2)

Ingo Gerstl broke the lap record at the TT Circuit in Assen on the first day with a 1:17.157 min under optimal conditions. Stratford in the Benetton in row 1, Glaser and Schnitzenbaumer start from row 2.

The Austrian Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed) was the first to qualify. Right at the beginning Gerstl used the free track in his Toro Rosso STR1, already in the second lap he managed a 1:17.2 min, shortly afterwards he improved the best time again to 1:17.157. In the following laps he improved in sector 3, but it was not enough for another record time. Nevertheless he set the fastest lap ever driven in Assen – an official lap record (currently: 1:19.371 by Gerstl in 2016) is only valid in the race.

Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing) will start the races (starting time 1st race: today at 16:30 GMT +1) next to Gerstl. The American in the 1997-Benetton had to go into Q2 and was long on rank 3, late (in his 9th lap) he could improve to rank 2. Roy Glaser (Speed Center) held this position until shortly before the end. The FORMULA winner from Hockenheim started in Q1 and improved lap by lap. Finally, Florian Schnitzenbaumer, leader of the FORMULA standings, had nothing against the Swiss. In the end, the Top Speed driver was a second behind Glaser. Thus the two fastest FORMULA drivers were ahead of Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing). However, last year’s winner in the Super Aguri SA06 is a hot tip for the race.

Andreas Fiedler (Fiedler Racing) achieved a respectable result on his return to BOSS GP: The German had injured himself in a crash in Monza, and is making his comeback this weekend in Assen – he starts from 6th place.

Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition) proved to be really quick this weekend. In the meantime, Steding was even placed 5th. During the session he had to park his Dallara-GP2, so he dropped back to 7th place towards the end.

Peter Göllner and Christian Eicke (both Speed Center) were on the track for a while in a row. The Swiss Göllner had an accident in free practice. The car spun and the GP2 Dallara hit the tyre stacks with its tail. The Speed Center crew managed to set up the spare car in the shortest possible time and get it ready for the following qualifying session. Göllner thanked them and finished eighth. The Speed Center duo blasted Veronika Cicha, who achieved her best qualifying result of the year with 9th place.

Flat curbs and a wide track promise a lot of overtaking possibilities for the afternoon. According to current weather forecasts, it should remain dry despite overcast.

Assen race guide and live stream

BOSS GP at GAMMA Racing Day: Our guide provides up-to-date information at the race track or via live stream at home.

Live stream on Podium.TV

Live timing

Practice, qualifying and race results

Breaking news on Instagram @bossgp2010 and Facebook @bossgpoffical

Results in detail and starting grids

BOSS GP standings

Gallery of this weekend’s event

Assen – Gamma Racing Days 2018

 

Timetable BOSS GP

Saturday, August 18, 2018

10:08–10:38: Free Practice
13:12–13:42: Qualifying
16:30–16:50: Race 1 (distance: 20 minutes)

Sunday, August 19, 2018

16:06–16:31: Race 2 (distance: 25 minutes)

BOSS GP Assen: Motorsport world come together

Free, but not for nothing: at GAMMA Racing Day Formula 1-star Carlos Sainz Jr., superbike ace Michael van der Mark and the BOSS GP meet – with free admission for race fans.

For several years now, GAMMA Racing Day has been attracting Dutch motorsport fans: every summer, the event at the TT Circuit in Assen offers a monster programme that is absolute unique. The mix of kart, motorcycle, touring cars and formula cars is nowhere else to be found. It is therefore hardly surprising that up to 100,000 fans make a visit to the north-east of the Netherlands.

Assen, a motorcycle circuit
The first Dutch Tourist Trophy (TT) for motorcycles took place in 1925, but still on public roads. It was not until 1955 that a race track was built specifically for this purpose, parts of the track however, were still open to public transport. The 7.7 km long track was completely renovated in 1984 and shortened to 6.1 km. In 1992 the current TT Circuit Assen was permanently separated from public transport for the first time. In 2006 there was another change to the layout: The track was shortened to 4.5 kilometres, and safety was significantly improved.

Assen is the only track worldwide where a Motorcycle World Championship race has been held every year since 1949. But Assen is also on the map when it comes to automotive sports: In the past, for example, the ChampCar World Series and the A1 GP started on the TT Circuit. The BOSS GP has also been back in Assen regularly since 2015, providing a mega show year after year. Record winner is the Austrian Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), who won five out of the last six races.

Full grandstands are expected for the GAMMA Racing Day 2018

Full grandstands are expected for the GAMMA Racing Day 2018

 

GAMMA Racing Day: Event of superlatives
For three days, a densely packed programme thrills viewers on location and live on Dutch television. Admission is free, access to the paddock is limited and costs 15 euros per day or 25 euros for all three racing days. Tickets can either be purchased on site at the ticket offices or online in advance.

Due to the tightly packed program, the BOSS GP only runs one free practice session. Both Saturday and Sunday there will be a race of the Big Open Single Seaters. The race cars and teams of the BOSS GP are located in the pit building, from Pit 11 to 20.

Other series in the line-up: Supercar Challenge, TCR Europe, Ford Fiesta Cup, historic sports and touring cars, FIA Superkart EC, FIM Sidecar World Championship, Yamaha R3 Cup.

Plus: Formula 1 demo laps by Carlos Sainz Jr. in the Renault, superbike demo laps by Michael van der Mark on the Yamaha, Formula 1 two-seater and much more.

 

One of the highlights: Demo laps from Carlos Sainz Jr. in his Renault Formula 1 car

One of the highlights: Demo laps from Carlos Sainz Jr. in his Renault Formula 1 car

 

Timetable: BOSS GP at GAMMA Racing Day

Saturday, August 18, 2018

10:08–10:38: Free Practice
13:12–13:42: Qualifying
16:30–16:50: Race 1 (distance: 20 minutes)

Sunday, August 19, 2018

16:06–16:31: Race 2 (distance: 25 minutes)

BOSS GP is close racing, with fast and loud cars

BOSS GP is close racing, with fast and loud cars

 

Participants: BOSS GP

The OPEN class is for type Formula 1 car built from 1997, Champ Car and IndyCar built from 1997. Engine is free; numbers from 1 to 99.

Starting No.
Name Team Nat. Car
1 Ingo Gerstl Top Speed AUT Toro Rosso STR1
7 Phil Stratford Penn Elcom Racing USA Benetton B197
26 Wolfgang Jaksch F Xtreme Racing Team DEU Super Aguri SA06

 

FORMULA is open to GP2/Formula 2, GP3 (13/16), Auto GP, A1GP, Formula Acceleration 1, Superleague Formula, World Series by Renault, World Series by Nissan, F3000 cars build from 2002. Only the original engine is allowed, organisation committee can make an exception in the classification of a car according to the performance data of the car; Numbers from 100 to 999.

Starting No.
Name Team Nat. Car
101 Peter Göllner Speed Center SUI Dallara GP2
221 Bernd Herndlhofer Top Speed AUT Dallara GP2
222 Veronika Cicha H&A Racing CZE Dallara GP2
321 Andreas Fiedler Fiedler Racing DEU Dallara GP2
505 Walter Steding Inter Europol Competition DEU Dallara GP2
555 Christian Eicke Speed Center SUI Dallara GP2
666 Roy Glaser Speed Center SUI Dallara GP2
888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer Top Speed DEU Dallara GP2