Month: July 2020

Report: Race 2 Imola

Double victorys for Höher and Gerstl at the season opener in Italy.

Guest starter Christopher Höher also won the FORMULA class in race 2. In a convincing manner he crossed the finish line only two seconds behind OPEN winner Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed). After finishing third in race 1, Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) was able to improve his performance by finishing second behind Höher in the FORMULA class. The defending champion is therefore second in the championship after the first race weekend and is also a contender for the title this year. After a longer period of not being on the podium, Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Coloni) was allowed to step on the podium again. With a third place at his debut in an A1GP Lola he is also a real contender in the championship.

Roman Hoffmann impressed after his retirement in the first race with the fourth place in race 2, only three tenths of a second separated him from de Plano and thus from the podium. Luca Martucci finished fifth after a drive-through penalty (wrong position at the flying start). On the following places: Nicolas Matile, Michael Aberer, Bruno Jarach and Walter Steding.

The next race for the Big Open Single Seater will take place on 1-2 August at the DTM event in Spa-Francorchamps.

Report: Race 1 Imola

Fantastic season opener for the BOSS GP at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Chris Höher (AUT, Top Speed) wins the race in the FORMULA class. Although he was beaten by Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) in the qualifications, in the race none of his fellow racers were able to keep up with Höher’s impressive pace. The 23-year-old former GT3 ace flawlessly secured his fifth BOSS GP racing victory.

Behind him, two thrilling duels kept us in suspence for almost the entire race. Martucci and Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) competed for second place in the FORMULA class, while  Marc Faggionato (MCO, Zig-Zag) and Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Coloni) engaged in a fierce battle for fourth place. While Martucci had to defend himself against Ghiotto until the very end and took a hard-fought second place, the fate of who would take fourth place was determined by a defect in Faggionato’s car, which tipped the scales in favour of de Plano in his A1 GP car. Walter Steding finished the race fifth just behind Nicolas Matile, while Christian Ferstl (AUT Top Speed) finished seventh, which crowned him the best of the six rookies.

In the OPEN class of Formula 1 cars, five-time BOSS GP overall winner Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) did not give in. He drove his Toro Rosso STR1 to overall victory without any troubles. Second place went to Ulf Ehninger, who achieved his best BOSS GP result so far. Riccardo Ponzio (ITA, Adriatico Competition) was unable to start with his Jaguar R3 due to mechanical failure. Race 2 starts at 16:15.

Report Qualifying Imola

Ingo Gerstl on pole, fastest FORMULA driver was Luca Martucci.

The first qualifying session this season for the BOSS GP Racing Series brought a big surprise. While Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) will once again start from pole position with the Toro Rosso STR1, the Italian Luca Martucci (MM International) will start for the very first time from row 1. At his home race, the GP2 driver brought himself into an excellent position in the battle for victory in the FORMULA class.

From row 2 the actual favourites Christopher Höher (AUT, Top Speed) and Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) will start the first of two races this weekend. Only a few tenths of a second separated the three fastest GP2 drivers from each other.

Marc Faggionato (MCO, Zig-Zag) was able to fulfil high expectations by finishing fifth overall. After a messed up 2019 season, Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Coloni) can be pleased with 6th place, as this is his first time in an A1 GP Lola car. Walter Steding (DEU) also boasted an impressive performance as as he qualified in his first outing with his new team Scuderia Palladio ahead of Ulf Ehninger (DEU, ESBA Racing) in the Benetton B197 Formula 1. Roman Hoffmann (AUT, Hoffmann Racing) proved to be the fastest of the BOSS GP rookies: he finished 10th overall.

Riccardo Ponzio (ITA, Adriatica Competition) could not participate in the qualifying. The engine of his Jaguar R3 needs to be changed until tomorrow. The 20-minute race 1 starts at 11:15 and, race 2 over a distance of 25 minutes at 16:15.

Preview & Guide Imola

BOSS GP brings back world-class motorsport to Italy this weekend.

The 26th BOSS GP racing season kicks off with Forza Fanatec in Imola (July 11th-12th), where the season finale is set to take place just 15 weeks later. The BOSS GP races are the first major motorsport event in Italy after the lockdown. Just like the races in Spa at the beginning of August (1-2), the meeting is a two-day event without spectators on site.

In Imola, there are a couple of new drivers and cars on the grid. All eyes are certainly on the 22-year-old Italian Riccardo Ponzio, who will make his debut with a 2002 Formula 1 car from Jaguar. With Ulf Ehninger (Benetton B197) and OPEN champion Ingo Gerstl (Toro Rosso STR1) two more Formula 1 cars are in the mix.

Other debutants are Austrian hill-climb specialist Christian Ferstl, former touring car ace Roman Hoffmann (both GP2) and Michael Aberer (AUT, WSbR). Also participating for the first time in the FORMULA class are Estonian Bruno Jarach and Italian Roberto Vanni, who will compete in the only Formula 3000 car.

They will take on champion Marco Ghiotto (Scuderia Palladio), Luca Martucci (MM International) and Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed), among others. We can also be excited about the first appearance of Salvatore De Plano in the A1GP Lola car of Coloni.

The new dry tyre from Pirelli in purple also makes its debut. This tyre is intended to enable experienced drivers to achieve faster lap times and make it easier for less experienced drivers to handle the “black gold”.

Modern and historic sports car and touring car series will round up the Gruppo Peroni event, as well as the Lotus Cup and the Alfa Revival Cup.

When are the BOSS GP cars on track?

Saturday, 11 July 2020:
10:35–11:05 Free Practice 1 (30 minutes)
12:50–13:20 Free Practice 2 (30 minutes)
16:10–16:40 Qualifying (Q1 20 minutes, Q2 8 minutes)

Sunday, 12 July 2020:
11:15–11:35 Race 1 (20 minutes)
16:15–16:40 Race 2 (25 minutes)

Where can fans follow the races online?

Gruppo Peroni livestream on www.youtube.com/user/PeroniRace
Livetiming and results on www.autodromoimola.it/live-timing-imola
All results on bossgp.com as well
Up-to-date with Instagram @bossgpofficial and Facebook @bossgpofficial