Tag: David Moretti

Report: Race 2 Monza

This race was not for the faint-hearted: Wolfgang Jaksch (Super Aguri) wins surprisingly, in the FORMULA classification Armando Mangini (Dallara GP2) still wins today.

It took six races until Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed) was not on the podium of the OPEN classification for the first time this year: Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing) is the big surprise winner of the second race day in Monza. The German won his second BOSS GP race after Assen in 2017.

Right at the start, the German benefited from an unfortunate manoeuvre by the pilots in front of him. While Jaksch overtook Armando Mangini (MM International) at the start, the first three of the starting group headed for the first corner: Ingo Gerstl was the first to turn into the Prima variante, but the Toro Rosso was hit by Phil Stratford‘s Benetton (Penn Elcom Racing). Stratford had to avoid Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport) when braking. The Dutchman had made a mistake with cold brakes – the chain reaction led to the retirement of Ingo Gerstl (rear right puncture) and Phil Stratford (broken snout).


Starting incident with Gerstl, Stratford, Van Kalmthout andJaksch

After two laps behind the safety car Van Kalmthout overtook the leader Jaksch. The duels behind were Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) against Andreas Fiedler (Fiedler Racing) and David Moretti (Griffith’s). Once again the race was interrupted by a mistake of Christian Eicke (Speed Center). He had parked his WSbR-Dallara in the gravel bed of the Variante Ascari.

When the race was resumed, Van Kalmthout, who was in 1st place, entered the pits. He parked his car a little later. Jaksch took the lead after the bad luck of the last races and days. The later winner caused a moment of shock only once when he grazed the gravel at the end of the second Lesmo curve.

10 minutes before the end of the 25-minute race Andreas Fiedler crashed into the rear of his front man Florian Schnitzenbaumer. Schnitzenbaumer spun into the gravel bed, Fiedler hit the tyre stacks of the Ascari variant frontally. The German could not get out on his own and had to be brought to the Medical Center in an ambulance. According to initial information, he hurt his back. We wish him all the best!

 

OPEN:

  1. Wolfgang JAKSCH (SUI) Super Aguri FA SA06 Cosworth 9 Laps
  2. Rinus van Kalmthout (NED) Dallara GP2 Judd + 3 Laps

Fastest lap: Rinus VAN KALMTHOUT – 1:37.058 min

FORMULA:

  1. Armando MANGINI (ITA) Dallara GP2 Mecachrome 9 Laps
  2. Marco GHIOTTO (ITA) Dallara GP2 Mecachrome + 0.452 sec
  3. David MORETTI (FRA) Dallara GP2 Mecachrome + 1.054 sec

Fastest lap: Marco GHIOTTO – 1:39.693 min

While Wolfgang Jaksch won the OPEN class, two Italians won the two biggest trophies in the FORMULA class: Armando Mangini was victorious ahead of Marco Ghiotto. Ghiotto, yesterday’s winner of the FORMULA class, stopped at the pre-start. The Italian started from the pits and was the last to follow the field, he benefited from the retirements in the race. David Moretti was ranked third, the Frenchman was on the BOSS GP podium for the first time. Walter Steding (Inter Europol Competition) finished fourth in the FORMULA classification ahead of Veronica Cicha (H&A Racing). “Piter” also scored many points on his first visit to Monza in sixth place. Wolfgang Jordan‘s race was unlucky: The German spun in the warm-up lap and was thrown away. Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport) had his first problem-free race weekend of the year in mind. Shortly before the end of the Red Flag race, however, he rolled out.

Quotes after the race:

OPEN winner Wolfgang Jaksch: “I let Rinus pass because he was pushing. The plan was to hang on to him and maybe because I have a little more power, I can pass him in the last lap. I had a good pace today, felt much better in the car than yesterday. Once I got into gravel, it was brutal, but luckily I still caught the car. I wanted to win the race today. Hats off to Ingo (Gerstl, note) yesterday. “What times he’s able to set is sensational.”

FORMULA winner Armando Mangini: “That was Grande Casino today. I don’t even know how I got through it.”

 

The next race of the BOSS GP 2018 will be the highlight of the season. For the first time, the BOSS GP will be part of the Formula 1 World Championship. 25 BOSS GP cars are expected for Hockenheim (July 20 to 22).

Photos: Michael Kavena/BOSS GP

Report: Free Practice Monza

Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed) was in front at the first probing of the track. Red flags interrupted the two training sessions on Friday several times.

 
f.l. Armando Mangini, Rinus van Kalmthout, Wolfgang Jaksch, David Moretti, Wolfgang Jordan

OPEN
Ingo Gerstl
set the best time of today in the second of the two practice sessions, with 1:28.5 min the reigning champion easily undercut the 1:30 mark. In the second free practice session Gerstl had only completed three laps, but he was once again the quickest – so the Top Speed driver will be the favourite for tomorrow’s qualifying (10:35 a.m.).

After the gearbox damage and early departure from the Red Bull Ring, Phil Stratford (Penn Elcom Racing) is back in BOSS GP. The American set the second fastest time twice with his Benetton Formula 1. In the first practice he stranded in Lesmo 1, a right turn in the middle section of the track, in the gravel bed and had to be towed away.

Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing) was able to complete many laps, at least in the first practice session. After the Super Aguri was made fit again after Hockenheim, every kilometre was important for the German. In the second practice he spun into the safety barrier at the exit of the second chicane – whether for technical reasons or a driving error has not yet been clarified.

Hans Laub (Speed Center) last-minutely choose his 1996 Formula 1 instead of a World Series car: The green and white Forti is one of the favourites of the fans.

Rinus van Kalmthout in the tuned GP2 with a V8 Judd engine was on the road without a transponder, so there are no times yet for the young Dutchman.


f.l. Florian Schnitzenbaumer, “Piter”, David Moretti

FORMULA
With 1:38,490 min Marco Ghiotto has positioned himself as the fastest FORMULA pilot at his first BOSS GP start in 2018. The Italian will be fourth overall on this training day and qualified for Q1 tomorrow. With him, a second Italian qualified for the first Qualifying: Armando Mangini from MM International.

By two tenths of a second Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) missed Q1. The German leader of the standings had slips in both training sessions, and is only ranked 6th overall on the timesheet. David Moretti, who was also be at a high level with 1:41 min, can be a dark horse tomorrow. The Italian lost more training time in the second practice session, the Lotus-coloured Dallara slipped off the track. Andreas Fiedler, Walter Steding, Christian Eicke and Wolfgang Jordan came through the training inconspicuously. The oldest participant in the field, Karl-Heinz Becker, was also in midfield. Thomas Jakoubek, Veronica Cicha and Monza newcomer “Piter” joined the ranks.

The qualifying will start tomorrow at 10:35 a.m. and is divided into two groups. The first five of today’s training day may go to the race track in the first 10 minutes, after that the remaining 12 drivers.

Pictures: Michael Kavena/BOSS GP

Weekend for speed freaks: BOSS GP in Monza

Speed is not only a term here, but it can be felt – so is the danger. In the Royal Park of Monza, the BOSS GP is once again making a stop this weekend, in the best weather and with excellent food.

Third stop: through the park
The Big Open Single Seaters are coming after Hockenheim and Spielberg on another traditional race track: the Monza Eni Circuit, as the track has recently been called, was an uninterrupted part of the BOSS GP Series from 2011 to 2016. This year the track is back as headliner of the Peroni Race Weekend.

Autodromo Nazionale Monza: Temple of Speed
The 5.793-kilometre circuit in the Royal Park of Monza is one of the most impressive racing facilities in the world. It is one of the last high-speed tracks in the world and one of the most challenging tracks in Europe for drivers.

Located just 15 minutes by car northeast of Milan, it is located in the metropolitan area of Italy’s second largest city. Many drivers and fans combine their visit with an excursion to the city centre and to nearby Lake Garda.

The 688 hectare park (twice as large as Central Park in New York, by the way) has been the home of the Autodromo since 1922. After Brooklands and Indianapolis, the circuit was the only third permanent racetrack in history built specifically for motorsport. The steep curves of those days still exist today and are a popular visitor point.

 

Hans Laub in his 1996 Forti will start again in this year's edition of the Monza race

Hans Laub in his 1996 Forti will start again in this year’s edition of the Monza race

 

Participants: BOSS GP
The unchallenged OPEN class leader Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed) will face competition from Rinus van Kalmthout. The 17-year-old Dutchman contests the Indy Lights series in the USA. In the Dallara-GP2, equipped with a Judd engine (8 cylinders, 4 litres displacement), he wants to collect more kilometers in a powerful racing car in Monza. Already last year he showed extraordinary performances. Wolfgang Jaksch will also be back. The German didn’t get his Super Aguri running at Hockenheim, but now everything is supposed to work for Monza. At the last second Hans Laub also announced a Formula 1 car for the OPEN. With the Forti FG 03 the German has a rare racer from 1996 under his butt.

Start-No.
Name Team Nat. Car
1 Ingo Gerstl Top Speed AUT Toro Rosso STR1
7 Phil Stratford Penn Elcom Racing USA Benetton B197
11 Rinus van Kalmthout Mansell Motorsport NED Dallara GP2 Judd
22 Hans Laub Speed Center DEU Forti FG 03
26 Wolfgang Jaksch F Xtreme Racing Team DEU Super Aguri 06

12 starters are registered in the FORMULA class, among them some returners: Wolfgang Jordan and the two Italians David Moretti and Marco Ghiotto. For FORMULA leader Florian Schnitzenbaumer, Andreas Fiedler could be the most dangerous in the absence of Bianca Steiner, Johann Ledermair and Salvatore De Plano. Armando Mangini is the third Italian to compete in the home race.

Start-No.
Name Team Nat. Car
100 Thomas Jakoubek Top Speed AUT Dallara GP2
105 Wolfgang Jordan H&A Racing DEU Dallara GP2
111 “Piter” Ray-Ban FRA Dallara WSbR
150 David Moretti Griffith’s ITA Dallara GP2
210 Marco Ghiotto Ghiotto ITA Dallara GP2
222 Veronica Cicha H&A Racing CZE Dallara GP2
321 Andreas Fiedler Fiedler Racing DEU Dallara GP2
323 Armando Mangini MM International ITA Dallara GP2
411 Karl-Heinz Becker Becker Motorsport DEU Dallara WsbN
505 Walter Steding Inter Europol Competition DEU Dallara GP2
555 Christian Eicke Speed Center SUI Dallara GP2
888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer Top Speed DEU Dallara GP2

 

Monza is not only interesting because of the Autodromo

Monza is not only interesting because of the Autodromo

 

Timetable: BOSS GP at Peroni Race Festival

Friday, 29 July 2018

10:40–11:10: Free Practice 1
16:15–16:45: Free Practice 2

Saturday, 30 June 2018

10:35–11:05: Qualifying
16:40–17:00: Race 1

Sunday, 1 July 2018

11:30–11:55: Race 2

 

Free entry and open paddock
Peroni has become the very heart of Italian motorsport. The bustling organisers of the Gruppo Peroni Race thus also attract a large number of spectators to the race track. Free admission during the three days of racing in Monza is a special offer. You can visit the paddock to get a rare insight into the work of the teams. There is a free choice of seats in the stands. If teams grant access, the boxes may also be viewed. The BOSS GP teams are in the garages with numbers 51 to 60, Andreas Fiedler (Dallara-GP2) pitched his tent in the paddock again, at the same level as the other BOSS GP teams in the paddock. Parking for motorcycles costs 5 Euro, for cars 10 Euro. Access is Viale Vedano 5 in Monza.

Other racing series on this race weekend are the German sports car series DMV GTC, the Northern European Formula Renault 2.0 and the Renault Clio Cup Italy. Historic cars compete in the Campionato Italiano Auto Storiche, the Alfa Revival Cup and the FIA Lurani Trophy for Formula Junior cars. All in all, a mix of jewellery from the recent and older motorsport past worth seeing.

Gerstl dominating again, van Kalmthout and Ledermair compete head-to-head

Podium race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Another heated race under French sun at Paul Ricard brought a clear winning Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed, OPEN class) with a head-to-head competition following on position 2 and 3 between the youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN class) and Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA class). 

It was a clear start-finish-victory for Ingo Gerstl, who dominated the track also in the second race of the weekend in France. After winning the first race at Saturday, the Austrian repeated a successful performance on Sunday, racing his best lap in 1:46,605 min. “I’m happy with the race”, Gerstl recapped his performance. “Especially since I reached my goal, to improve the best lap compared to Saturdays race.”

Start of race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Start of race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

The gap between Gerstl and the closest rivals on track, Rinus van Kalmthout (+ 1:00,865 min) and Johann Ledermair (+ 1:10,978 min) on position 2 and 3, was significant. “There was no chance against Ingo (Gerstl) today”, van Kalmthout showed respect to the winner. The both youngsters, Rinus 16 years old, Johann 25 years old, showed a decent battle. At the end best lap times were more than close, with a 1:50,616 min by van Kalmthout in his GP2 Evo Dallara and a 1:50,643 by Ledermair in his Dallara GP2. Quita a remarkable performance by the Austrian Ledermair, if you notice, that he competes in the FORMULA class, while van Kalmthout starts at the OPEN class. “It was a good race, tyre management went well again”, van Kalmthout was satisfied with his race. “Ingo was really quick, I had no chance, keeping up with him. Finally we got out the most of what was possible today, so I’m happy with the result”, the Dutch was satisfied with reaching the P2 again.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Meanwhile Johann Ledermair, finishing on grid position 3, making the P1 of the FORMULA class, was not pleased overall, but struggled with himself. “I’m totally not satisfied. The whole weekend was running a kind of weird. Initially I assumed tyre-problems due to their conditions after the race in Zandvoort. I was absolutely convinced, that the tyres caused some problems, we had to deal with. So we changed tyres, but I noticed immediately during the warm up lap, that something still is wrong. We checked everything and I got an okay by my chief mechanic. But I felt strong vibrations at the steering wheel during the race and took out some speed due to security reasons. Finally I just aimed to finish the race considering these circumstances. Most of all I’m angry with myself about hanging up on a tyre problem which turned out to be wrong”.

Finishing fourth was Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team, OPEN class) with his best lap in 1:56,507 min. As on Saturday Jaksch made it to the P3 of the OPEN class and was absolutely satisfied with his performance after some struggles at the race the day before: “Despite being on the same place, the race itself felt totally different for me. I’m absolutely satisfied and happy about the result and especially how it came. The car run smoothly, I got faster each round coming closer to the finish; to me that shows, each round strengthens the confidence in the car, which improves my lap times.”

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) overtaking Mahaveer Raghunathan at Paul Ricard 2017.

Wolfgang Jaksch (l.) overtaking Mahaveer Raghunathan at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) rounded the podium of the FORMULA class off, finishing on position 5 and 6. Got overtaken by Jaksch couple of laps before the finish, the gap between best lap times of the Italian (1:56,651 min) and the Indian (1:56,625 min) nevertheless was tight. “I totally didn’t expect to make it to the podium, so I am really really happy”, De Plano smiled widely. Having big issues on Saturdays race (“The car was terrible!”), De Plano changed his tyre management for Sundays race and was absolutely pleased: “The car run perfect, conditions were great, I loved the hot weather; it was a perfect race day for me.” Meanwhile P3 Mahaveer Raghunatan was happy, having reached a podium position as well, but struggled with the track layout. “The problem were the long straights. I lost a lot of time on these straights, actually I lost too much time there”, he summed up.

The remaing grid (all FORMULA class) either performed best lap times close to the podium drivers. David Moretti (Griffith’s, FORMULA class), getting overtaken by even seven drivers in the early stage of the race, started a great fight and made it from position 13 in round 2 up to position 7 while crossing the finishing line (best lap: 1:56,900 min). Wolfgang Jordan (8., H&A Racing, 1:59,784), Henk de Boer (9., De Boer Manx, 1:59,115) and Armando Mangini (10., MM International Motorsport, 1:58,225) also performed their best lap under two minutes. Christian Eicke (11., Speed Center, 2:01,327), Martin Kindler (12., Jenzer Motorsport, 2:02,586) and Bruno Navarrete (13., Griffith’s, 2:03,357) were close by.

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Race 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Four out of the starting grid of 17 cars were not classified because of early exits, due to various technical problems. While Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed, FORMULA class) had problems with the gearbox of his GP2 Dallara in lap 11, Veronika Cicha (H&A Racing, FORMULA class) had to exit the race due to tyre-problems as well in lap 11. Already in lap 5 Patrick D’Aubreby (Griffith’s, OPEN class) exited the race with technical problems. Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA class) spun off the track in lap 4.

Results race 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

Results race 2 Paul Ricard 2017.

 

More:

Photo Gallery Paul Ricard 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/paul-ricard-gt-open-euroformula-open/

Race 1 Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/ingo-gerstl-leads-the-grid-chased-by-youngsters-rinus-van-kalmthout-and-johann-ledermair/

Qualifying report Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/qualifying-at-paul-ricard-with-some-strange-failures/

Practice day Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/practice-day-at-paul-ricard-results/

Ingo Gerstl leads the grid, chased by youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout and Johann Ledermair

Podium of race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Hunting the reigning champion and current leader of the OPEN class Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), youngsters Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN class) and Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, FORMULA class) did a great job. At the end of race 1 on Circuit Paul Ricard in France the experienced driver made quite clear, that he wouldn’t let go his pole position of the grid.

The race started – at boiling, southern French heat – with a crash of Peter Göllner (Speed Center, FORMULA class) in round 1. During overtaking, Göllner had trouble to keep his GP 2 Dallara on the lane and crashed. The following safety car phase challenged drivers and cars due to the danger of overheating and “really didn’t suit the plans”, winner Gerstl grumbled after the race. When the track was released for the grid, drivers took off and stepped on the gas. Gerstl as well as his hunters van Kalmthout and Ledermair, soon established the Top 3, who kept the following field on distance.

“Of course I’m pleased by the win. With the expection of some details we had a great race”, Ingo Gerstl was happy about his win with a best lap time of 1:48,420 min. “The duel with Rinus (van Kalmthout) on position 2 was interesting. I wasn’t too sure about a direct, close battle with him on the track. It’s not yet too easy, to estimate his experience. I mean – he his just 16 years old. He showed a great performance and made it a really good race; guess how he will drive with a couple more years of experience. So actually we can look forward to further races with and against him”, Gerstl was pleased.

Race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017: Leading Ingo Gerstl (r.) sharply followed by Rinus van Kalmthout.

Race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017: Leading Ingo Gerstl (r.) sharply followed by Rinus van Kalmthout.

 

By Gerstl much praised, Rinus van Kalmthout himself was not only happy about making it to P2 with a best lap time of 1:50,847 min, but also with his personal fast growing learning curve: “It was a good race. First round was pretty close with Ingo (Gerstl), so I could stayed with him. Then we had the safety car phase; it was something to learn from – warming the tyres, warming the brakes. So that’s why actually I was happy about this experience. The race felt really good, even if driving between Ingo Gerstl with one second gap in front and Johann Ledermair with one second gap behind was just like a little bit driving alone. I learned a lot about tyre management during that race, since the driving with Pirelli is a totally new experience for me.” In particular the final stage of the race pleased van Kalmthout: “It’s nice to see that at last lap I was quicker than Ingo (Gerstl). That really gives me a confidence boost.” Goal of the 16 years old Dutch for race 2 at Paul Ricard on Sunday?: “Getting closer to Ingo (Gerstl)”. So quite a nice challenge waits for van Kalmthout, since Gerstls target for Sundays race is “to drive some really fast laps at the second race, after being five seconds slowler at race 1 than at Qualifying”.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) and Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) talk-shopping after the race.

Ingo Gerstl (l.) and Rinus van Kalmthout (r.) talk-shopping after the race.

 

Sharply following the two fastest OPEN class drivers was once more FORMULA class driver Johann Ledermair with his best lap in 1:51,967 min. His team had won the race against time already before the actual race started. After dropping out at the Qualifying due to a technical problem (fatigue fracture), Ledermairs team had worked non-stop and finally fixed the car by five minutes left until race start. “Huge thanks and appreciation to my team for fixing the problem”, Ledermair was more than pleased with the performance of his technical crew. “The car felt well. But actually there were some slight vibrations by the front tyres and I had some trouble with understeering”, he summed up his race. “All in all the race went well, I made the most out of it. Now we will work on getting everything fixed again until tomorrows race. The motto is, to fully attack at the second race again and getting the car faster anyway.”

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

Johann Ledermair on track at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

The podium of the OPEN class was completed by Wolfgang Jaksch, who raced onto overall position 7 with his Super Aguri SA06 (best lap: 1:58,177 min). “Second race this season, second podium. I’m absolutely happy about this result”, Jaksch smiled widely after the podium ceremony. Especially, since “it was a really difficult race. The grip level was totally different from the grid level during Qualifying. So the car was quite unstable and it was hard work, to bring my car home and take it to the finish. Lap times could have been better; despite of course I’m very happy with the P3, but not, how the race went.” Jaksch was self-critical as well: “I have to work on myself, to get along better with such difficult race conditions.” For second race on sunday “we will work on the setup and will do some finetuning. Making it again to the podium would be great”. Jaksch sets position 4 of the overall OPEN class ranking with 40 points, behind Ingo Gerstl on position 1 (75 points), Rinus van Kalmthout (47) and Phil Stratford (44).

Podium of the FORMULA class was completed by Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed) with a best lap time of 1:55,823 min, finishing on position 4 and Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport), finishing on position 5 with a best lap time of 1:57,226 min. While Raghunathan keeps the overall position 2 at the FORMULA class with now 104 gained points, behind Johann Ledermair with a total of 122 points, Schnitzenbaumer and Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) follow on third rank (both 90 points),

A great catch up on the track of Paul Ricard showed David Moretti (Griffith’s). Starting from position 10 at his first BOSS GP race at season 2017, he made it to position 6, overtaking couple of drivers with his GP 2 Dallara. Definitely less satisfied was Veroninka Cicha (H&A Racing). After a great performance at Qualifying in the morning, her car showed technical problems sharply before finishing the race, during lap 9.

After recurring technical problems, as well during practice as at Qualifying, Karl-Heinz Becker retired from the race already after dropping out of the Qualifying, just racing one single round.

Complete results of race 1 at Paul Ricard:

Results race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Results race 1 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Qualifying at Paul Ricard with some strange failures

Qualifying at Paul Ricard 2017.

While Le Castellet and its Circuit Paul Ricard continously are heating up, BOSS GP teams went on track for Qualifying at Saturday morning at temperatures of about 27°. Under best conditions Qualifying brought some “strange failures”, as Harald Michel, Official Scrutineer of BOSS GP Championship, recapped the session.

At first the Top 8 drivers of Fridays practice day – Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport), Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport), Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport), Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed), Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team), David Moretti (Griffith’s) and Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport) – entered the 5.842 km long track.

Wolfgang Jaksch during Qualifying at Paul Ricard 2017.

Wolfgang Jaksch during Qualifying at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Two drivers left the Qualifying unplanned. While Wolfgang Jaksch with his Super Aguri SA06 failed due to a major driving error already early, Johan Ledermair in his GP 2 Dallara was stopped by a technical problem. “The car had an fatigue fracture”, Ledermair wasn’t pleased by his unexpected exit, “our team will work out on that. We hopefully will fix the problem until the race on the afternoon”. Nevertheless – with a 1:49.560 min he raced onto start position 3 for the race this afternoon before he had to exit. No technical problem, but a “clear driving error I made”, stopped Wolfgang Jaksch already in round 3. “I was delayed by Moretti in the first round. So I really had to push hard the following round, to improve my time. I managed to overtake him, but misjugded my braking phase afterwards; so I missed to take the turn properly and got stucked in the gravel trap”, Jaksch summed his performance up. “Luckily I made at least one counted lap”, he adds, starting with a 1:54.722 min lap-time on start position 6.

The two exits slowed down leading Ingo Gerstl, who raced onto pole position nevertheless. “If everything runs smoothly, I improve my time each round. So for the Qualifying I targeted a 1:40′ lap-time. Unfortunately we had to slow down twice during the Qualifying, which only gives us 8 minutes, to race a best time”, Gerstl summarized the Qualifying. “Of course I’m fine with starting from pole-position. But actually there could have been potential for a much better time on the track”, the current leader of the OPEN class made his point. He now is “looking forward to great race and especially the duel with Rinus van Kalmthout”. The 16 years old Dutch raced onto position 2 in his GP2 Evo Dallara.

Qualifying results Paul Ricard 2017.

Qualifying results Paul Ricard 2017.

 

In the second stage of the Qualifying the Top 9 until Top 18 entered the Paul Ricard track. Two more early exits by Karl-Heinz Becker (Becker Motorsport) already in round 2 and Peter Göllner (Speed Center) in round 7 made it 4 out of 18 drivers quitting the Qualifying earlier than planned. “Yes, we had some strange failures at this Qualifying”, Scrutineer Michel summed it up. “But apart from this fact Qualifying went well, we are satisfied with the performance of the grid.”

Armando Mangini during Qualifying at Paul Ricard 2017.

Armando Mangini during Qualifying at Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Started in the second chapter of the Qualifying, Armando Mangini (MM International Motorsport) with his GP 2 Dallara managed to improved time and position into to Top 8 field and moved forward in the starting grid; he will now start from position 8 in the afternoon.

The starting grid for season race 5 is set, and will be led by the “usual suspects”. The setup of Ingo Gerstl holding the pole position, followed by Rinus van Kalmthout on position 2, Johann Ledermair on third position promises an exciting top of the field.

Kick-off of the race is at 2:30 p.m. See and follow BOSS GPs Instagram channel for live updates and coverage.

Starting grid season race 5 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Starting grid season race 5 at Paul Ricard 2017.

More:

Practice day at Paul Ricard: bossgp.com/practice-day-at-paul-ricard-results/

Photo gallery from Paul Ricard 2017: bossgp.com/gallery/paul-ricard-gt-open-euroformula-open/

Practice day at Paul Ricard – Ingo Gerstl is back on track, and on top of the grid

Practice 2 at Paul Ricard 2017.

Blue sky and 25° – Le Castellet obviously wants the best for BOSS GP. Fitting to great weather in southern France, the BOSS GP teams had an practice day, which mostly run according to the plan. 

“Both training sessions went well with the exception of some technical problems of the Dallara from Karl-Heinz Becker”, race-coordinator Christian Gänse was satisfied with the performance on practice day.

Fastest drivers on track – the “usual suspects”. First practice session was led by Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed) in his Toro Rosso STR1 (OPEN class) with a best lap-time of 1:48.490 min on the 5.842 km long track. He was followed by teammate Florian Schnitzenbaumer (Top Speed), who got a best lap-time of 1:56.394 min in his Dallara (FORMULA class). Mahaveer Raghunathan (PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport) in his Lola (FORMULA class) sharply behind (1:57.001 min) and Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport) in his Dallara (FORMULA class) as well sharply behind (1:58.614 min) also remained under the two-minutes-mark.

Detailed result of first practice session:

Results first practice session Paul Ricard 2017.

Results first practice session Paul Ricard 2017.

 

Best conditions on the track as well at the second practice of the day on early afternoon. While the grid was lead again by Ingo Gerstl, who improved his best lap up to 1:47.292 min, Rinus van Kalmthout (Mansell Motorsport, OPEN class) sneaked up and showed his best lap in 1:50.726 min, which made him the second best ranked driver of the session. Johann Ledermair, current leader of the FORMULA class overall ranking, improved his best lap significantly as well with 1:52.722 min and made it into the “Top 3” of the second practice session.

With Mahaveer Raghunathan (1:54.383 min), Florian Schnitzenbaumer (1:55.229 min), Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team, OPEN class, 1:56.343 min), David Moretti (Griffith’s, FORMULA class, 1:57.912 min), Salvatore De Plano (MM International Motorsport, FORMULA class, 1:58.297 min) and Henk de Boer (De Boer Manx, FORMULA class, 1:59.297 min) nine drivers made it to a < 2 minutes lap. A promising kick-off for a fast race weekend in Le Castellet.

Detailed result of second practice session:

Results second practice session Paul Ricard 2017.

Results second practice session Paul Ricard 2017.

More:

Detailed results I: Results first practice session Paul Ricard 2017.

Detailed results II: Results second practice session Paul Ricard 2017.

Start list for races at Paul Ricard in Le Castellet is set

On Track in Zandvoort.

Third station of  the BOSS GP Championship season 2017 this weekend (10.-11./06.2017) is around the corner. The start list for the races in France is now set. 

Host for season races 5 and 6 is the “GT Open & Euroformula Open” at the French Circuit “Paul Ricard” in Le Castellet. Last time, BOSS GP teams were racing at this track, was at the “FFSA Historic Tour” in May 2015. So drivers and crews will be back on the track, which will host a “Grand Prix of France” at the Formula 1 in 2018, ten years after the last F1-race in France was held.

14 drivers will compete in the FORMULA class this weekend. Current leader of the class, Johann Ledermair (Ledermair Motorsport, picture), will be on track again, hunting for the next podiums, as well as the second of the ranking, Mahaveer Raghunathan (Coloni Motorsport), and the third, Salvatore de Plano (MM International Motorsport). Since Veronika Cicha will race at Paul Ricard again, the races will have a female participant again for the second time this season. Well, this is the grid for the FORMULA class in Le Castellet, Paul Ricard, 2017:

Start-No. Name Team Nat. Make Type
101 Peter Göllner Speed Center SUI Dallara GP2
105 Wolfgang Jordan H&A Racing GER Dallara GP2
115 Mahaveer Raghunathan PS Racing by Coloni Motorsport IND Lola Auto GP
127 Bruno Navarrete Griffith’s FRA Dallara GP2
136 Henk de Boer De Boer Manx NED Dallara GP2
150 David Moretti Griffith’s FRA Dallara GP2
222 Veronika Cicha H&A Racing CZE Dallara GP2
323 Armando Mangini MM International Motorsport ITA Dallara GP2
411 Karl-Heinz Becker Becker Motorsport GER Dallara World Series by Nissan
430 Martin Kindler Jenzer Motorsport SUI Dallara World Series by Nissan
444 Johann Ledermair Ledermair Motorsport AUT Dallara GP2
555 Christian Eicke Speed Center SUI Dallara GP2
888 Florian Schnitzenbaumer Top Speed GER Dallara GP2
999 Salvatore De Plano MM International Motorsport ITA Dallara GP2

Reigning Champion and current leader of the OPEN class, Ingo Gerstl (Top Speed), will be back on track in Le Castellet as well as Wolfgang Jaksch (F Xtreme Racing Team), who didn’t race in Zandvoort either. Also Rinus van Kalmtouth (Mansell Motorsport), who made his BOSS GP debut in Zandvoort three weeks ago, will start at Paul Ricard. The French Patrick D’Aubreby (Griffith’s) will run his first race of the BOSS GP championship 2017 on his “home track”.

Start-No. Name Team Nat. Make Type
1 Ingo Gerstl Top Speed AUT Toro Rosso STR1 F1
11 Rinus van Kalmthout Mansell Motorsport NED Dallara GP2 Evo
19 Patrick D’Aubreby Griffith’s FRA AGS JH23 F1
26 Wolfgang Jaksch F Xtreme Racing Team GER Super Aguri SA06 F1

 

BOSS GP will compete at seven different European venues in 2017, holding 14 races in total. Hockenheim in April and Zandvoort in May are done. Paul Picard (FRA) will set season races 5 and 6. Remaining tracks are Zolder (BEL), Assen (NED), Brno (CZE) and Imola (ITA).

More:

Find detailed statistics of current standings here: bossgp.com/standings/

All data about the last BOSS GP race at the Circuit Paul Ricard (05/2015) you find here: bossgp.com/race/historacing-tour-paul-ricard/

Find all informations about the Circuit “Paul Ricard” on this website: www.circuitpaulricard.com