Tag: Race 2

Report Race 2 Brno

Walter Steding (Dallara GP2)

Big surprise in the Sunday race: Double victory for Scuderia Palladio.

Although it was raining overnight, the track mostly dried up until the second BOSS GP race at the Masaryk Racing Days was started. As a result, all the drivers went onto the track on Pirelli P Zero dry tyres. Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) got a bad start from row 1, but he defended his class lead and followed Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) on the first meters. Right behind him Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) managed to overtake Roman Hoffmann (AUT, Hoffmann Racing) right on lap 1, just like he did yesterday.

Hoffmann had to defend himself against Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Coloni) and Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) which were pushing from behind. On lap 3 De Plano and Fiedler collided in turn 1. While de Plano was able to continue his race almost undamaged, Fiedler’s GP2 Dallara was visibly damaged. De Plano finished the race in 5th place, Fiedler behind Christian Ferstl (AUT, Ferstl Racing) still in 7th place.

The situation came to a head at the front when the overall leader Gerstl steered his Toro Rosso Formula 1 into pit lane. An overheated engine forced the winner of all previous season races to make a stopover. Marco Ghiotto thus took the overall lead in the race, which he did not give up until the checkered flag.

In the meantime, Chris Höher (AUT, Top Speed) also mixed up the field. However, like yesterday he had to park his car in the pits early. Meanwhile, Ghiotto’s teammate Walter Steding (DEU) caused a sensation. During the middle of the race he passed Hoffmann for third place. The Austrian defended himself hard, but that was not enough. A few laps later Martucci was also overtaken by Steding in the penultimate corner. For Steding, second place in today’s race was the first podium since his most successful racing season in 2015. For Marco Ghiotto’s Scuderia Palladio it was also the first one-two victory in the team’s history in BOSS GP.

For defending champion Ghiotto the overall standings after 6 of 12 races look very promising. Rival Luca Martucci is already 30 points behind. Walter Steding, who is only one point ahead of Roman Hoffmann, now follows in third place.

You can watch BOSS GP in race action again at the Cuvee Sensorium Grand Prix in Assen in three weeks’ time.

Photo: Dirk Hartung

Report Races Spa

Ingo Gerstl is chasing Riccardo Ponzio for the lead

The BOSS GP Racing Series showed two fantastic races at Spa.

The compact schedule of two days, the challenging 7-kilometer track and the measures taken against Covid-19 made this race weekend a demanding one for man and material. However, the gentleman series mastered this challenge excellent and put a smile under the masks of everyone involved.

The time differences between the drivers were not only small on paper, no, also the racing among the drivers was impressive. In both races the lead changed several times: Temporarily Riccardo Ponzio (ITA, Adriatica Racing) and even the fastest FORMULA driver, Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) were leading the races. In the end, however, V10 power of the Cosworth engine and Ingo Gerstl’s (AUT, Top Speed) experience made the difference. Even minor driving mistakes in both races could not prevent Gerstl’s season wins 3 and 4.

Nevertheless, the beaten Riccardo Ponzio was over the moon. For the first time, the 22-year-old was able to drive his Jaguar R3 over two complete race distances and had the opportunity to show in some stages what is possible for car and driver. We can look forward to some more exciting duels this year.

OPEN class podium in Race 1 and 2: f.l. Ponzio, Gerstl, Ehninger

For Marco Ghiotto the two class wins in Spa-Francorchamps mean the lead in the FORMULA championship ranking. BOSS GP rookie Roman Hoffmann (Hoffmann Racing) also makes a big step forward in the classification. The Austrian not only skillfully made some drifts in both races, but was also able to finish on the podium twice. These were the first BOSS GP trophies for the former touring car ace.

Behind the Leading Car, driven by Fanatec CEO Thomas Jackermeier, the race started as usual with a flying start. In both races, many cars were side-by-side in the approach to the first hairpin. In race 1 Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) tried to gain places at the start, but had to pull back. For the Italian it was an average weekend by his increased standards. He finished fourth in class at his Spa premiere. In the second race he had a spectacular duel with pole setter Marc Faggionato (MCO, Top Speed). Just a couple of laps before the end the two touched each other slightly and Martucci spun out. But with a 22-point gap, Martucci is now Ghiotto’s first chaser. Faggionato could continue and finished third. Walter Steding (GER, MM International) can also be extremely satisfied with fourth place. Due to his consistent performances he is in the Top-4 of the points standings as well.

Race 2 battle between Martucci and Faggionato did not end good

If you have missed the races, you can watch a replay of all the BOSS GP action from Spa on our YouTube channel.

Report Qualifying Spa

FORMULA pole for Marc Faggionato

First row for Gerstl and Faggionato.

The heroes of the BOSS GP Racing Series blasted through the Ardennes at around 300 km/h. Fastest in today’s qualifying was once again Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed). With a time of 1:55.836, he was the only driver to stay under the two-minute mark for one lap.

Marc Faggionato (MCO, Top Speed), who will exceptionally start for Top Speed this weekend, also put in a strong performance. With a time of 2:03.888 he was four tenths faster than champion Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio). Ghiotto will start from the second row, together with fellow countryman Riccardo Ponzio (Adriatica Competition). His beautiful Jaguar R3 was repaired by the team overnight, allowing Ponzio to participate on race day.

Fastest driver in the second qualifying session (for all drivers outside the top 5 of free practice) was Roman Hoffmann (AUT, Hoffmann Racing). With this he surprisingly pushed Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) out of the top 5, with Walter Steding (DEU, MM International) and Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) following in the other places. Michael Aberer in the World Series by Renault classified ninth fastest. Ulf Ehninger in Benetton Formula 1 will start the race from tenth position.

Both races can be followed today, Sunday, in the live stream at www.bossgp.com/livestream. Race 1 starts at 12:05, race 2 at 16:05.

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 2 Imola

FORMULA title decision: Bracalente wins the race, Marco Ghiotto the championship.

How can it be better? The final decision for the championship title in the FORMULA class was made in the twelfth and last BOSS GP season race of 2019. Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) went into the race weekend with better chances. After Alessandro Bracalente’s (ITA, Speed Center) victory in Saturday’s race his lead reduced from 15 to 12 points. This means: Ghiotto had to be at least sixth today if Bracalente scores another victory in Sunday’s race.

Ghiotto already had a shock moment at the start of the warm-up lap when his red GP2 Dallara did not come off the spot. Lucky for Ghiotto: Because a second car also stopped, Ghiotto could line up again in the second row of the grid for the rolling start. The Scuderia Palladio was able to breathe a short sigh of relief.

The best start behind OPEN champion Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) had Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International), who almost caught Bracalente at the top. Ghiotto not only lost the place to Martucci, but also to Salvatore de Plano (ITA, Top Speed). However, Ghiotto overtook both again in the early stages and even managed to catch up with Bracalente with a couple of fast lap times. With second place he was fully on target for the title.

And it remained like that. Bracalente won the last race of the season and ended the year with an incredible result for a rookie: 5 victories, 10 podium places and only two retirements. In the end, one too many to defeat his fellow countryman Ghiotto, who also has a great score: 9 podium finishes and 2 victories, but only one DNF. After six exciting race weekends in Hockenheim, Spielberg, Monza, Assen, Brno and Imola, the new FORMULA champion Ghiotto and his opponent Bracalente finally separated by only nine points.

For the first time Marco Ghiotto is the champion of BOSS GP FORMULA class

Third place in the race went to Martucci, who fought again with de Plano until the middle of the race. De Plano finished fourth ahead of Andreas Fiedler, who secured third place in the championship with a damaged gearbox.

The best duel was delivered by Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Speed Center) and Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International), with a better end for the Frenchman. Until the last lap both were within striking distance of each other on the 4.9-kilometer course. Towards the end of the 25-minute race, Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center) also caught up with the two, but could no longer attack. He finished the season with a respectable eighth place. Nicolas Matile (MCO, Zig-Zag) finished ninth in the class. By the way good news for the championship: His Team Zig-Zag Motorsport Service announced that they would be competing in more than two races next year.

Overall winner of the race was Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed), who once again put the pedal to the medal today in his Toro Rosso STR1. Although his mechanics gave everything, Phil Stratford had to load his Benetton B197 into the van early due to a defect. Second in the OPEN class and new runner-up instead is “Piter” (FRA, Ray-Ban), whose team managed to repair a big oil leak just before race began.

Next up: The BOSS GP annual award ceremony will take place on 7 December in Salzburg.

Report: Race 2 Brno

Christopher Höher dedicate his win in Brno 2019 to his recently deceased father

Second win for Höher and Gerstl at the Masaryk Racing Days.

Christopher Höher (AUT, Top Speed) certainly didn’t have an easy time in race 2. Although the guest starter took the second win in FORMULA class this weekend, he only won slightly ahead of Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio).

At the beginning of the race Höher could follow the leading OPEN driver Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed). Gerstl already secured his fifth championship title in the OPEN class in the first race of the weekend. In race 2 he managed to win his eighth race of the season in his Toro Rosso STR1.

Behind the dominator, however, it was another exciting race in FORMULA class: Due to Höher overstraining his tyres at the beginning of the race in pursuit of Gerstl, he only defended himself on the literally last groove towards the end of the race. Ghiotto tried everything – drove to the left, drove to the right – but Höher remained ice-cold and held first position until the finish line.

Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center) was the closest rival to Höher in the first stage of the race. On lap 4, however, the leader of the standings dropped positions, one lap later he parked his car in the pits with a clutch failure. A major setback in the championship as rival Ghiotto took 22 points with second place. Before the championship finale Ghiotto is 15 points ahead of Bracalente. In Imola a maximum of 50 points will be awarded.

f.l. Marco Ghiotto, OPEN winner Ingo Gerstl, FORMULA winner Christopher Höher and Luca Martucci

Despite a spin, Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) finished third with a very strong closing stage. It was Martucci’s fourth podium finish this season. In the fight for the podium the decision was made after a Full Course Yellow in turn 1. There he overtook Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) who showed a strong pace with the fastest lap and some position wins at the start of the race. Fiedler could score at least two points more than Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Speed Center) with 4th place. In the standings, Fiedler is now back on 3rd place, but only one point ahead of Haezebrouck. This duel also promises excitement in the final races of the season.

During middle of the race it looked good for Marc Faggionato (MCO, Zig-Zag) too. In the battle with Höher and Ghiotto for the front Faggionato spun by himself. Because the engine stopped running, the second race of the weekend for the fast Monegasque was over too.

Behind Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International) Walter Steding (DEU, Inter Europol) finished seventh with an impeccable performance. With an outstanding performance Peter Göllner (SUI, Speed Center) drove from the last grid position into the top-8. Nicolas Matile (MCO, Zig-Zag) in the only Auto-GP Lola spun shortly before the end and threw away a top result at the guest start.

Europe’s fastest racing series will return to Imola for the finale in five weeks. The Grande Finale of the BOSS GP 2019 will take place on October 12th and 13th.

Report: Race 2 Assen

After victory, Bracalente takes the lead in the FORMULA standings.

Yesterday a penalty dropped him back, today it was his day: Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center) was able to win the 8th race of the season in the FORMULA class. At the start he defended his top position in contrast to yesterday. Marco Ghiotto (ITA, MM International) followed him throughout the race, but it was never enough to overtake him. The duel for the championship is getting tougher after this weekend: Bracalente is only nine points ahead of Ghiotto in four races to go.

Luca Martucci (ITA, MM International) came third in the FORMULA category. Yesterday a penalty was also his misfortune, today he landed deservedly on the podium. The top 3 in today’s race underline the current dominance of the Italians in this class. Best non-Italian was Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Speed Center) in fourth place. A podium finish for the sonnyboy with Le Mans experience is only a matter of time.

Gianluca Ripoli (ITA, MM International), winner of race 1, finished sixth today ahead of team-mate Armando Mangini. Andreas Fiedler started the race from the pit lane already lagging behind. As usual, he delivered a race to catch up, which brought him up to 8th place. Christian Eicke (SUI, Speed Center) and Walter Steding (DEU, Inter Europol) fought further interesting duels. Eicke used a lapping by another car to pass Steding and secure 8th place.

OPEN category: Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) dominated both races in Assen. Hans Laub (DEU, Speed Center) was happy to finally be in race mode again. Both he and his Forti Formula 1 kept going and were rewarded with 2nd place. Third place on the podium went to “Piter” (FRA, Ray-Ban), who is now behind Gerstl in second place of the championship.

After the summer break the BOSS GP continues in Brno (6–8 September). On the Czech roller coaster a preliminary decision could be made in the OPEN class, in the FORMULA the decision in terms of championship will be made quite certainly at the final event in Imola (11th–13th October).

Report: Race 2 Spielberg

A dramatic race at the end of the Pirelli Masters 2019. Gerstl and Bracalente as lucky winners.

Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Top Speed) had to start from last place like yesterday. However, this did not stop the Austrian from winning his home race in the Toro Rosso STR1 ten-cylinder beast.

Gerstl continuously pushed forwards and passed the naturally slower Formula 2 cars without much risk. In lap 12, he overtook OPEN rival Phil Stratford (USA, Penn Elcom) in the Benetton for second place, one lap later he passed race one winner Alessandro Bracalente (ITA, Speed Center), who had been in the lead up to then.

Start for race two in the rain

Just before the start it started to rain. All drivers changed to Pirelli Cinturato rain tyres. In the middle of the race the rain shower stopped, and it began to dry up on the racing line. At that time Rookie Bracalente lost his lead, one lap later after Gerstl he had to let pass Stratford too.

Behind Gerstl and Stratford, the fight for victory in the FORMULA class began: Bracalente had to defend against Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) repeatedly. Four racing cars now fought for overall victory – Gerstl, Stratford, Bracalente and Ghiotto. On several occasions Ghiotto tried to get past Bracalente, but it took him the very last lap to make it.

Gerstl crossed the finish line just 0.4 seconds in front of Stratford. Behind them Ghiotto defended the class lead, but only up to 200 metres before the finish. In the last corner he spun on the slippery track and Bracalente slipped through again – this race couldn’t have ended much more dramatically.

FORMULA podium: f.l. Marco Ghiotto, Alessandro Bracalente and Florian Schnitzenbaumer

Florian Schnitzenbaumer (DEU, Top Speed), who crossed the finish line behind Bracalente and Marco Ghiotto, also finished on the FORMULA podium today. The reigning FORMULA champion and Armando Mangini (ITA, MM International) fought a duel worth seeing, which was finally decided by a mistake of Mangini in turn 1. Schnitzenbaumer did complain about his own aggressiveness, but with today’s performance he can finally take home a trophy after his retirement yesterday.

Sergio Ghiotto (ITA, Scuderia Palladio) finished fifth in class, Philippe Haezebrouck (FRA, Inter Europol) confirmed the performance of the previous day with 6th place in FORMULA. Thomas Jakoubek (AUT, Top Speed) and Christian Eicke (SUI, Speed Center) duelled for 7th place for a long time, with a better end for Jakoubek.

Andreas Fiedler (DEU, Fiedler Racing) experienced a weekend to forget. The double winner from Hockenheim could not even start on the first race day, in the second race he retired after six laps. Race 5 and race 6 of the BOSS GP 2019 will follow in three weeks in the Royal Park of Monza. From June 14th to 16th, the BOSS GP will contest the Competizione BOSS GP on the fastest racetrack on the calendar.

Top 3 points standings:
OPEN class: Ingo Gerstl (75 points), Phil Stratford (47), “Piter” (44)
FORMULA class: Alessandro Bracalente (92), Marco Ghiotto (80), Armando Mangini (54)

Race 5 and race 6 of the BOSS GP 2019 will follow in three weeks in the Royal Park of Monza. From June 14th to 16th, the BOSS GP will contest the Competizione BOSS GP on the fastest racetrack on the calendar.