2008 Estoril Superleague Formula round

2008 Estoril Superleague Formula round
Superleague Formula round Portugal
Date October 19, 2008
Location Portugal Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril, Portugal
Course Permanent racing facility
2.599 mi / 4.182 km
Laps 31 & 30
Pole position
Team Italy A.S. Roma Franck Perera
Time 1:26.368
Podium (1st race)
First England Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés
Second Italy A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos
Third Italy A.S. Roma Franck Perera
Fastest lap (1st race)
Team Spain Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek
Time 1:26.711 (on lap 14)
Podium (2nd race)
First United Arab Emirates Al Ain Paul Meijer
Second Italy A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos
Third Turkey Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi
Fastest lap (2nd race)
Team Germany Borussia Dortmund Enrico Toccacelo
Time 1:28.491 (on lap 15)

The 2008 Estoril Superleague Formula round was the fourth round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on October 19, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the previous two rounds. There were four driver changes for this round of the championship: Franck Perera joined A.S. Roma replacing Enrico Toccacelo,[1] with Toccacelo moving to the Borussia Dortmund car, replacing Paul Meijer as original driver Nelson Philippe was on GP2 Asia Series duty in Shanghai.[1] Meijer also stayed in the series, moving to the Al Ain car, as both of their previous drivers Andreas Zuber (also in Shanghai) and Bertrand Baguette (in Barcelona for the final World Series by Renault round of the season) were unavailable.[1] Just like Baguette, Duncan Tappy was unavailable to drive the Tottenham Hotspur car, and was replaced by Dominik Jackson.[1] The meeting saw a second win for Liverpool F.C. and a first win for Al Ain. Beijing Guoan extended their championship lead to 35 points, thanks to a pair of fifths for Davide Rigon.

Report

Qualifying

After the random draw which split the eighteen-car field into two groups, the fastest four qualifiers from each progressed into the knockout stages to decide places 1 to 8 on the grid. For the first time in Superleague Formula, the eight knockout qualifiers were the eight fastest drivers out of the two groups. As fastest drivers in their groups, Franck Perera (A.S. Roma) and Kasper Andersen (Olympiacos CFP) were expected to meet in the final, however Robert Doornbos' A.C. Milan machine knocked out the Dane in the semis. In the final itself, Perera recorded the fastest lap to become the fourth different polesitter in four races.

Race 1

From the start, Perera led away from Doornbos, Adrián Vallés (Liverpool F.C.) and Tristan Gommendy (F.C. Porto), with Andersen being delayed from third on the grid. Lower down the field, tenth-placed Max Wissel (FC Basel 1893) collided with seventh-placed Enrico Toccacelo (Borussia Dortmund) collided at Curva 1, with Wissel retiring on the spot and Toccacelo retiring at the end of the lap, with front wing damage from the accident. It stayed that way until the mandatory stops, with Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) joining in on the fun also. Lap 10 saw Perera pitting with a four-second lead, closely followed by Vallés. A fumble by a rear tyre changer cost the French driver time and the place to Vallés. Doornbos came in to pit next time around with Rigon which put Gommendy into the lead, for home side Porto. He would lead for a couple of laps, before pitting which allowed Antônio Pizzonia (SC Corinthians) to lead for a lap. When all the stops cycled through, Liverpool led from Milan, Roma and Beijing with Pizzonia up to fifth. Pizzonia would pass Rigon for fourth towards the end of the race as the Italian was nursing an ailing car home with only fourth through sixth gears, and closed to a second behind Perera at the finish. Gommendy's strong run was ended by a water pump failure on lap 26, ruling that car out for the rest of the day. So, Vallés won his second Superleague race by 0.948 seconds from Doornbos, and then followed by Perera, Pizzonia, Rigon, Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid), Alessandro Pier Guidi (Galatasaray S.K.), Borja García (Sevilla FC), Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven), Andersen, Tuka Rocha (CR Flamengo), Paul Meijer (Al Ain), Ryan Dalziel (Rangers F.C.), Craig Dolby (R.S.C. Anderlecht) and debutant Dominik Jackson rounding out the field for Tottenham Hotspur in 15th.

Race 2

Rigon started from the pit lane, following a gearbox change after race one. From the start, polesitter Wissel led from Toccacelo and Jackson with action towards the back with Soucek's engine blowing. Jackson moved up to second, passing Toccacelo around the back of the circuit and closed up on Wissel down the front straight, and at Curva 1, Jackson would take the lead for a couple of laps. On lap 4, Toccacelo came up to the back of the Englishman's car, having already disposed of Wissel and did the same to Jackson. Towards the back, Perera and Vallés would collide at turn six, with Perera spinning into the gravel and retirement and Vallés retreating to the pits for a new nosecone. Dalziel also had a moment, and spun into retirement as well, with unrepairable accident damage. Out front, Toccacelo was establishing a healthy lead before his pit-stop on lap 14. Andersen then led for three laps before his pitstop, handing the lead back to Toccacelo, with Meijer now in tow, thanks to an early pitstop on lap 10. Wissel and Andersen would both retire in the late stages with mechanical problems and with three laps to go, gremlins would strike Toccacelo. Fading oil pressure switched the engine's ECU into safety mode, and was helpless in stopping Meijer through to the lead. After recording his first pole at Zolder, Meijer recorded his first win by nearly two seconds from Doornbos (up from 17th) with Pier Guidi, Pizzonia and Rigon further deposing Toccacelo before the flag. García, Buurman, Dolby, Rocha, Jackson and Vallés completed the finishers. Healthy finishes for Rigon allowed Beijing to head to the penultimate round at Vallelunga with a 35-point lead from PSV, with Liverpool now in third just a point further back. With a maximum of 200 points available, the championship is still wide open.

Results

Qualifying

Group A

Pos. Team Driver Time
1 Italy A.S. Roma France Franck Perera 1:25.881
2 China Beijing Guoan Italy Davide Rigon 1:27.071
3 Portugal F.C. Porto France Tristan Gommendy 1:27.105
4 Germany Borussia Dortmund Italy Enrico Toccacelo 1:27.175
5 Belgium R.S.C. Anderlecht United Kingdom Craig Dolby 1:27.303
6 Spain Atlético Madrid Spain Andy Soucek 1:27.447
7 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Netherlands Yelmer Buurman 1:27.529
8 Turkey Galatasaray S.K. Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:27.733
9 United Arab Emirates Al Ain Netherlands Paul Meijer 1:28.396

Group B

Pos. Team Driver Time
1 Greece Olympiacos CFP Denmark Kasper Andersen 1:26.761
2 England Liverpool F.C. Spain Adrián Vallés 1:26.791
3 Italy A.C. Milan Netherlands Robert Doornbos 1:26.866
4 Brazil SC Corinthians Brazil Antônio Pizzonia 1:27.150
5 Switzerland FC Basel 1893 Germany Max Wissel 1:27.190
6 Spain Sevilla FC Spain Borja García 1:27.249
7 Scotland Rangers F.C. United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel 1:27.828
8 Brazil CR Flamengo Brazil Tuka Rocha 1:28.072
9 England Tottenham Hotspur United Kingdom Dominik Jackson 1:29.213

Knockout stages

Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out
A1 A.S. Roma 1:26.469
B4 SC Corinthians 1:27.184 A1 A.S. Roma 1:25.670
A3 F.C. Porto 1:27.129 B2 Liverpool F.C. 1:25.726
B2 Liverpool F.C. 1:26.785 A1 A.S. Roma 1:26.368
A2 Beijing Guoan 1:26.294 B3 A.C. Milan 1:26.715
B3 A.C. Milan 1:26.020 B3 A.C. Milan 1:25.879
A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:27.653 B1 Olympiacos CFP 1:26.014
B1 Olympiacos CFP 1:26.373

Grid

Pos. Team Driver Time
1 Italy A.S. Roma France Franck Perera 1:26.368
2 Italy A.C. Milan Netherlands Robert Doornbos 1:26.715
3 Greece Olympiacos CFP Denmark Kasper Andersen 1:26.014
4 England Liverpool F.C. Spain Adrián Vallés 1:25.726
5 Portugal F.C. Porto France Tristan Gommendy 1:27.129
6 China Beijing Guoan Italy Davide Rigon 1:26.294
7 Germany Borussia Dortmund Italy Enrico Toccacelo 1:27.653
8 Brazil SC Corinthians Brazil Antônio Pizzonia 1:27.184
9 Belgium R.S.C. Anderlecht United Kingdom Craig Dolby 1:27.303
10 Switzerland FC Basel 1893 Germany Max Wissel 1:27.190
11 Spain Atlético Madrid Spain Andy Soucek 1:27.447
12 Spain Sevilla FC Spain Borja García 1:27.249
13 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Netherlands Yelmer Buurman 1:27.529
14 Scotland Rangers F.C. United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel 1:27.828
15 Turkey Galatasaray S.K. Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:27.733
16 Brazil CR Flamengo Brazil Tuka Rocha 1:28.072
17 United Arab Emirates Al Ain Netherlands Paul Meijer 1:28.396
18 England Tottenham Hotspur United Kingdom Dominik Jackson 1:29.213

Race 1

Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts.
1 21 England Liverpool F.C. Spain Adrián Vallés 31 46:44.582 4 50
2 3 Italy A.C. Milan Netherlands Robert Doornbos 31 +0.948 2 45
3 22 Italy A.S. Roma France Franck Perera 31 +2.067 1 40
4 14 Brazil SC Corinthians Brazil Antônio Pizzonia 31 +3.108 8 36
5 12 China Beijing Guoan Italy Davide Rigon 31 +8.918 6 32
6 15 Spain Atlético Madrid Spain Andy Soucek 31 +9.243 11 29
7 4 Turkey Galatasaray S.K. Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi 31 +20.472 15 26
8 18 Spain Sevilla FC Spain Borja García 31 +37.745 12 23
9 5 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Netherlands Yelmer Buurman 31 +38.932 13 20
10 9 Greece Olympiacos CFP Denmark Kasper Andersen 31 +41.163 3 18
11 7 Brazil CR Flamengo Brazil Tuka Rocha 31 +1:14.376 16 16
12 6 United Arab Emirates Al Ain Netherlands Paul Meijer 31 +1:14.914 17 14
13 17 Scotland Rangers F.C. United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel 31 +1:29.690 14 12
14 8 Belgium R.S.C. Anderlecht United Kingdom Craig Dolby 30 +1 Lap 9 10
15 19 England Tottenham Hotspur United Kingdom Dominik Jackson 30 +1 Lap 18 8
16 16 Portugal F.C. Porto France Tristan Gommendy 25 Water Pump 5 7
17 11 Germany Borussia Dortmund Italy Enrico Toccacelo 1 Acc. Damage 7 6
18 10 Switzerland FC Basel 1893 Germany Max Wissel 0 Accident 10 5
Fastest lap: Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid) 1:26.711 (107.886 mph)

Race 2

Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts.
1 6 United Arab Emirates Al Ain Netherlands Paul Meijer 30 45:59.268 7 50
2 3 Italy A.C. Milan Netherlands Robert Doornbos 30 +1.859 17 45
3 4 Turkey Galatasaray S.K. Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi 30 +5.447 12 40
4 14 Brazil SC Corinthians Brazil Antônio Pizzonia 30 +5.749 15 36
5 12 China Beijing Guoan Italy Davide Rigon 30 +15.566 14 32
6 11 Germany Borussia Dortmund Italy Enrico Toccacelo 30 +17.757 2 29
7 18 Spain Sevilla FC Spain Borja García 30 +21.363 11 26
8 5 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Netherlands Yelmer Buurman 30 +22.138 10 23
9 8 Belgium R.S.C. Anderlecht United Kingdom Craig Dolby 30 +22.891 5 20
10 7 Brazil CR Flamengo Brazil Tuka Rocha 30 +40.439 8 18
11 19 England Tottenham Hotspur United Kingdom Dominik Jackson 30 +1:02.199 4 16
12 21 England Liverpool F.C. Spain Adrián Vallés 29 +1 Lap 18 14
13 9 Greece Olympiacos CFP Denmark Kasper Andersen 23 Stuck in gear 9 12
14 10 Switzerland FC Basel 1893 Germany Max Wissel 20 No Drive 1 10
15 17 Scotland Rangers F.C. United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel 5 Acc. Damage 6 8
16 22 Italy A.S. Roma France Franck Perera 4 Accident 16 7
17 15 Spain Atlético Madrid Spain Andy Soucek 0 Engine 13 6
DNS 16 Portugal F.C. Porto France Tristan Gommendy Water Pump 3 0
Fastest lap: Enrico Toccacelo (Borussia Dortmund) 1:28.491 (105.715 mph)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mid-season substitutions and transfers". Automobil Sport. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-12-05.

External links

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