2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round

2008 Zolder Superleague Formula roundSuperleague Formula round Belgium Zolder.svg October 5 2008 BEL Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder, Belgium Permanent racing facility 2.492 4.011 24 & 26 GER Borussia Dortmund Paul Meijer 1:20.826 ENG Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby GER Borussia Dortmund Paul Meijer ENG Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 1:38.031 14 CHN Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon ENG Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy NED PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman ESP Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 1:37.370 11 The 2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round was the third round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on October 5, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the Nürburgring. There were three driver changes for this round of the championship: Ryan Dalziel returned to the Rangers F.C. car (replacing James Walker), after missing the previous round due to a clash with his Rolex Sports Car Series commitments at Miller Motorsports Park. Two drivers made their debuts, with Dutchman Paul Meijer replacing Nelson Philippe in the car representing Borussia Dortmund and Belgian Bertrand Baguette replaced Andreas Zuber in the Al Ain car. The meeting saw a first win for Liverpool F.C. and a second win for championship leaders Beijing Guoan. However, the championship lead for the Chinese side was cut to 14 points. 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 third race in succession, drivers missed out on places in the knockout stages, despite setting a faster time than the fourth-placed qualifier in the slower group. On this occasion, three Group A drivers were eliminated despite setting times up to half a second faster than the fourth-placed qualifier of Group B. The unlucky drivers turned out to be Max Wissel (FC Basel 1893), Ryan Dalziel (Rangers F.C.) and Enrico Toccacelo (A.S. Roma), who were all quicker than Craig Dolby's R.S.C. Anderlecht machine, which made it through from Group B. A.C. Milan and Atlético Madrid topped their respective groups and were expected to face each other in the final, yet both teams were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Anderlecht and Paul Meijer's Borussia Dortmund machine. Sevilla FC and Liverpool F.C. were the other semi-finalists, yet neither would make the final as Meijer and Dolby sealed their places by beating the somewhat more experienced GP2 Series drivers Borja García and Adrián Vallés. In the final, Dolby would not set a time, thus giving Meijer a debut pole, becoming the third different polesitter in three races. Race 1 A wet raceday greeted the drivers on Sunday, and it was all action right from the rolling start. Fifth-placed Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) and seventh-placed Robert Doornbos (A.C. Milan) came together, with Doornbos being unsighted due to the spray. The accident caused terminal damage to both cars, yet would aid them for the second race of the afternoon - thanks to the reverse grid system. Dolby had taken the lead off Meijer ahead of the midfield chaos, due to a tentative start by the Dutch rookie. The two ran in very close formation, until a safety car was called for on lap 4, with García in the wall at the Lucien Bianchi Bocht, having dropped a wheel on the wet grass. The mandatory pit stop window came as the safety car was out, and after the race went green, the first of the leaders came in - Vallés from third, complaining of a vibration and balance issues on the Liverpool car. These new boots had an effect on the Spanish driver rattling off a series of fastest laps and coupled with shoddy pitstops by Dolby and Meijer, a first win was on the cards. Not even a late safety car for spinners Toccacelo and Alessandro Pier Guidi (Galatasaray S.K.) could halt the Vallés steamroller, as he would go on to win by 2.257 seconds from Dolby, recording his third runner-up placing in five races. Following them home were Meijer, Wissel, Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid), Tristan Gommendy (F.C. Porto), Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven), Dalziel, Tuka Rocha (CR Flamengo), Antônio Pizzonia (SC Corinthians), Bertrand Baguette (Al Ain), with Duncan Tappy (Tottenham Hotspur) completing the finishers, having suffered a puncture. Race 2 After the first race clash between them, Rigon and Doornbos lined up together on the front row and just like the first race, the outside of turn one saw the second-place starter overtake the polesitter around the outside, with Rigon skating his way around the Dutchman. But again, the safety car came out for a first-lap incident. Pizzonia had misjudged his braking point for the Klein Chicane, barrelled past a number of cars and skated straight into Dalziel, causing both to retire. After this safety car period, Rigon strolled off into a 23-second victory, leaving the rest of the field in his wake. The battle for second was on with both Doornbos and Toccacelo struggling with car setups. Buurman made a mistake while trying to pass the Italian, knocking his pit limiter on and lost ground. García spun again, with an almost carbon copy of his race one spin - this time, he stayed on circuit. With all the problems about him, Tappy moved through the melée and ended up second, ahead of Buurman, Doornbos, Wissel, Vallés, Toccacelo, García, Kasper Andersen (Olympiacos CFP), Baguette, Meijer, Pier Guidi, Soucek, Rocha and Gommendy. With the win, Rigon managed to get back some of the damage caused to the points lead in race one - Guoan's championship lead now stands at 14 points from PSV with Sevilla falling further back. Results Qualifying In each group, the top four qualify for the quarter-finals. Group A Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos 1:17.309 2 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García 1:17.383 3 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés 1:17.587 4 DEU Borussia Dortmund NED Paul Meijer 1:17.733 5 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel 1:17.798 6 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel 1:17.839 7 ITA A.S. Roma ITA Enrico Toccacelo 1:17.949 8 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen 1:18.812 9 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman 1:19.285 Group B Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek 1:16.969 2 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy 1:17.341 3 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon 1:18.131 4 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby 1:18.313 5 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy 1:18.389 6 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:18.563 7 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha 1:18.981 8 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia 1:19.017 9 ARE Al Ain BEL Bertrand Baguette 1:19.115 Knockout stages Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out 70 A1 A.C. Milan 1:18.169 B4 R.S.C. Anderlecht 1:17.296 A3 Liverpool F.C. 1:17.418 B2 F.C. Porto 1:18.657 A2 Sevilla FC 1:17.104 B3 Beijing Guoan 1:17.901 A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:17.418 B1 Atlético Madrid 1:17.772 B4 R.S.C. Anderlecht 1:17.191 A3 Liverpool F.C. 1:19.006 A2 Sevilla FC 1:17.423 A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:17.223 B4 R.S.C. Anderlecht no time A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:20.826 Grid Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 DEU Borussia Dortmund NED Paul Meijer 1:20.826 2 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby no time 3 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés 1:19.006 4 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García 1:17.423 5 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon 1:17.901 6 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy 1:18.657 7 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos 1:18.169 8 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek 1:17.772 9 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy 1:18.389 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel 1:17.798 11 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:18.563 12 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel 1:17.839 13 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha 1:18.981 14 ITA A.S. Roma ITA Enrico Toccacelo 1:17.949 15 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia 1:19.017 16 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen 1:18.812 17 ARE Al Ain BEL Bertrand Baguette 1:19.115 18 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman 1:19.285 Race 1 Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts.1 21 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés24 45:51.628 3 502 8 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby24 +2.257 2 453 11 DEU Borussia Dortmund NED Paul Meijer24 +4.045 1 404 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel24 +5.928 10 365 15 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek24 +8.201 8 326 16 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy24 +9.111 6 297 5 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman24 +11.435 18 268 17 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel24 +11.601 12 239 7 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha24 +12.784 13 2010 14 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia24 +13.650 15 1811 6 ARE Al Ain BEL Bertrand Baguette24 +14.482 17 1612 19 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy23 +1 Lap 9 141322 ITA A.S. Roma ITA Enrico Toccacelo18 Spin 14 1214 4 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi18 Spin 11 1015 9 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen17 Spin 16 816 18 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García3 Accident 4 7 17 12 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon1 Accident 5 618 3 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos0 Accident 7 5 Fastest lap: Adrián Vallés (Liverpool F.C.) 1:38.031 (91.526 mph) Race 2 Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts. 1 12 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon26 47:23.624 2 502 19 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy26 +23.436 7 453 5 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman26 +24.504 12 404 3 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos26 +26.176 1 365 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel26 +29.097 15 326 21 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés26 +31.260 18 29722 ITA A.S. Roma ITA Enrico Toccacelo26 +34.194 6 268 18 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García26 +34.270 3 239 9 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen26 +34.742 4 2010 6 ARE Al Ain BEL Bertrand Baguette26 +50.926 8 1811 11 DEU Borussia Dortmund NED Paul Meijer26 +50.948 16 1612 4 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi26 +51.286 5 1413 15 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek26 +55.993 14 1214 7 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha26 +1:13.191 10 1015 16 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy26 +1:21.368 13 816 8 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby18 Transmission 17 717 17 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel1 Suspension 11 618 14 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia0 Accident 9 5 Fastest lap: Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid) 1:37.370 (92.147 mph) References External links Official results from the Superleague Formula website Zolder Superleague Formula Category:Circuit Zolder Category:Sports competitions in Limburg (Belgium)