2008 Vallelunga Superleague Formula round

2008 Vallelunga Superleague Formula roundSuperleague Formula round Italy Autodromo Vallelunga.svg November 2 2008 ITA ACI Vallelunga Circuit, Vallelunga, Italy Permanent racing facility 2.538 4.085 32 & 30 ENG Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 1:21.855 CHN Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon ITA A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos TUR Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi CHN Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 1:23.586 13 POR F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy ITA A.S. Roma Franck Perera NED PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman ESP Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 1:23.475 14The 2008 Vallelunga Superleague Formula round was the fifth round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on November 2, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the previous three rounds. There were two driver changes before this round of the championship and one during the round: Duncan Tappy returned to the Tottenham Hotspur cockpit replacing Dominik Jackson, having missed the previous round in Portugal and Kasper Andersen was replaced by Stamatis Katsimis in the Olympiacos CFP car. Stamatis Katsimis takes over as first driver of the Olympiacos Racing Team http://www.automobilsport.com/superleague-formula-stamatis-katsimis-olympiacos-racing-team-vallelunga-greek-club---46830.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110707191716/http://www.automobilsport.com/superleague-formula-stamatis-katsimis-olympiacos-racing-team-vallelunga-greek-club---46830.html usurped July 7, 2011 2008-10-30 2008-12-06 Automobil Sport Having broken a bone in his right hand in practice, Paul Meijer was replaced by Dominick Muermans in the Al Ain car6 November 2008 Meijer breaks wrist Autosport 194 6 11 – becoming their fourth driver in five races. The meeting saw a third win for championship leaders Beijing Guoan and a first win for F.C. Porto. Beijing also extended their championship lead to an almost unassailable 59 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. Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid) missed out on the top eight, despite setting a time some 0.052 seconds faster than Group B 4th Adrián Vallés in the Liverpool F.C. car. As fastest drivers in their groups, Antônio Pizzonia (SC Corinthians) and Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) were expected to meet in the final, but neither made the final. Instead, Vallés and Robert Doornbos (A.C. Milan) battled it out, with Vallés coming out on top by 0.260 seconds – the fifth different polesitter in five races. Race 1 Before the race even began, there was dramas - Borja García (Sevilla FC) started from pit lane and Alessandro Pier Guidi (Galatasaray S.K.) having gearbox troubles on the grid. At the start, Vallés led away from Doornbos and Rigon, with Pier Guidi passing Tuka Rocha (CR Flamengo) for fourth on the opening lap. Lap three saw the end of Enrico Toccacelo's Borussia Dortmund car with suspension failure while running towards the back. The top ten somehow stayed in order, until the pit window. Rigon pitted first followed by Rocha, Franck Perera (A.S. Roma) and Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven. Doornbos and Vallés pitted on lap 11, allowing Pier Guidi to lead for two laps before his pit stop. Pizzonia took the lead for a lap until he pitted, and after the cycle through, Rigon led from Doornbos, Pier Guidi, Vallés and Rocha. Lap 16 saw Garcia's race end with a stuck throttle. There was a somewhat crazy finish to the race, with Soucek and Perera both retiring within the last five minutes of the race with engine problems and a puncture respectively. Vallés suffered fuel pressure problems towards the end, falling five places in as many minutes as Rigon went on to claim his third victory of the season, opening up a 67-point lead over PSV. Following him home were Doornbos, Pier Guidi, Rocha, Ryan Dalziel (Rangers F.C., Pizzonia, Craig Dolby (R.S.C. Anderlecht), Tristan Gommendy (F.C. Porto), Vallés, Buurman, Duncan Tappy (Tottenham Hotspur), Max Wissel (FC Basel 1893), Stamatis Katsimis (Olympiacos CFP) and Dominick Muermans (Al Ain) – both rookies finishing a lap down. Race 2 Race two began with a bang – a first corner incident taking out Pizzonia, Doornbos and Rocha at Curva Cimini, causing a long safety car period. Wissel retired the Basel car during this with engine trouble. All was cleared up for the restart on lap six with Toccacelo still leading from Soucek (up from third) and García. A brave move from Soucek at Campagnano moved the Spaniard into the lead with Perera passing García for third. Lap nine saw another accident, this time between Toccacelo and Perera again at Cimini. Toccacelo defended the inside line before moving sharply to the outside where Perera already was. Soucek pitted from the lead on lap eleven, but gremlins struck causing him to pit again, before retiring with gearbox trouble on lap 21. Katsimis led for a lap before he pitted, letting Tappy lead until his pitstop on lap 15. Perera took the lead, having pitted on lap eleven. A mistake from Buurman on lap 17 allowed Gommendy into second and after Perera. García retired again, with brake failure continuing Sevilla's spiral down the championship standings. The number of runners fell into single-figures on lap 27 with another three-car accident with Katsimis, Tappy and Pier Guidi crashing at Cimini. The race wasn't decided until the final lap when Perera made a slight mistake at Curva Soratte, allowing Gommendy through to win by 1.482 seconds from Perera, with Buurman, Vallés, Rigon, Dolby, Dalziel and Muermans completing the finishers. In the championship standings, Beijing had their lead cut to 59 points, which meant that a maximum of 42 points required for championship glory. Results Qualifying In each group, the top four qualify for the quarter-finals. Group A Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia 1:21.847 2 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos 1:22.551 3 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:22.684 4 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera 1:22.715 5 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek 1:22.833 6 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman 1:23.229 7 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy 1:24.345 8 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy 1:24.516 9 ARE Al Ain NED Paul Meijer no time Group B Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon 1:22.322 2 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha 1:22.471 3 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby 1:22.874 4 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés 1:22.885 5 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel 1:23.498 6 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel 1:23.664 7 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García 1:23.758 8 GRE Olympiacos CFP GRE Stamatis Katsimis 1:24.661 9 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo no time Knockout stages Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out 70 A1 SC Corinthians 1:22.627 B4 Liverpool F.C. 1:22.411 A3 Galatasaray S.K. 1:22.771 B2 CR Flamengo 1:22.261 A2 A.C. Milan 1:22.122 B3 R.S.C. Anderlecht 1:22.645 A4 A.S. Roma 1:21.998 B1 Beijing Guoan 1:21.836 B4 Liverpool F.C. 1:22.524 B2 CR Flamengo 1:30.310 A2 A.C. Milan 1:21.680 B1 Beijing Guoan 1:22.373 B4 Liverpool F.C. 1:21.855 A2 A.C. Milan 1:22.115 Grid Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés 1:21.855 2 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos 1:22.115 3 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon 1:22.373 4 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha 1:30.310 5 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:22.771 6 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby 1:22.645 7 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera 1:21.998 8 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia 1:22.627 9 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek 1:22.833 10 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel 1:23.498 11 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman 1:23.229 12 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel 1:23.664 13 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy 1:24.345 14 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García 1:23.758 15 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy 1:24.516 16 GRE Olympiacos CFP GRE Stamatis Katsimis 1:24.661 17 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo no time 18 ARE Al Ain NED Paul Meijer no time Race 1 Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts. 1 12 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon32 45:40.448 3 502 3 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos32 +1.679 2 453 4 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi32 +11.750 5 404 7 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha32 +32.539 4 365 17 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel32 +33.205 10 326 14 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia32 +34.288 8 297 8 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby32 +35.238 6 268 16 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy32 +35.712 15 239 21 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés32 +38.594 1 2010 5 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman32 +43.216 11 1811 19 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy32 +59.987 13 1612 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel32 +1:02.549 12 1413 9 GRE Olympiacos CFP GRE Stamatis Katsimis31 +1 Lap 16 1214 6 ARE Al Ain NED Dominick Muermans31 +1 Lap 18 101522 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera29 Puncture 7 816 15 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek27 Engine 9 717 18 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García15 Throttle 14 618 11 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo2Suspension 17 5 Fastest lap: Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) 1:23.586 (109.323 mph) Race 2 Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts.1 16 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy30 46:15.508 11 50222 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera30 +1.482 4 453 5 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman30 +4.562 9 404 21 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés30 +13.321 10 36 5 12 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon30 +14.126 18 326 8 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby30 +25.284 12 297 17 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel30 +30.185 14 268 6 ARE Al Ain NED Dominick Muermans30 +1:04.015 5 239 9 GRE Olympiacos CFP GRE Stamatis Katsimis26Accident 6 2010 19 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Duncan Tappy26 Accident 8 1811 4 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi26 Accident 16 1612 15 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek21 Gearbox 3 1413 18 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García18 Brakes 2 1214 11 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo8 Accident 1 1015 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel3Engine 7 816 14 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia0 Accident 13 717 3 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos0 Accident 17 618 7 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha0 Accident 15 5 Fastest lap: Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid) 1:23.475 (109.469 mph) References External links Official results from the Superleague Formula website Valleunga Superleague Formula