2008 Estoril Superleague Formula round

2008 Estoril Superleague Formula roundSuperleague Formula round Portugal Estoril track map.svg October 19 2008 POR Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril, Portugal Permanent racing facility 2.599 4.182 31 & 30 ITA A.S. Roma Franck Perera 1:26.368 ENG Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés ITA A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos ITA A.S. Roma Franck Perera ESP Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 1:26.711 14 UAE Al Ain Paul Meijer ITA A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos TUR Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi GER Borussia Dortmund Enrico Toccacelo 1:28.491 15The 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, Mid-season substitutions and transfers Automobil Sport http://www.automobilsport.com/race-categories--24,1256,Mid-season-substitutions-and-transfers,news.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20110707191643/http://www.automobilsport.com/race-categories--24,1256,Mid-season-substitutions-and-transfers,news.htm usurped July 7, 2011 2008-10-17 2008-12-05 with Toccacelo moving to the Borussia Dortmund car, replacing Paul Meijer as original driver Nelson Philippe was on GP2 Asia Series duty in Shanghai. 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. Just like Baguette, Duncan Tappy was unavailable to drive the Tottenham Hotspur car, and was replaced by Dominik Jackson. 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 In each group, the top four qualify for the quarter-finals. Group A Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera 1:25.881 2 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon 1:27.071 3 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy 1:27.105 4 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo 1:27.175 5 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby 1:27.303 6 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek 1:27.447 7 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman 1:27.529 8 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:27.733 9 ARE Al Ain NED Paul Meijer 1:28.396 Group B Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen 1:26.761 2 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés 1:26.791 3 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos 1:26.866 4 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia 1:27.150 5 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel 1:27.190 6 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García 1:27.249 7 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel 1:27.828 8 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha 1:28.072 9 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Dominik Jackson 1:29.213 Knockout stages Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out 70 A1 A.S. Roma 1:26.469 B4 SC Corinthians 1:27.184 A3 F.C. Porto 1:27.129 B2 Liverpool F.C. 1:26.785 A2 Beijing Guoan 1:26.294 B3 A.C. Milan 1:26.020 A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:27.653 B1 Olympiacos CFP 1:26.373 A1 A.S. Roma 1:25.670 B2 Liverpool F.C. 1:25.726 B3 A.C. Milan 1:25.879 B1 Olympiacos CFP 1:26.014 A1 A.S. Roma 1:26.368 B3 A.C. Milan 1:26.715 Grid Pos.TeamDriverTime 1 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera 1:26.368 2 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos 1:26.715 3 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen 1:26.014 4 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés 1:25.726 5 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy 1:27.129 6 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon 1:26.294 7 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo 1:27.653 8 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia 1:27.184 9 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby 1:27.303 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel 1:27.190 11 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek 1:27.447 12 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García 1:27.249 13 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman 1:27.529 14 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel 1:27.828 15 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:27.733 16 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha 1:28.072 17 ARE Al Ain NED Paul Meijer 1:28.396 18 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Dominik Jackson 1:29.213 Race 1 Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts.1 21 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés31 46:44.582 4 502 3 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos31 +0.948 2 45322 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera31 +2.067 1 404 14 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia31 +3.108 8 36 5 12 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon31 +8.918 6 326 15 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek31 +9.243 11 297 4 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi31 +20.472 15 268 18 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García31 +37.745 12 239 5 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman31 +38.932 13 2010 9 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen31 +41.163 3 1811 7 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha31 +1:14.376 16 1612 6 ARE Al Ain NED Paul Meijer31 +1:14.914 17 1413 17 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel31 +1:29.690 14 1214 8 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby30 +1 Lap 9 1015 19 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Dominik Jackson30 +1 Lap 18 816 16 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan Gommendy25Water Pump 5 717 11 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo1Acc. Damage 7 618 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel0Accident 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 ARE Al Ain NED Paul Meijer30 45:59.268 7 502 3 ITA A.C. Milan NLD Robert Doornbos30 +1.859 17 453 4 TUR Galatasaray S.K. ITA Alessandro Pier Guidi30 +5.447 12 404 14 BRA SC Corinthians BRA Antônio Pizzonia30 +5.749 15 36 5 12 CHN Beijing Guoan ITA Davide Rigon30 +15.566 14 326 11 DEU Borussia Dortmund ITA Enrico Toccacelo30 +17.757 2 297 18 ESP Sevilla FC ESP Borja García30 +21.363 11 268 5 NLD PSV Eindhoven NLD Yelmer Buurman30 +22.138 10 239 8 BEL R.S.C. Anderlecht GBR Craig Dolby30 +22.891 5 2010 7 BRA CR Flamengo BRA Tuka Rocha30 +40.439 8 1811 19 ENG Tottenham Hotspur GBR Dominik Jackson30 +1:02.199 4 1612 21 ENG Liverpool F.C. ESP Adrián Vallés29 +1 Lap 18 1413 9 GRE Olympiacos CFP DEN Kasper Andersen23Stuck in gear 9 1214 10 CHE FC Basel 1893 DEU Max Wissel20No Drive 1 1015 17 SCO Rangers F.C. GBR Ryan Dalziel5 Acc. Damage 6 81622 ITA A.S. Roma FRA Franck Perera4 Accident 16 717 15 ESP Atlético Madrid ESP Andy Soucek0 Engine 13 6DNS 16 POR F.C. Porto FRA Tristan GommendyWater Pump 3 0 Fastest lap: Enrico Toccacelo (Borussia Dortmund) 1:28.491 (105.715 mph) References External links Estoril Superleague Formula