Esteban Guerrieri and Al Ain have won the second Superleague Formula race at Zolder. The Argentinian passed Dutch-Chinese Ho Pin Tung for the lead six laps from the end to take his maiden Superleague win. Liverpool's Adrian Vallés repeated his race one result with another third place, crowning himself to round two overall winner.
Half an hour before the start of Sunday's second race, a torrential thunderstorm flooded the Belgian Zolder track. Even though rain stopped to fall soon enough, race officials decided to start the race behind the safety car. After a clean start, poleman Antonio Pizzonia (Corinthians) built a small gap on second placed Ho Pin Tung (Atlético).
The treaterous conditions allowed for some great battling throughout the field. Tottenham's Craig Dolby, starting from dead last on the reversed grid after his race one victory, quickly moved up several spots and Basel's Max Wissel made a great pass on both Kasper Andersen and Pedro Petiz. The latter would soon bring out the safety car, as the Portuguese spun on a wet patch in the fast Bianchi right-hander and smacked against the inside tyre wall. The Sporting driver ended up in the middle of the track and was lucky to avoid being t-boned by several other competitors.
The safety car period fell right into the compulsory pit window and thus most drivers opted for a change from wet to slick tyres as the track continued to dry. On slicks, many drivers faced difficulties to keep their 750 bhp car under control. GP2 champion Giorgio Pantano ended up in the gravel pit leading up to the Villeneuve chicane and Lyon's Nelson Panciatici copied Petiz' mistake in the Bianchi, only resulting in a local yellow.
Meanwhile, race leader Antonio Pizzonia had to retire with a mechanical problem, handing the race to Dutch-Chinese Ho Pin Tung. In the closing stages of the race, a dramatic battle for the lead unfolded, as Esteban Guerrieri quickly closed in on the lead. On lap 23, the Argentinian Al-Ain driver dove down the inside of Tung in turn one and made the pass. Guerrieri then managed to bring the car home and scores his maiden victory in Superleague Formula. Adrian Vallés continued to impress with another third place for Liverpool and claimed the weekend's overall victory.
As the Superleague Formula series now heads off to Donington, Vallés emerges as a title favourite, extending his lead in the championship.
Race two results:
1. Esteban Guerrieri - Al-Ain FC
2. Ho Pin Tung - Atlético Madrid
3. Adrian Vallés - Liverpool FC
4. Davide Rigon - Olympiacos
5. Jonathan Kennard - AS Roma
6. Kasper Andersen - FC Midtjylland
7. Tristan Gommendy - FC Porto
8. Max Wissel - FC Basel
9. Craig Dolby - Tottenham Hotspur
10. Nelson Panciatici - Olympique Lyonnais
11. Giorgio Pantano - AC Milan
12. Antonio Pizzonia - Corinthians
13. Pedro Petiz - Sporting Clube de Portugal
14. Yelmer Buurman - RSC Anderlecht
15. John Martin - Rangers FC
16. Duncan Tappy - Galatasaray
17. Dominic Muermans - PSV Eindhoven
18. Enrique Bernoldi - Flamengo
Filip Cleeren
Written: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:07:04
[ Print View ][ E-Mail Article ]
- July 19, 2009Esteban Guerrieri and Al Ain win race 2
- (July 19, 2009)View all headlines from this date
