2008 Jerez Superleague Formula round

The 2008 Jerez Superleague Formula round was the sixth and final round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on November 23, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the previous four rounds. There were two driver changes before this round of the championship: James Walker replaced Enrico Toccacelo in the Borussia Dortmund car and Bertrand Baguette returned to the Al Ain cockpit replacing Dominick Muermans. Paul Meijer had been expected to return, however his injury from the previous round at Vallelunga kept him out.[1] The meeting saw a second win for A.C. Milan and a first win for Borussia Dortmund. With a ninth in the first race coupled with other low placings for Liverpool F.C. and PSV Eindhoven, Beijing Guoan clinched the first Superleague Formula title. With a third in the final race, Beijing won the title with 413 points, some 66 points clear of PSV, and two points further back were Milan.

2008 Jerez Superleague Formula round
Superleague Formula round Spain
Circuit Map
DateNovember 23, 2008
Location Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.751 mi (4.427 km)
Laps30 & 30
Pole position
Team Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés
Time 1:29.088
Podium (1st race)
First A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos
Second F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy
Third Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy
Fastest lap (1st race)
Team R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby
Time 1:30.101 (on lap 12)
Podium (2nd race)
First Borussia Dortmund James Walker
Second SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia
Third Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Fastest lap (2nd race)
Team Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Time 1:30.029 (on lap 12)

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. Max Wissel (FC Basel 1893) and Bertrand Baguette (Al Ain) both missed out on the top eight, despite setting times faster than Group B 4th Borja García in the Sevilla FC car. As fastest drivers in their groups, Adrián Vallés (Liverpool F.C.) and Franck Perera (A.S. Roma) were expected to meet in the final, and sure enough, they did. Vallés became the first repeat polesitter in Superleague, with his 1:29.088 beating Perera's 1:29.328.

Race 1

At the start, Vallés led away from Perera, with Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid) passing Tristan Gommendy (F.C. Porto) for third on the opening lap. On lap five, Wissel spun out of tenth place, and this allowed Craig Dolby's R.S.C. Anderlecht car into the top ten and towards the front, Soucek passed Perera for second place. Lap seven saw the first retirement, with Alessandro Pier Guidi pulling the Galatasaray S.K. car off with engine troubles. Lap eight saw the first pitstop - Antônio Pizzonia (SC Corinthians) pitting from sixth position. Vallés then brought in the Liverpool machine on lap nine, allowing Soucek through into the lead. Tuka Rocha retired on lap ten, having suddenly slowed the lap before in the CR Flamengo car, nearly taking out Davide Rigon's championship-leading Beijing Guoan car due to gearbox issues. Soucek continued to lead until his pitstop on lap 14 - except he didn't make it all the way to the garage. A spin on the way in, caused too much damage and Soucek retired. Vallés thus returned to lead by over 10 seconds from Robert Doornbos (A.C. Milan), Pizzonia, Gommendy and Duncan Tappy (Tottenham Hotspur). Fifteen of the sixteen laps remaining passed and Vallés looked untroubled. However, the engine in the Liverpool car died on the final lap, and Vallés fell from first to seventh, and with it went the championship hopes. Doornbos inherited victory ahead of Gommendy, Tappy, Dolby, Perera, García, Vallés, Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven), Rigon (which sealed the championship for Beijing Guoan), Baguette, Wissel, Pizzonia (who had been demoted due to pitting outside the window), Stamatis Katsimis (Olympiacos CFP), James Walker (Borussia Dortmund) and Ryan Dalziel (Rangers F.C.), who was seven laps down.

Race 2

Pier Guidi started from pole for the final race of the season, with Rocha alongside. Again, Soucek made up a place at the start, passing Walker for fourth. Pier Guidi's lead was up to nine seconds on lap six, when Soucek exited from fourth - spinning out to complete a miserable weekend. Lap eight saw a massive shunt, involving seventh-placed Katsimis and eighth-placed Wissel clashed in spectacular fashion - Wissel going over the back over the Olympiacos machine. Most teams started pitting on lap ten, with Pier Guidi pitting on lap twelve. Pizzonia took the lead for one lap before his pitstop, handing Dalziel the lead. During these stops, Vallés and Tappy both retired with gearbox failures. Pier Guidi returned to the lead, leading by some fourteen seconds from Walker, Pizzonia, Rigon and Rocha. However, Pier Guidi was struggling with his new set of tyres, and within five laps, the lead was only four seconds and was one second by lap 23. The pressure got to the Italian as he spun down to fourth at the entrance to the back straight. At the same time, Rocha exited fifth place with a spin into the barriers. That's how it finished, as Walker went on to claim the first victory for Dortmund, winning by 1.5 seconds from Pizzonia and Rigon, before a massive gap to the rest of the field led by Pier Guidi followed by Perera, Dalziel, Baguette, Dolby, Buurman, Doornbos, García and Gommendy.

Results

Qualifying
  • In each group, the top four qualify for the quarter-finals.

Group A
Pos. Team Driver Time
1 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 1:28.998
2 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 1:29.192
3 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 1:29.208
4 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 1:29.598
5 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 1:29.600
6 Al Ain Bertrand Baguette 1:29.851
7 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 1:29.948
8 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 1:30.280
9 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 1:43.254

Group B
Pos. Team Driver Time
1 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 1:28.986
2 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 1:29.040
3 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:29.571
4 Sevilla FC Borja García 1:29.940
5 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 1:30.088
6 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 1:30.114
7 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 1:30.142
8 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 1:30.771
9 Borussia Dortmund James Walker no time

Knockout stages
Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out
A1 Liverpool F.C. 1:28.778
B4 Sevilla FC 1:29.742 A1 Liverpool F.C. 1:28.952
A3 F.C. Porto 1:29.041 A3 F.C. Porto 1:29.499
B2 A.C. Milan 1:29.223 A1 Liverpool F.C. 1:29.088
A2 Atlético Madrid 1:29.634 B1 A.S. Roma 1:29.328
B3 Galatasaray S.K. 1:30.811 A2 Atlético Madrid 1:29.317
A4 SC Corinthians 1:29.598 B1 A.S. Roma 1:28.889
B1 A.S. Roma 1:28.986

Grid
Pos. Team Driver Time
1 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 1:29.088
2 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 1:29.328
3 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 1:29.499
4 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 1:29.317
5 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:30.811
6 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 1:29.223
7 Sevilla FC Borja García 1:29.742
8 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 1:29.966
9 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 1:30.088
10 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 1:29.600
11 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 1:30.114
12 Al Ain Bertrand Baguette 1:29.851
13 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 1:30.142
14 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 1:29.948
15 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 1:30.771
16 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 1:30.280
17 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 1:43.254
18 Borussia Dortmund James Walker no time

Race 1
PosNoTeamDriverLapsTime/RetiredGridPts.
1 3 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 30 46:39.203 6 50
2 16 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 30 +1.290 3 45
3 19 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 30 +4.122 9 40
4 8 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 30 +5.428 13 36
5 22 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 30 +7.059 2 32
6 18 Sevilla FC Borja García 30 +7.684 7 29
7 21 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 30 +7.984 1 26
8 5 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 30 +8.208 14 23
9 12 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 30 +15.810 17 20
10 6 Al Ain Bertrand Baguette 30 +27.206 12 18
11 10 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 30 +28.989 10 16
12 14 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 30 +30.628* 8 14
13 9 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 30 +52.609 16 12
14 11 Borussia Dortmund James Walker 30 +53.063 18 10
15 17 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 23 +7 Laps 11 8
16 15 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 13 Spin 4 7
17 7 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 9 Gearbox 15 6
18 4 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 6 Engine 5 5
Fastest lap: Craig Dolby (R.S.C. Anderlecht) 1:30.101 (109.934 mph)

* - Pizzonia penalised 30 seconds for pitting outside the compulsory window.

Race 2
PosNoTeamDriverLapsTime/RetiredGridPts.
1 11 Borussia Dortmund James Walker 30 46:42.999 4 50
2 14 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 30 +1.535 7 45
3 12 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 30 +2.345 10 40
4 4 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 30 +25.500 1 36
5 22 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 30 +25.731 14 32
6 17 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 30 +30.622 3 29
7 6 Al Ain Bertrand Baguette 30 +31.906 9 26
8 8 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 30 +32.986 15 23
9 5 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 30 +34.756 11 20
10 3 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 30 +38.723 18 18
11 18 Sevilla FC Borja García 30 +40.878 13 16
12 16 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 30 +41.205 17 14
13 7 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 23 Spin 2 12
14 19 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 14 Gearbox 16 10
15 21 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 13 Gearbox 12 8
16 9 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 7 Accident 6 7
17 10 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 7 Accident 8 6
18 15 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 5 Spin 5* 5
Fastest lap: Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) 1:30.029 (?? mph)

* - Soucek penalised two places for causing an avoidable accident.

gollark: It catches exceptions. Errors are separate.
gollark: And the catch block will be exited on exception.
gollark: No, catch only catches exceptions and isn't a convenient operator.
gollark: The error silencing operator makes it so that if an error (not exception) occurs in a given scope it will be ignored and execution will continue after it.
gollark: We're simplifying this in Macron 5.505.050 by adding the error silencing operator.

References
  1. "Baguette back in Al Ain". Autosport. 194 (9): 15. 27 November 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.