2008 Vallelunga Superleague Formula round

The 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.[1] Having broken a bone in his right hand in practice, Paul Meijer was replaced by Dominick Muermans in the Al Ain car[2] – 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.

2008 Vallelunga Superleague Formula round
Superleague Formula round Italy
Circuit Map
DateNovember 2, 2008
Location ACI Vallelunga Circuit, Vallelunga, Italy
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.538 mi (4.085 km)
Laps32 & 30
Pole position
Team Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés
Time 1:21.855
Podium (1st race)
First Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Second A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos
Third Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi
Fastest lap (1st race)
Team Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Time 1:23.586 (on lap 13)
Podium (2nd race)
First F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy
Second A.S. Roma Franck Perera
Third PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman
Fastest lap (2nd race)
Team Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek
Time 1:23.475 (on lap 14)

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. Team Driver Time
1 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 1:21.847
2 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 1:22.551
3 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:22.684
4 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 1:22.715
5 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 1:22.833
6 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 1:23.229
7 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 1:24.345
8 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 1:24.516
9 Al Ain Paul Meijer no time

Group B
Pos. Team Driver Time
1 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 1:22.322
2 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 1:22.471
3 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 1:22.874
4 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 1:22.885
5 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 1:23.498
6 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 1:23.664
7 Sevilla FC Borja García 1:23.758
8 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 1:24.661
9 Borussia Dortmund Enrico Toccacelo no time

Knockout stages
Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out
A1 SC Corinthians 1:22.627
B4 Liverpool F.C. 1:22.411 B4 Liverpool F.C. 1:22.524
A3 Galatasaray S.K. 1:22.771 B2 CR Flamengo 1:30.310
B2 CR Flamengo 1:22.261 B4 Liverpool F.C. 1:21.855
A2 A.C. Milan 1:22.122 A2 A.C. Milan 1:22.115
B3 R.S.C. Anderlecht 1:22.645 A2 A.C. Milan 1:21.680
A4 A.S. Roma 1:21.998 B1 Beijing Guoan 1:22.373
B1 Beijing Guoan 1:21.836

Grid
Pos. Team Driver Time
1 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 1:21.855
2 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 1:22.115
3 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 1:22.373
4 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 1:30.310
5 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:22.771
6 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 1:22.645
7 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 1:21.998
8 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 1:22.627
9 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 1:22.833
10 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 1:23.498
11 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 1:23.229
12 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 1:23.664
13 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 1:24.345
14 Sevilla FC Borja García 1:23.758
15 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 1:24.516
16 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 1:24.661
17 Borussia Dortmund Enrico Toccacelo no time
18 Al Ain Paul Meijer no time

Race 1
PosNoTeamDriverLapsTime/RetiredGridPts.
1 12 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 32 45:40.448 3 50
2 3 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 32 +1.679 2 45
3 4 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 32 +11.750 5 40
4 7 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 32 +32.539 4 36
5 17 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 32 +33.205 10 32
6 14 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 32 +34.288 8 29
7 8 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 32 +35.238 6 26
8 16 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 32 +35.712 15 23
9 21 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 32 +38.594 1 20
10 5 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 32 +43.216 11 18
11 19 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 32 +59.987 13 16
12 10 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 32 +1:02.549 12 14
13 9 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 31 +1 Lap 16 12
14 6 Al Ain Dominick Muermans 31 +1 Lap 18 10
15 22 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 29 Puncture 7 8
16 15 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 27 Engine 9 7
17 18 Sevilla FC Borja García 15 Throttle 14 6
18 11 Borussia Dortmund Enrico Toccacelo 2 Suspension 17 5
Fastest lap: Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) 1:23.586 (109.323 mph)

Race 2
PosNoTeamDriverLapsTime/RetiredGridPts.
1 16 F.C. Porto Tristan Gommendy 30 46:15.508 11 50
2 22 A.S. Roma Franck Perera 30 +1.482 4 45
3 5 PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman 30 +4.562 9 40
4 21 Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés 30 +13.321 10 36
5 12 Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon 30 +14.126 18 32
6 8 R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby 30 +25.284 12 29
7 17 Rangers F.C. Ryan Dalziel 30 +30.185 14 26
8 6 Al Ain Dominick Muermans 30 +1:04.015 5 23
9 9 Olympiacos CFP Stamatis Katsimis 26 Accident 6 20
10 19 Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy 26 Accident 8 18
11 4 Galatasaray S.K. Alessandro Pier Guidi 26 Accident 16 16
12 15 Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek 21 Gearbox 3 14
13 18 Sevilla FC Borja García 18 Brakes 2 12
14 11 Borussia Dortmund Enrico Toccacelo 8 Accident 1 10
15 10 FC Basel 1893 Max Wissel 3 Engine 7 8
16 14 SC Corinthians Antônio Pizzonia 0 Accident 13 7
17 3 A.C. Milan Robert Doornbos 0 Accident 17 6
18 7 CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha 0 Accident 15 5
Fastest lap: Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid) 1:23.475 (109.469 mph)
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References
  1. "Stamatis Katsimis takes over as first driver of the Olympiacos Racing Team". Automobil Sport. 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  2. "Meijer breaks wrist". Autosport. 194 (6): 11. 6 November 2008.
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