Weekend Donington Superleague results
The Swiss club’s Max Wissel (D) finished 2.18-secs ahead of the Glasgow Rangers machine of John Martin (AUS) in the 44 minute plus one-lap race around the 2.5 miles (4.02 km) parkland track in the Midlands area of Britain.
The heavy rain of yesterday which had caused qualifying to be abandoned; and cause minor damage to a section of the track; was thankfully replaced by sunny intervals encouraging a healthy crowd to attend.
Wissel took the opportunity to overtake Martin on lap 12 lap when the backmarker PSV Eindhoven car delayed Martin as the Australian attempted to lap the Dutch car.
SLF championship leader Adrián Vallés (SP), who started from his worst proper qualifying position of the season in 10th place, finished sixth – just a second behind the Tottenham Hotspur machine of Craig Dolby (GB).
The pole-starting Corinthians car of Antônio Pizzonia (BRA) finished third having led until pitting on lap nine but a slow compulsory pit-stop lost the Brazilian valuable time.
A second race, followed immediately by a Super Final, will be staged at the British venue later today with Flamingo’s Enrique Bernoldi (BRA) starting from pole-position after spinning out on the opening lap of race one which caused a brief Safety Car period which also saw the front-row starting Olympiacos machine of Davide Rigon (IT) retire with no oil pressure as the race resumed on lap five.
QUOTES:
FC Basel: Max Wissel (D)
“It’s a perfect result for FC Basel – I’m so happy for ‘my’ club. I pushed very hard but the car and pit-stop were all very good – I’m delighted."
Glasgow Rangers: John Martin (AUS)
“I came out of the pits leading but was effectively robbed of a win due to a backmarker not getting out of the way. Nevertheless this is my second runners-up place in consecutive race weekends."
British club Glasgow Rangers made “home" advantage pay to become the €100,000 “Weekend Winner" when John Martin (AUS) netted the concluding Super Final race honors in the Superleague Formula by Sonangol at Donington Park in Britain today (2 August). It was the Scottish Premier League club and Australian driver’s maiden SLF race victory.
FC Basel (Max Wissel) and FC Porto (Tristan Gommendy) were victorious around the parkland 2.5-mile track in the British Midlands in the earlier races. Liverpool FC’s Adrián Vallés (SP) heads for the fourth round of the six-venue series in Portugal next month with a reduced 10-points lead now over Basel.
Race 1 – FC Basel On A Swiss Roll
Swiss club FC Basel and Max Wissel scored their maiden SLF wins when the German, the youngest driver in the SLF field, comfortably led home Rangers’ Martin.
Martin got stuck behind the third-placed but yet to pit PSV Eindhoven car allowing Wissel, who set the race’s fastest lap, to sweep ahead. Vallés, who started from his worst “proper" qualifying position of the season in 10th place, finished sixth – one second behind the Tottenham Hotspur machine of Craig Dolby (GB).
Meanwhile the pole-starting Corinthians car of Antônio Pizzonia finished third having led until pitting on lap nine but a slow pit-stop lost the Brazilian valuable time.
FC Basel: Max Wissel (D)
“It’s a perfect result for FC Basel – I’m so happy for ‘my’ club. I pushed very hard but the car and pit-stop were all very good – I’m delighted."
Glasgow Rangers: John Martin (AUS)
“I came out of the pits leading but was effectively robbed of a win due to a backmarker not getting out of the way at a critical moment with Basel right behind me."
Corinthians: Antônio Pizzonia (BRA)
“Until my pit-stop everything was good but there was a delay at my stop which cost me any chance of a win."
Race 2 – FC Porto Heads Home Double Delight For Portugal
FC Porto scored its first victory of the season when Tristan Gommendy (F) scored his and the club’s second ever SLF victory, coming through from 10th on the grid.
Sporting Clube de Portugal’s Pedro Petiz (POR) did well to fend off a hard-charging, back row starting FC Basel for second place in the latter stages of the race to earn Portugal a magnificent 1-2.
Flamengo (Enrique Bernoldi) had started from pole, after spinning out on the opening lap of race one, while the cars of Rangers and AC Milan collided causing a Safety Car period. Olympiacos (Davide Rigon) started from the pit-lane when he was unable to take up his front row slot when work on replacing the engine overran – but retired early – while RSC Anderlecht (Yelmer Buurman) non-started due to a gearbox issue with Flamengo retiring after a slow stop.
FC Porto: Tristan Gommendy (F)
“To get a victory again for Porto, and the first for this season, is fantastic. The car was very good. I gave it 100% and it all came together for me."
Sporting Clube de Portugal: Pedro Petiz (POR)
“The previous races at Zolder had been a nightmare so to get a second place here is incredible. I had to handle the pressure from Basel."
FC Basel: Max Wissel (D)
“To come from the back of the grid to third place is truly unbelievable. I am now second in the series – just 10pts behind Adrián Vallés so I think the next races in Portugal will be interesting."
Super Final – Quick Repair Hands Maiden SLF Win To Glasgow Rangers and Martin
FC Basel lined-up in “pole" for the five-lap “dash for cash", the Rangers car fully repaired after its race two collision while Spurs claimed a place in the six-car line-up due to Basel, third in race two, having already qualified for the Super Final courtesy of victory in race one.
Basel led initially before a gearbox problem on lap three allowed Rangers in to the lead, Tottenham also taking second from the Swiss club on the same lap. The two Portuguese cars collided on lap two while Corinthians briefly went off the track in a separate incident. Wissel salvaged third place, 6.210secs behind Rangers at the checkered flag.
Glasgow Rangers: John Martin (AUS)
“This victory is very sweet. The team did an awesome job after my accident in race two – taking just half the time to repair it would normally. The car wasn’t perfect but it was still good enough to win!"
Tottenham Hotspur: Craig Dolby (GB)
“I’d only previously ever done a race standing start in a much less powerful car so that in itself was an interesting feature of the Super Final for me. I’m remain third in the championship standings, but now only 21pts off the lead, so to finish second in this race completes a great weekend for me."
FC Basel: Max Wissel (D)
“I had the speed to win but the gearbox pressure died and I was left in fourth gear for a short while. This result is disappointing but in general it’s been a great weekend."
Race 1 – SF Round 3 UK – Classification
| POS | No | RACING TEAM | DRIVER | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 10 | FC Basel SF Racing Team | M. Wissel | 45:15.840 | 31 laps |
| 2 | 17 | Rangers FC SF Racing Team | J. Martin | 45:18.020 | 2.180 |
| 3 | 14 | Corinthians SF Racing Team | A. Pizzonia | 45:18.961 | 3.121 |
| 4 | 3 | AC Milan SF Racing Team | G. Pantano | 45:19.793 | 3.953 |
| 5 | 19 | Tottenham Hotspur SF Racing Team | C. Dolby | 45:27.330 | 11.490 |
| 6 | 21 | Liverpool FC SF Racing Team | A Vallés | 45:28.422 | 12.582 |
| 7 | 22 | AS Roma SF Racing Team | J. Kennard | 45:32.255 | 16.415 |
| 8 | 16 | FC Porto SF Racing Team | T. Gommendy | 45:32.693 | 16.853 |
| 9 | 15 | Atletico de Madrid SF Racing Team | H. P. tung | 45:39.373 | 23.533 |
| 10 | 24 | FC Midtjylland SF Racing Team | K. Andersen | 45:40.327 | 24.487 |
| 11 | 18 | Sevilla FC SF Racing Team | E. Guerrieri | 45:41.679 | 25.839 |
| 12 | 2 | Sporting Clube de Portugal Racing Team | P. Petiz | 46:21.063 | 1:05.223 |
| 13 | 4 | Galatasaray SF Racing Team | S. Mansell | 45:17.559 | 1 lap |
| 14 | 69 | Olympique Lyonnais SF Racing Team | N. Panciatici | 45:24.269 | 1 lap |
| 15 | 5 | PSV Eindhoven SF Racing Team | D. Muermans | 45:31.924 | 1 lap |
| 16 | 8 | RSC Anderlecht SF Racing Team | Y. Buurman | 13:03.937 | 24 laps |
| 17 | 9 | Olumpiacos SF Racing Team | D. Rigon | 6:03.415 | 28 laps |
| 18 | 7 | Flamengo SF Racing Team | E. Bernoldi | – | – |
Race 2 – SF Round 3 UK – Classification
| POS | No | RACING TEAM | DRIVER | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 16 | Porto FC SF Racing Team | T. Gommendy | 45:36.002 | 30 laps |
| 2 | 2 | Sporting Clube de Portugal SF Racing Team | P. Petiz | 45:40.693 | 4.691 |
| 3 | 10 | FC Basel SF Racing Team | M. Wissel | 45:42.625 | 6.623 |
| 4 | 19 | Tottenham Hotspur SF Racing Team | C. Dolby | 45:43.778 | 7.776 |
| 5 | 24 | FC Midtjylland SF Racing Team | K. Andersen | 45:46.189 | 10.187 |
| 6 | 21 | Liverpool FC SF Racing Team | A. Vallés | 45:47.542 | 11.540 |
| 7 | 15 | Atlético de Madrid SF Racing Team | H. P. Tung | 45:53.470 | 17.468 |
| 8 | 14 | Corinthians SF Racing Team | A. Pizzonia | 45:53.470 | 17.907 |
| 9 | 69 | Olympique Lyonnais SF Racing Team | N. Panciatici | 45:53.909 | 40.632 |
| 10 | 22 | AS Roma SF Racing Team | J. Kennard | 46:16.364 | 41.002 |
| 11 | 5 | PSV Eindhoven SF Racing Team | D. Muermans | 46:17.004 | 54.946 |
| 12 | 4 | Galatasaray SF Racing Team | S. Mansell | 46:30.948 | 56.634 |
| 13 | 18 | Sevilla FC SF Racing Team | E. Guerrieri | 46:32.636 | 20 laps |
| 14 | 7 | Flamengo SF Racing Team | E. Bernoldi | 18:23.142 | 21 laps |
| 15 | 9 | Olympiacos SF Racing Team | D. Rigon | 17:02.665 | 27 laps |
| 16 | 17 | Rangers FC SF Racing Team | J. Martin | 5:22.601 | 29 laps |
| 17 | 3 | AC Milan SF Racing Team | G. Pantano | 1:41.393 | – |
| 18 | 8 | RSC Anderlecht SF Racing Team | Y. Buurman | – | – |
Race 3 Super Final – SF Round 3 UK – Classification
| POS | No | RACING TEAM | DRIVER | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 17 | Rangers FC SF Racing Team | J. Martin | 6:43.077 | 5 laps |
| 2 | 19 | Tottenham Hotspur SF Racing Team | C. Dolby | 6:46.827 | 3.750 |
| 3 | 10 | FC Basel SF Racing Team | M. Wissel | 6:49.287 | 6.210 |
| 4 | 14 | Corinthians SF Racing Team | A. Pizzonia | 6:50.920 | 7.843 |
| 5 | 16 | FC Porto SF Racing Team | T. Gommendy | 7:14.710 | 31.633 |
| 6 | 2 | Sporting Clube de Portugal SF Racing Team | P. Petiz | 7:18.086 | 35.009 |