August, 4th 2009
Victory in Donington!
The first win after good results in the first four races!
Following the cancellation of the qualifying practice due to heavy rain, I was content with coming in third place, but I was still a bit disappointed, as more would have been possible under normal circumstances.
Right at the start of the first race on Sunday morning I was able to drive into second position, and put Pizzonia, who was in the lead, under pressure.
After an excellent pit stop, I was able to take over the lead in round 9, and secure my first win and fastest lap.
But the task became more difficult in the second race.
Due to the reversed starting grid, I began the race in the 18th, and last, position.
As in the morning, I was able to drive the fastest laps again and make up a few places.
Following an early, super-fast pit stop, I was able to do better, took over car after car, and sensationally ended the race in third place.
After 6 of 12 races, I am now in 2nd place in the championship ranking, with 207 points.
Thus only 10 points now separate me from Liverpool FC's Adrian Valles, who is ‘still' in the lead.
The car was perfectly tuned and the pit stop crew was super-fast, I can only thank my mechanics and engineers”, was my closing statement at the press conference. |
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July, 21th 2009
New top result in Zolder
Following the free practice, and P8, I was not happy with the car's Setup. But my engineers did some great work before the qualifying practice, and therefore improved the car's operation considerably, so that I could speed into a convincing third starting position after a couple of perfect laps.
Unfortunately I missed out on third place in Sunday morning's first circuit by half a second! This was due to a pit stop which came a little too late, and this near-miss of the podium disappointed me a bit, ‘cause if you run the fastest lap times as I did, you also want to win at the end!
For the second round on Sunday, which began with a completely reversed starting order, I had to start from P15. Accidents, Safety-Car-periods and the changeable weather conditions led to perfect chaos after ten laps and after 45 minutes of race chaos, no more than position 8 was possible.
“Even in the second round in the rain, and when dry, I had the best lap times again, and just have no luck”, I afterwards told the press. “But we'll be on the attack again in Donington next week”!
And, with fourth place in the championship ranking, the sky's the limit as far the drivers' title is concerned. |
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June, 30th 2009
Season-Opening 2009
The 2009 season has finally begun, and the burst of adrenalin which was so sorely missed during the race-free time is back too.
The first rollout was planned for ten short laps on Friday - the first contact with car and track, but it wasn't very significant.
I then used the free training on Saturday to adjust myself to the car again after the long abstinence, and my place in the middle was quite ok... |
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March, 15th 2009:
2008 Season Review/ 2009 Season Forecast
To sum things up, progress of the first season at Superleague Formula met expectations. We had a lot to learn, had to drive on numerous unknown tracks then, and had many technical failures.
However, we were also able to gather many valuable experiences, so that preparation for the 2009 season is currently being carried out at a high level and we are confident that things will run more smoothly in general this year.
The collaboration with FC Basel, which has been characterised by sympathy and friendship, will be continued this year. So, on the one hand, it'll bring reliability and calm to the team, and on the other, it provides me with a further motivation.
So now I'm looking forward to an exciting race season in 2009, and hope that there will be one victory or another to report - signs therefore are good! |
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04.11. 2008:
Da capo in Vallelunga
The race weekend in Italy went almost exactly like in Portugal. After I had had a good start in the free practice, but was much too slow in the qualifier because of a bad setup, the events of Estoril repeated themselves. In the first lap, someone drove into my car, which resulted in an unplanned pit stop due to a lingering puncture. I then drove two lap times which were very good on average, but had too much of a gap to make up. The best I could hope for was 12th place. Second race I started from position 7 and had another breakdown in the third circuit due to a lighting dynamo defect. Now we are focussing on the last race of the season in Jerez - after all, things can only get better. |
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20.10. 2008:
Bad luck in Estoril
The weekend in Portugal was a complete write-off for me and my team as I couldn't complete either race. Due to an accident in the first round of the first race which wasn't my fault, and technical defects on the second circuit caused by this, much of what I had struggled for in the previous races was cancelled out. |
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14.10. 2008:
Interview for Superleague Formula
"Estoril will be a new track for me but that shouldn't be a huge problem - Zolder was also new for me but I don't think Estoril will be as difficult to learn.
"I have been really happy with the results for FC Basel so far -it has been perfect. We had a problem with the car at Nurburgring but other than that, the car has been great at every race.
"It was a big step up for me going into Superleague Formula but everything has been going really well. I am working with the same engineer that has been with me from Formula Renault for the past few years which has been a big help.
"There is a lot more horsepower but I have been pleased with the way I have adapted." |
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06.10. 2008:
Gallery updated
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06.10. 2008:
In the floods of Zolder...
...I was able not only to do two great races, but also considerably improve my ranking in the total valuation. |
read more... |
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25.09.2008:
You'll find a lot of new pictures at the gallery - enjoy! |
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22.09. 2008:
What a nice and speedy weekend!
During my "home Grand-Prix" at Nuerburgring Race-Track, there was a tendency onwards the free practice, which went on through the whole weekend to the bitter end; I was (almost) always ahead!
In the second race, it seemed like I'm fast enough for a win, if everything else hadn't happened!
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01.09. 2008:
A furious start to the first heat of the Superleague Formula in Donington Park !
In brief: Things didn't look good at first, as before the qualifier, the differential backfired, so I could only start the first race from the second to last starting position.
On a dry track, I was waved off in ninth place after a rather unspectacular heat. In the second heat, it was raining cats and dogs, and it was my hour - I went into the race from the eighth starting position (in effect, due to two empty starting positions before no.6), and was 4th already by the first bend. With a good dose of risk I then got up to 2nd place and then fate caught up with me. In the middle of the straight track, my car lurched and turned 360 degrees by itself.
That cost me 5 places and affected my nerves considerably. Afterwards, I firstly had to get my adrenaline levels back under control, and then took things a little slower. All the same, I drove in the second fastest lap shortly before the end of the race under the most difficult external conditions and was eventually waved off in 7th place with a comfortable margin of around 20 seconds.
This racing weekend has definitely made me want more, and I'm already looking forward to the home match at Nürburgring on 20th/21st September!
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25.08. 2008:
1st heat of the Superleague Formula on 30th-31st 08 2008 in Donington Park, England |
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