Race Report

EUROPEAN SERIES, Rounds 7 & 8
Formula Abarth

Circuit: RedBull Ring (A), Length 4,326 km, 27^th/28^th August 2011
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Ring

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2011:
Patric Niederhauser (CH), Robert Visoiu (ROM) and Samín Gómez (VEN)

Niederhauser wins at the RedBull Ring

The race, which was part of the GT Open Series programme, took place on the newly reopened – and renamed – Zeltweg circuit, now known as the RedBull Ring in Styria in Austria. It demonstrated that the track is as interesting as ever. The Formula Abarth races counted towards the European Series this time round. 19-year old Venezuelan Samín Gómez took the third seat in our team, bringing the number of cars taking part to 18.

Qualifying

Saturday, 27/08/11, 10.55 – 11.25, Weather: Cloudy, 25°C

The rules of the championship only allow for one qualifying session, with each driver’s fastest lap determining their Race One grid positions. For Race Two the top eight are simply reversed, with the 8^th fastest driver starting from pole, the 7^th fastest starting from 7^th, and so on. From 9^th place on, the positions are decided based on the results of Race One.
The clouds gathered and the temperature was rather more agreeable than in Friday’s free practice, when it was well over 30°C. The qualifying session was rather exciting, positions within the top ten changing frequently. Patric again managed to grab pole position, while Robert was 9^th and Samín also shone, putting in a very good performance to secure 11^th place on the grid.

Formula Abarth European Series

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 27/08/11, 16.45, Weather: Rain, 23°C

The race start was wet, and although only a few drops were falling by then, some parts of the track were still pretty damp. Nevertheless the whole field started on slicks, which led to a few drivers spinning, unfortunately including Samín. She had to let the whole field go past before she was able to rejoin, but in a strong race she closed the gap, overtook several times and set some very good lap times. She avoided all the accidents and finished the race in a very good 13^th place. Robert had a very good start and was fighting for 7^th place. He had had to let Costa go but had concentrated on the duel when another car hit him from behind and caused him to spin off. All that was left was to limp back to the pit lane with damaged suspension and there to abandon the race. Patric made the best start and led for a long time, but then Sirotkin started to close the gap and a few laps before the end was right behind Patric. When Patric left the door wide open at the start of the last lap Sirotkin didn’t need a second invitation and was through. Patric pulled off a counter attack round the outside and got back ahead, but Sirotkin went for it and hit Patric’s sidepod, causing Patric to spin off. Sirotkin won as a result although Patric was able to save 2^nd place. Shortly after everyone crossed the finish line a thunderstorn brought heavy rain and soaked them all to the skin.

Formula Abarth European Series

Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 28/08/11, 11.35, Weather: Cloudy, 20°C

Today the sky was almost cloudless, and the track was dry. The start and the first lap were really hectic, with a number of accidents that meant the Safety Car had to be deployed. Patric was already up in 5^th place, Robert was 12^th and Samín was 13^th. At the restart the cards were reshuffled, with Patric managing to stun the opposition by snatching 2^nd, and a lap later finding his way past Sofyan to lead; after that he just pulled away from the pack. Nobody could stay with him today. Setting fastest lap after fastest lap he increased the distance to the field to come home 8.5 seconds clear for a superb win. Robert also put in a great performance today, overtaking car after car, only being beaten by Heche. He crossed the finish line in a very good 7^th place. Samín lost out a little at the start, but then got involved in some exciting battles which saw her making up places. She saw the chequered flag in 12^th. After the race Camplese and Sofyan were both handed 25-second penalties which promoted Robert and Samín two places up the order.

Championship Standings

2011 Formula Abarth European Series after 8 out of 14 races:

1^st Sergey Sirotkin (RUS), 105 points; 2^nd Patric Niederhauser (CH), 79 points; 3^rd Gerrard Barrabeig (E), 56 points; 4^th Michael Heche (CH), 56 points; 5^th Robert Visoiu (ROM), 43 points; 6^th Lorenzo Camplese (I), 36 points; 20^th Samín Gómez, 2 points

Championship Standings

Formula Abarth Italian Championship 2011 after 10 out of 14 races:

1^st Patric Niederhauser (CH), 103 points; 2^nd Michael Heche (CH), 97 points; 3^rd Sergey Sirotkin (RUS), 88 points; 4^th Gerrard Barrabeig (E), 87 points; 5^th Nicolas Costa (BRA), 67 points; 6^th Robert Visoiu (ROM), 50 points

2011 FORMULA ABARTH RACE CALENDAR

2011 FORMULA ABARTH EUROPEAN SERIES

2011 FORMULA ABARTH ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Read more:

• www.acisportitalia.it/ABARTH_IT
• www.acisportitalia.it/ABARTH_EU
• www.italiaracing.net