Race Report

EUROPEAN SERIES, Rounds 13 & 14
Formula Abarth

Circuit: Barcelona (E), Length 4.655 km, 29^th/30^th October 2011
www.circuitcat.com

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

Niederhauser runner up in the European Series
Joerg wins the Mediterranean Trophy

The seventh and final race meeting of the Formula Abarth European Series was held on the Grand Prix circuit at Montmelo near Barcelona. 20 drivers showed up to compete in the season’s showdown with two of those drivers, Sergey Sirotkin (151 points) and Patric Niederhauser (124 points), still theoretically able to take the title. Michael Heche in third could still claim 2nd place overall (94 points) but was no longer in contention for the title. A maximum of 36 points was up for grabs this weekend, with these races also counting towards the Mediterranean Trophy (a special classification for rookies taking part in the Monza and Barcelona rounds). Expectations as ever were running high!

Qualifying

Saturday, 29/10/11, 12.30 – 13.00, Weather: Cloudy, 18°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 7th fastest starting from 7^th, and so on. From 9th place on, the positions are decided based on the results of Race One.
Just after our drivers went out on their second set of tyres two accidents occurred at different places on the circuit. This led to a very long yellow flag phase, when drivers were not allowed to improve their lap times. When the green flag was shown again there were only four minutes left of the session, and with time having more or less run out, our drivers struggled to achieve fast lap times on this demanding circuit. Patric finished the session in 6^th, with Robert not far behind him in 8^th. Samin was 19^th and Kevin ended up in an excellent 11^th place and was the best placed rookie.

Formula Abarth European Series

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 30/10/11, 09.35, Weather: Sunny, 15°C

The first race started under a bright blue sky and Patric quickly moved up to 4^th during the opening lap, Robert was 6^th, Kevin 9^th and Samín 14^th. Patric soon closed in on Ghiotto and managed to overtake him a lap later, before setting off in pursuit of Heche, who had lost out to Sirotkin at the start. It took Patric several laps to find a way to past Heche, and when he did go for it, the two touched and Heche ended up in the gravel trap. Patric was now keen to pursue Sirotkin, but was too late on the brakes at the next corner and spun off. Unluckily his car got stuck on the kerbs and the rear tyres dug deep into the gravel, bringing his race to a premature end and putting the title out of reach – Sirotkin was the clear winner of the European Series. Robert locked up on lap three and dropped back to 12^th place after a spin. As in the past he once again set about a spirited recovery drive, making up places lap after lap and finishing the race in an excellent 5th place. Kevin put up a good defence of his position from the start and drove a clean race. Though he initially came under pressure from Piria, he didn’t lose his nerve and crossed the finish line in a remarkable 7^th place, making him the best rookie ahead of Ramsay, who finished 12^th overall. Samín also drove a flawless race, untroubled by other peoples’ accidents and took the chequered flag in a very good 11^th.

Formula Abarth European Series

Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 30/10/11, 16.10, Weather: Sunny, 18°C

Robert made the most of his pole position to take the lead from Bonifacio and Patric, while Kevin was 11^th and Samin 16^th. However, the Safety Car was deployed almost immediately after an early accident. At the restart Patric set about Bonifacio, but it took a lap to get by. That left Robert in the lead with Patric in pursuit. Behind them things got very `exciting, with positions contested fiercely. Samin overtook two cars and was 14^th, and was able to defend her place successfully after that. Kevin meanwhile was battling Barrabeig, Spavone and Antunes, finally crossing the finish line in 13^th after quite a battle. Once again he was best rookie, this time ahead of Bonetti, who finished the race in 16^th. This meant that Kevin had scored enough points to win the Mediterranean Trophy! Despite Patric closing the gap to Robert in the second half of the race and putting the pressure on, Robert was able to pull through and win the last race of the season. Patric set the fastest lap of the race and finished 2^nd, giving the team a very good end to the season.

Championship Final Standings

2011 Formula Abarth European Series after 14 races:

1^st Sergey Sirotkin (RUS), 175 points; 2^nd Patric Niederhauser (CH), 137 points; 3^rd Michael Heche (CH), 98 points; 4^th Robert Visoiu (ROM), 81 points; 5^th Gerrard Barrabeig (E), 72 points; 6^th Luca Ghiotto (I), 65 points; 17^th Samín Gómez, 11 points

Championship Final Standings

Formula Abarth Mediterranean Trophy 2011 after 4 races:

1^st Kevin Jörg (CH), 27 points; 2^nd Santiago Urrutia (URU), 26 points; 3^rd Paolo Bonetti (I), 19 points; 4^th Valeria Carballo (VEN), 9 points; 5^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 6 points

Championship Final Standings

Formula Abarth Italian Championship 2011 after 14 races:

1^st Patric Niederhauser (CH), 149 points; 2^nd Sergey Sirotkin (RUS), 136 points; 3^rd Michael Heche (CH), 131 points; 4^th Gerrard Barrabeig (E), 101 points; 5^th Nicolas Costa (BRA), 84 points; 6^th Robert Visoiu (ROM), 69 points; 16^th Samín Gómez (VEN), 8 points

2011 FORMULA ABARTH RACE CALENDAR

2011 FORMULA ABARTH ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

2011 FORMULA ABARTH EUROPEAN SERIES

2011 FORMEL ABARTH MEDITERRANEAN TROPHY

Read more:

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