Race Report

EUROPEAN SERIES, Rounds 19/20/21
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 13/14/15
Formula Abarth

Circuit: Vallelunga (I), Length 4.085 km, 15^th/16^th Sept. 2012
www.vallelunga.it

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2012:
Samin Gomez (VEN), Kevin Joerg (CH) and Gregor Ramsay (GB)

Ramsay wins, Joerg takes 2^nd place

The seventh of eight meetings of the Italian Formula Abarth Championship took place at Vallelunga, close to the gates of Rome. This time out the Formula Abarth races counted towards the Italian Championship as well as the European Series.

Qualifying

Saturday, 15/09/12, 10.00 – 10.40, Weather: Sunny, 22°C

The rules of the championship allow for two qualifying sessions, each 15 minutes long, with a break of just ten minutes in between. Results from Qualification Session 1 determine the grid for Race One, while results from Qualification Session 2 determine the grid for Race Two; the grid for Race Three is based on the results of Race One, with the first six finishers starting in reverse order.
Free practice on Friday was run in wet, cool conditions but by Saturday morning it was sunny and already starting to warm up. Samin came out best in first qualifying, but was then unable to improve on that. Kevin’s experience was the exact opposite, with a better second qualifying session than his first one, while Gregor managed a steady performance in both qualifying sessions.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race One (22 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 15/09/12, 14.10, Weather: Sunny, 28°C

The start was good with Samin and Kevin both holding position, while Gregor got past Roda to line up just behind Kevin in 8^th places. Ghiotto and Bonifacio clashed right in front of Samin, then Furlan spun and ended up stuck in the middle of the racing line. The Safety Car had to be deployed and took control of the field for two laps. While the race was neutralised, Ghiotto pitted to get a new wing fitted, returning to the track at the back of the pack. Meanwhile Bonifacio was awarded a drive through penalty after the restart. That promoted Samin to 4^th, Kevin to 5^th and Gregor to 6^th. Ghiotto started his recovery drive after the restart and was soon materialised in Gregor’s mirrors. Gregor held him off for three long laps, but couldn’t manage a fourth. Ghiotto then closed in on Kevin and started to put pressure on him. However time was running out, and Kevin was able to hang onto 5^th until the end of the race. Gregor caught up with the battling pair, crossing the finishing line just behind Ghiotto in 7^th place. Samin ran a strong race, opening a small gap to Kevin and crossing the finishing line immediately behind Urrutia in an excellent 4^th place. After the race, the officials established that Ghiotto had overtaken the Safety Car to catch up with the rest of the pack and so he was disqualified, which moved Gregor to 6^th, which would mean that he started Race Three from pole position.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 16/09/12, 09.00, Weather: Sunny, 26°C

The sun shone again on Sunday morning and the race got off to a good, clean start. Bonifacio and Urrutia tried to mount attacks, but Bonifacio ended up dropping back and Kevin managed to find a way past Urrutia for 4^th place, behind Costa, Ghiotto and Zonzini. Samin and Gregor held position at the start with Samin later managing to overtake Furlan. Shortly after that Gregor also went past, making the two of them 8^th and 9^th. The pace across the top ten was very similar, and with everyone needing to conserve their tyres during the longest race of the weekend, no one wanted to try anything too dramatic which meant a somewhat processional race. Kevin drove a flawless race and kept Bonifacio at bay to cross the line in an excellent 4^th place. Samin and Gregor also drove well and came home 8^th and 9^th respectively.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Three (15 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 16/09/12, 15.00, Weather: Sunny, 28°C

Our three drivers started the sprint race from the first two rows of the grid, which meant we had high hopes for one or more podium positions. Gregor got away brilliantly and made the most of his pole position settling into the lead ahead of Kevin and Samin. Behind them Ghiotto, Bonifacio, Zonzini and Costa were all on the look out for opportunities to improve their positions. However, getting to the front was not that easy! Gregor set a good pace and the JENZER MOTORSPORT trio even opened up a bit of a gap to the rest of the field. Kevin put pressure on Gregor for lap after lap while Samin struggled a little with worn tyres, hanging onto 3^rd place for a long time. Once Costa had overtaken Urrutia, he caught up with Samin a few laps before the end. Samin couldn’t hold him off and fell back to 4^th. Kevin set about Gregor towards the end of the race and even managed to overtake him, but he couldn’t hold the lead for long. Gregor was quick to counter the move and took back the lead, making clear that he wasn’t about to relinquish victory. Gregor was delighted to claim victory at the end of the race, while Kevin claimed 2^nd, and Samin, who had tried retake 3^rd from Costa, finally took the chequered flag in an excellent 4^th place. Now we are looking forward to the last race meeting of the season in two weeks’ time in Monza.

Championship Standings

2012 Formula Abarth European Series after 21 out of 24 races:

1^st Nicolas Costa (BRA), 243 points; 2^nd Luca Ghiotto (I), 227 points; 3^rd Bruno Bonifacio (BRA), 214 points; 4^th Emanuele Zonzini (I), 185 points; 5^th Santiago Urrutia (URU), 171 points; 6^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 157 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 111 points; 8^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 96 points

Championship Standings

Formula Abarth Italian Championship 2012 after 15 out of 18 races:

1^st Nicolas Costa (BRA), 170 points; 2^nd Luca Ghiotto (I), 157 points; 3^rd Bruno Bonifacio (BRA), 154 points; 4^th Emanuele Zonzini (I), 145 points; 5^th Santiago Urrutia (URU), 124 points; 6^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 111 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 77 points; 8^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 71 points

2012 FORMULA ABARTH RACE CALENDAR

2012 FORMULA ABARTH EUROPEAN SERIES & ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Read more:

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