Race Report

EUROPEAN SERIES, Rounds 22/23/24
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 16/17/18
Formula Abarth

Circuit: Monza (I), Lenght 5.793 km, 29^th/30^th September 2012
www.monzanet.it

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

Gomez strong in Monza

The eighth and final race meeting of the European Series and of the Italian Formula Abarth Championship took place on the ultra fast circuit at Monza close to Milan. Sixteen drivers turned up to compete in the season showdown with three of those drivers still theoretically able to take the title in both championships: Nicolas Costa (BRA), Luca Ghiotto (I) and Bruno Bonifacio (BRA). Expectations were running high as a result.

Qualifying

Friday, 28/09/12, 18.20 – 19.00, Weather: Sunny, 18°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 Three. The grid for Race Two is based on the results of Race One, with the first six finishers starting in reverse order.
The first session was red flagged after just eight minutes after Giovanizzi dropped his car into the gravel trap. That meant that everybody rejoined immediately the session restarted aware that they only had seven minutes to make an impression. Kevin claimed 5^th place on the grid, with Gregor 7^th and Samin 8^th. The lap times were very close, and as ever on this circuit it was very important to be able to profit from a good slipstreaming tow.
In the second session the red flag again had to be used to stop proceedings, but it was actually only a few seconds ahead of the planned end of the session. Kevin had set an impressive 3^rd place before his session ended prematurely because of another driver having lost control and crashing sideways into him. Samin would start 7^th and Gregor 8^th.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race One (22 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 29/09/12, 11.20, Weather: Rain, 17°C

The track was damp and rain was falling steadily but it came down even harder at the start of the Formula Abarth race. The first lap was incident-packed and unfortunately Gregor got involved in one of the accidents. His front wing and part of the bodywork were missing which brought his race to a premature end. Meanwhile the Safety Car had to be deployed while all the damaged cars were cleaned away. At the restart Samin was able to move up the order and had made up several places despite not being able to see in the spray and despite the very slippery track, but then the rear of her car stepped out and she spun. She ended up stuck partly in the gravel and partly on the kerb which meant that her race was also over. There were some pretty intense battles at the front despite the rain getting ever heavier; Ghiotto and Costa were fighting each other which was to Kevin’s benefit. For a short while he was up in 3^rd, but Giovinazzi dived through recklessly to take the lead and Ghiotto managed to overtake Kevin as well. Nevertheless, Kevin was happy to cross the finish line in front of Costa in 5^th.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Two (15 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 30/09/12, 18.15, Weather: Rain, 18°C

Because the track was very wet it was decided that the race would start behind the Safety Car. Costa, Urrutia, Giovinazzi, Ghiotto and Kevin all shone in an action-packed race despite the very difficult conditions. The five car train swapped positions repeatedly while the drivers behind them were also pushing as hard as they could. Samin and Gregor moved up place after place despite the fact that the race remained wet and that the spray meant that the drivers in the midfield couldn’t see much at all. Samin put in a courageous drive to finish in a very good 10^th place, while Gregor was directly behind her for most of the race, until he spun in the closing stages and ended up stranded on the kerb and classified 13^th as a result. Kevin kept up with the front runners right through till the end and took the chequered flag in an excellent 4^th place.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Three (30 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 30/09/12, 11.40, Weather: Cloudy, 21°C

The track was finally dry on Sunday morning, and the sun began to peep out. The championship was still not settled as we went into the last race of the season, and we were hoping for an exciting final round. Kevin made a good start and was 4^th, while Samin also got away well for 6^th. Gregor stalled the engine, and Zonzini couldn’t avoid him, crashing into the back of his car. Both cars were badly damaged and the Safety Car had to be scrambled immediately. At the restart Kevin and Bonifacio tangled, and Bonifacio fell off, while Kevin was awarded a Drive Through penalty which meant he lost his 4^th place. It remains unknown which result he could have achieved without the penalty. After the race it was found that the official’s decision had not been founded and therefore had been wrong. Unfortunately this could not make it all unhappen. Samin had overtaken Furlan and swapped places with Beretta several times in a fought hard battle for 5^th. She drove an animated race and finished in a strong 5^th place. Kevin made up several places and put in some very fast laps to cross the line in 9^th. At the front Urrutia, Ghiotto and Giovinazzi had an exciting fight for the lead. For to us initially unknown reasons Ghiotto was excluded from the results after the race. That promoted Samin to 4^th and Kevin to 8^th. The result was that Costa collected enough points to secure both championship titles, bringing an exciting season to a close. We are now planning our winter-test program and are already looking forward to getting ready for the start of the new season.

Championship final standings

2012 Formula Abarth European Series after 24 races:

1^st Nicolas Costa (BRA), 263 points; 2^nd Luca Ghiotto (I), 246 points; 3^rd Bruno Bonifacio (BRA), 219 points; 4^th Santiago Urrutia (URU), 207 points; 5^th Emanuele Zonzini (I), 200 points; 6^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 176 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 123 points; 8^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 96 points

Championship final standings

Formula Abarth Italian Championship 2012 after 18 races:

1^st Nicolas Costa (BRA), 194 points; 2^nd Luca Ghiotto (I), 175 points; 3^rd Emanuele Zonzini (I), 160 points; 4^th Santiago Urrutia (URU), 158 points; 5^th Bruno Bonifacio (BRA), 157 points; 6^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 122 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 88 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