Race Report

EUROPEAN SERIES, Rounds 16/17/18
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 10/11/12
Formula Abarth

Circuit: Imola (I), Length 4.909 km, 30^th/31^st Aug. & 1^st/2^nd Sept. 2012
www.autodromoimola.com

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

Podium for Gomez and Ramsay in Imola

The sixth of eight meetings in the Italian Formula Abarth Championship took place at Imola, in the Emilia Romagna region. This time out the Formula Abarth races counted towards the Italian Championship and the European Series.

Qualifying

Friday, 31/08/12, 18.30 – 19.10, Weather: Sunny, 27°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 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.

The free practice session in the morning was run on a wet track, but now the sun was out for the qualifying sessions and the track was completely dry. Samin put in a very strong performance which put her in an excellent 5^th place on both grids. Kevin had two off track excursions and went off into the gravel, damaging the car enough for it to need repairing in the pitlane during the short break between sessions. Kevin’s sessions ended with an 11th and an 8^th place. Gregor was 9^th on the grid at the end of both sessions.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race One (22 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 02/09/12, 14.00, Weather: Sunny, 26°C

At the first corner after the start Urrutia ran over Bonifacio’s rear wheel and launched himself. They both ended up in the gravel trap with damaged cars, but luckily no harm done to the drivers. That let Ghiotto into the lead from Zonzini and Samin. At the end of the first lap Gregor was 6^th and Kevin was up to 7^th. Gregor left his braking too late the following lap and spun, losing a place though fortunately he was able to continue. At the front Costa was pressuring Samin and eventually managed to find a way past her, but then Zonzini, who was 2^nd, spun which meant the top three was now Ghiotto, from Costa and Samin. Kevin was just behind in 4^th and slowly closed the gap to Samin, but catching her was a different matter from passing her. Samin was determined to keep 3^rd and started to push hard to keep Kevin at bay. Gregor meanwhile had fought his way back up the order and finished the race in 5^th, immediately behind Kevin for his best result of the season so far. Samin was delighted with her 3^rd place on the podium and Kevin was happy enough with 4^th after his unfortunate qualifying experiences.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 02/09/12, 09.00, Weather: Cloudy, 20°C

Samin made a great start and overtook Urrutia to claim 4^th. Gregor managed to get past Kevin, to put them 7^th and 8^th respectively. A lap later Kevin left his braking too late and pushed Baretta off, the two of them ending their races prematurely in the gravel trap. Samin was well placed among the front runners and was lapping very rapidly when a small mistake led to a spin, and she lost two places. Zonzini and Gregor took advantage of her error and eased past her, before they started to squabble among themselves. Gregor piled the pressure on Zonzini, before a small off track moment dropped him back within reach of Samin. Samin was closing on Gregor again, but time was running out and she wasn’t able to make a move in the time that was left. Gregor finished the race in a good 5^th place, and Samin finished right on his tail in 6^th.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Three (15 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 02/09/12, 17.10, Weather: Cloudy, 26°C

Gregor got a good start for the sprint race and was initially able to defend his 2^nd place, but soon had to give ground to Costa, although he was able to hang onto the leaders and drove an excellent race. Further back Samin started to put pressure on Kevin, though she had to be careful herself, because Ghiotto was looming ever closer in her mirrors. Samin launched an attack, but unfortunately it ended in a spin into the gravel trap. Which was a real shame! Kevin now had to defend his 4^th place from Urrutia and Ghiotto, which he managed to do right until the final lap when he ran wide and had an off track moment. That was enough for Urrutia to get through, which meant Kevin came home in 5^th. Gregor had improved all weekend and was rewarded with a richly deserved 3^rd on the podium.

Championship Standings

2012 Formula Abarth European Series after 18 out of 24 races:

1^st Luca Ghiotto (I), 210 points; 2^nd Bruno Bonifacio (BRA), 202 points; 3^rd Nicolas Costa (BRA), 190 points; 4^th Emanuele Zonzini (I), 151 points; 5^th Santiago Urrutia (URU), 148 points; 6^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 128 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 91 points; 8^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 76 points

Championship Standings

Formula Abarth Italian Championship 2012 after 12 out of 18 races:

1^st Bruno Bonifacio (BRA) 143 points; 2^nd Luca Ghiotto (I), 140 points; 3^rd Nicolas Costa (BRA), 117 points; 4^th Emanuele Zonzini (I), 112 points; 5^th Santiago Urrutia (URU), 101 points; 6^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 82 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 57 points; 8^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 51 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