2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round

The 2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round was the third round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on October 5, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the Nürburgring. There were three driver changes for this round of the championship: Ryan Dalziel returned to the Rangers F.C. car (replacing James Walker), after missing the previous round due to a clash with his Rolex Sports Car Series commitments at Miller Motorsports Park. Two drivers made their debuts, with Dutchman Paul Meijer replacing Nelson Philippe in the car representing Borussia Dortmund and Belgian Bertrand Baguette replaced Andreas Zuber in the Al Ain car. The meeting saw a first win for Liverpool F.C. and a second win for championship leaders Beijing Guoan. However, the championship lead for the Chinese side was cut to 14 points.

2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round
Superleague Formula round Belgium
Circuit Map
DateOctober 5, 2008
LocationBelgium Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.492 mi (4.010 km)
Laps24 & 26
Pole position
Team Germany Borussia Dortmund Paul Meijer
Time 1:20.826
Podium (1st race)
First England Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés
Second Belgium R.S.C. Anderlecht Craig Dolby
Third Germany Borussia Dortmund Paul Meijer
Fastest lap (1st race)
Team England Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés
Time 1:38.031 (on lap 14)
Podium (2nd race)
First China Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Second England Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy
Third Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman
Fastest lap (2nd race)
Team Spain Atlético Madrid Andy Soucek
Time 1:37.370 (on lap 11)

Report

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Qualifying

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After the random draw which split the eighteen-car field into two groups, the fastest four qualifiers from each progressed into the knockout stages to decide places 1 to 8 on the grid. For the third race in succession, drivers missed out on places in the knockout stages, despite setting a faster time than the fourth-placed qualifier in the slower group. On this occasion, three Group A drivers were eliminated despite setting times up to half a second faster than the fourth-placed qualifier of Group B. The unlucky drivers turned out to be Max Wissel (FC Basel 1893), Ryan Dalziel (Rangers F.C.) and Enrico Toccacelo (A.S. Roma), who were all quicker than Craig Dolby's R.S.C. Anderlecht machine, which made it through from Group B. A.C. Milan and Atlético Madrid topped their respective groups and were expected to face each other in the final, yet both teams were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Anderlecht and Paul Meijer's Borussia Dortmund machine. Sevilla FC and Liverpool F.C. were the other semi-finalists, yet neither would make the final as Meijer and Dolby sealed their places by beating the somewhat more experienced GP2 Series drivers Borja García and Adrián Vallés. In the final, Dolby would not set a time, thus giving Meijer a debut pole, becoming the third different polesitter in three races.

Race 1

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A wet raceday greeted the drivers on Sunday, and it was all action right from the rolling start. Fifth-placed Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) and seventh-placed Robert Doornbos (A.C. Milan) came together, with Doornbos being unsighted due to the spray. The accident caused terminal damage to both cars, yet would aid them for the second race of the afternoon - thanks to the reverse grid system. Dolby had taken the lead off Meijer ahead of the midfield chaos, due to a tentative start by the Dutch rookie. The two ran in very close formation, until a safety car was called for on lap 4, with García in the wall at the Lucien Bianchi Bocht, having dropped a wheel on the wet grass. The mandatory pit stop window came as the safety car was out, and after the race went green, the first of the leaders came in - Vallés from third, complaining of a vibration and balance issues on the Liverpool car. These new boots had an effect on the Spanish driver rattling off a series of fastest laps and coupled with shoddy pitstops by Dolby and Meijer, a first win was on the cards. Not even a late safety car for spinners Toccacelo and Alessandro Pier Guidi (Galatasaray S.K.) could halt the Vallés steamroller, as he would go on to win by 2.257 seconds from Dolby, recording his third runner-up placing in five races. Following them home were Meijer, Wissel, Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid), Tristan Gommendy (F.C. Porto), Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven), Dalziel, Tuka Rocha (CR Flamengo), Antônio Pizzonia (SC Corinthians), Bertrand Baguette (Al Ain), with Duncan Tappy (Tottenham Hotspur) completing the finishers, having suffered a puncture.

Race 2

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After the first race clash between them, Rigon and Doornbos lined up together on the front row and just like the first race, the outside of turn one saw the second-place starter overtake the polesitter around the outside, with Rigon skating his way around the Dutchman. But again, the safety car came out for a first-lap incident. Pizzonia had misjudged his braking point for the Klein Chicane, barrelled past a number of cars and skated straight into Dalziel, causing both to retire. After this safety car period, Rigon strolled off into a 23-second victory, leaving the rest of the field in his wake. The battle for second was on with both Doornbos and Toccacelo struggling with car setups. Buurman made a mistake while trying to pass the Italian, knocking his pit limiter on and lost ground. García spun again, with an almost carbon copy of his race one spin - this time, he stayed on circuit. With all the problems about him, Tappy moved through the melée and ended up second, ahead of Buurman, Doornbos, Wissel, Vallés, Toccacelo, García, Kasper Andersen (Olympiacos CFP), Baguette, Meijer, Pier Guidi, Soucek, Rocha and Gommendy. With the win, Rigon managed to get back some of the damage caused to the points lead in race one - Guoan's championship lead now stands at 14 points from PSV with Sevilla falling further back.

Results

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Qualifying

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  • In each group, the top four qualify for the quarter-finals.

Group A

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Pos. Team Driver Time
1   A.C. Milan   Robert Doornbos 1:17.309
2   Sevilla FC   Borja García 1:17.383
3   Liverpool F.C.   Adrián Vallés 1:17.587
4   Borussia Dortmund   Paul Meijer 1:17.733
5   FC Basel 1893   Max Wissel 1:17.798
6   Rangers F.C.   Ryan Dalziel 1:17.839
7   A.S. Roma   Enrico Toccacelo 1:17.949
8   Olympiacos CFP   Kasper Andersen 1:18.812
9   PSV Eindhoven   Yelmer Buurman 1:19.285

Group B

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Pos. Team Driver Time
1   Atlético Madrid   Andy Soucek 1:16.969
2   F.C. Porto   Tristan Gommendy 1:17.341
3   Beijing Guoan   Davide Rigon 1:18.131
4   R.S.C. Anderlecht   Craig Dolby 1:18.313
5   Tottenham Hotspur   Duncan Tappy 1:18.389
6   Galatasaray S.K.   Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:18.563
7   CR Flamengo   Tuka Rocha 1:18.981
8   SC Corinthians   Antônio Pizzonia 1:19.017
9   Al Ain   Bertrand Baguette 1:19.115

Knockout stages

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Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out
A1 A.C. Milan 1:18.169
B4 R.S.C. Anderlecht 1:17.296 B4 R.S.C. Anderlecht 1:17.191
A3 Liverpool F.C. 1:17.418 A3 Liverpool F.C. 1:19.006
B2 F.C. Porto 1:18.657 B4 R.S.C. Anderlecht no time
A2 Sevilla FC 1:17.104 A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:20.826
B3 Beijing Guoan 1:17.901 A2 Sevilla FC 1:17.423
A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:17.418 A4 Borussia Dortmund 1:17.223
B1 Atlético Madrid 1:17.772

Grid

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Pos. Team Driver Time
1   Borussia Dortmund   Paul Meijer 1:20.826
2   R.S.C. Anderlecht   Craig Dolby no time
3   Liverpool F.C.   Adrián Vallés 1:19.006
4   Sevilla FC   Borja García 1:17.423
5   Beijing Guoan   Davide Rigon 1:17.901
6   F.C. Porto   Tristan Gommendy 1:18.657
7   A.C. Milan   Robert Doornbos 1:18.169
8   Atlético Madrid   Andy Soucek 1:17.772
9   Tottenham Hotspur   Duncan Tappy 1:18.389
10   FC Basel 1893   Max Wissel 1:17.798
11   Galatasaray S.K.   Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:18.563
12   Rangers F.C.   Ryan Dalziel 1:17.839
13   CR Flamengo   Tuka Rocha 1:18.981
14   A.S. Roma   Enrico Toccacelo 1:17.949
15   SC Corinthians   Antônio Pizzonia 1:19.017
16   Olympiacos CFP   Kasper Andersen 1:18.812
17   Al Ain   Bertrand Baguette 1:19.115
18   PSV Eindhoven   Yelmer Buurman 1:19.285

Race 1

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Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts.
1 21   Liverpool F.C.   Adrián Vallés 24 45:51.628 3 50
2 8   R.S.C. Anderlecht   Craig Dolby 24 +2.257 2 45
3 11   Borussia Dortmund   Paul Meijer 24 +4.045 1 40
4 10   FC Basel 1893   Max Wissel 24 +5.928 10 36
5 15   Atlético Madrid   Andy Soucek 24 +8.201 8 32
6 16   F.C. Porto   Tristan Gommendy 24 +9.111 6 29
7 5   PSV Eindhoven   Yelmer Buurman 24 +11.435 18 26
8 17   Rangers F.C.   Ryan Dalziel 24 +11.601 12 23
9 7   CR Flamengo   Tuka Rocha 24 +12.784 13 20
10 14   SC Corinthians   Antônio Pizzonia 24 +13.650 15 18
11 6   Al Ain   Bertrand Baguette 24 +14.482 17 16
12 19   Tottenham Hotspur   Duncan Tappy 23 +1 Lap 9 14
13 22   A.S. Roma   Enrico Toccacelo 18 Spin 14 12
14 4   Galatasaray S.K.   Alessandro Pier Guidi 18 Spin 11 10
15 9   Olympiacos CFP   Kasper Andersen 17 Spin 16 8
16 18   Sevilla FC   Borja García 3 Accident 4 7
17 12   Beijing Guoan   Davide Rigon 1 Accident 5 6
18 3   A.C. Milan   Robert Doornbos 0 Accident 7 5
Fastest lap: Adrián Vallés (Liverpool F.C.) 1:38.031 (91.526 mph)

Race 2

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Pos No Team Driver Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts.
1 12   Beijing Guoan   Davide Rigon 26 47:23.624 2 50
2 19   Tottenham Hotspur   Duncan Tappy 26 +23.436 7 45
3 5   PSV Eindhoven   Yelmer Buurman 26 +24.504 12 40
4 3   A.C. Milan   Robert Doornbos 26 +26.176 1 36
5 10   FC Basel 1893   Max Wissel 26 +29.097 15 32
6 21   Liverpool F.C.   Adrián Vallés 26 +31.260 18 29
7 22   A.S. Roma   Enrico Toccacelo 26 +34.194 6 26
8 18   Sevilla FC   Borja García 26 +34.270 3 23
9 9   Olympiacos CFP   Kasper Andersen 26 +34.742 4 20
10 6   Al Ain   Bertrand Baguette 26 +50.926 8 18
11 11   Borussia Dortmund   Paul Meijer 26 +50.948 16 16
12 4   Galatasaray S.K.   Alessandro Pier Guidi 26 +51.286 5 14
13 15   Atlético Madrid   Andy Soucek 26 +55.993 14 12
14 7   CR Flamengo   Tuka Rocha 26 +1:13.191 10 10
15 16   F.C. Porto   Tristan Gommendy 26 +1:21.368 13 8
16 8   R.S.C. Anderlecht   Craig Dolby 18 Transmission 17 7
17 17   Rangers F.C.   Ryan Dalziel 1 Suspension 11 6
18 14   SC Corinthians   Antônio Pizzonia 0 Accident 9 5
Fastest lap: Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid) 1:37.370 (92.147 mph)

References

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