2008 Donington Park Superleague Formula round

Last updated
2008 Donington Park Superleague Formula round
Superleague Formula round UK
Donington as of 2006.svg
Circuit Map
Date31 August, 2008
Location Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Donington Park, Leicestershire, England
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.500 mi (4.023 km)
Laps28 & 22
Pole position
Team Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Time 1:18.529
Podium (1st race)
First Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Second Flag of Italy.svg A.S. Roma Enrico Toccacelo
Third Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur Duncan Tappy
Fastest lap (1st race)
Team Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Guoan Davide Rigon
Time 1:20.183 (on lap 10)
Podium (2nd race)
First Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla FC Borja García
Second Flag of Brazil.svg CR Flamengo Tuka Rocha
Third Flag of England.svg Liverpool F.C. Adrián Vallés
Fastest lap (2nd race)
Team Flag of the Netherlands.svg PSV Eindhoven Yelmer Buurman
Time 1:40.926 (on lap 22)

The 2008 Donington Park Superleague Formula round was the inaugural round of the Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on 31 August 2008. Seventeen football teams were represented on the grid, with a win each for Beijing Guoan and Sevilla FC.

Contents

Report

Qualifying

The first ever qualifying session for Superleague saw the introduction of a new qualifying system. Following a random draw which split the seventeen-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. This meant that in Group B, fifth placed Al Ain (Andreas Zuber) and sixth placed Borussia Dortmund (Nelson Philippe) would both miss out on qualifying for the knockout stages, despite recording a time some four tenths of a second faster than fourth-placed Group A qualifier Galatasaray S.K. (Alessandro Pier Guidi). After negotiating their way through the knockout stages, Sevilla FC (Borja García) and Beijing Guoan (Davide Rigon) would meet in the final. In the one-lap shootout, Rigon came out on top by 0.822 seconds and would become Superleague's inaugural pole-sitter.

Race 1

The race began with a rolling start, to eradicate a potential chink in the 750 bhp car's armour, and would also delay the introduction of pitstops until the next round. From the start, the Olympiacos car of Kasper Andersen got a fantastic run from fourth on the grid, and was alongside Rigon as the grid headed for Redgate. However, he ran wide and fell back to fourth behind García and a fast-starting Yelmer Buurman in the PSV Eindhoven car. This would become fifth by the end of the lap, as Duncan Tappy also got by, in the Tottenham Hotspur machine. The safety car was deployed on lap three, as A.C. Milan and CR Flamengo had both gone off at Coppice with engine failures on the first and third laps respectively. There were further problems down the field with a midfield incident between Philippe and Andy Soucek in the SC Corinthians car and both would later retire from the race. Enrico Toccacelo would also become a factor in the race, having started sixth in the A.S. Roma car, moving up to third which became second, as García had to shift to manual gear-shifting after developing a problem on down-shifts. Toccacelo did get to within a second and a half of Rigon, but the Italian in the Chinese team's car would hold on, to be the first race-winner of the series. Toccacelo finished 2nd, while Tappy just held off Buurman for the final podium spot. Star of the race though, fell to Adrián Vallés. Having missed qualifying due to an electrical problem, the Liverpool F.C. car charged through from 17th on the grid, to finish fifth ahead of the other finishers Zuber, Tristan Gommendy (F.C. Porto), Ryan Dalziel (Rangers F.C.), Max Wissel (FC Basel 1893) and the troubled García. Of the seven retirees, six were down to technical problems.

Race 2

A storm engulfed the track, before the start of race two. With the reverse grid system in use, A.C. Milan were expected to start on pole, but did not start due to the fuel-system failure that took Robert Doornbos out of the first race. This put Flamengo on the pole, and would give Tuka Rocha an advantage at the start of the race. Rocha sped away into the distance as all hell broke loose behind. Zuber would go off at the Old Hairpin, who would later deploy the safety car and Philippe, who had challenged Rocha at Redgate, spun down to fifth at Coppice, letting Pier Guidi, Wissel and García through. As quickly as the safety car had gone in, it was back out again after Dalziel and latterly Pier Guidi had both gone off at Hollywood and Wissel had run wide at Melbourne in the Basel car. This left García to charge down Rocha at a rate of knots, and with eight laps to go, caught and passed Rocha in the Melbourne Loop and scampered off to a 10.074-second victory over Rocha. The battle for the final podium spot was decided on lap twenty, when Philippe slid sideways and knocked on his pit-lane limiter which allowed Vallés, who started 12th on the grid into third and third in the championship. Tappy, Rigon, Wissel, Buurman, Gommendy, Toccacelo and Andersen completed the finishers as 11 of the 16 starters finished the race. Rigon's first and sixth allowed Beijing Guoan to be seven points clear of Tottenham and Liverpool in the standings.

Results

Qualifying

Group A

Pos.TeamDriverTime
1 Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla FC Flag of Spain.svg Borja García 1:19.822
2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg PSV Eindhoven Flag of the Netherlands.svg Yelmer Buurman 1:19.872
3 Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos CFP Flag of Denmark.svg Kasper Andersen1:20.035
4 Flag of Turkey.svg Galatasaray S.K. Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:20.087
5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg R.S.C. Anderlecht Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Craig Dolby 1:20.685
6 Flag of Brazil.svg CR Flamengo Flag of Brazil.svg Tuka Rocha 1:24.359
7 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg FC Basel 1893 Flag of Germany.svg Max Wissel no time
8 Flag of England.svg Liverpool F.C. Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés no time

Group B

Pos.TeamDriverTime
1 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Guoan Flag of Italy.svg Davide Rigon 1:18.746
2 Flag of Italy.svg A.C. Milan Flag of the Netherlands.svg Robert Doornbos 1:19.155
3 Flag of Italy.svg A.S. Roma Flag of Italy.svg Enrico Toccacelo 1:19.562
4 Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Duncan Tappy 1:19.580
5 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Al Ain Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber 1:19.640
6 Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund Flag of France.svg Nelson Philippe 1:19.671
7 Flag of Portugal (official).svg F.C. Porto Flag of France.svg Tristan Gommendy 1:20.440
8 Flag of Brazil.svg SC Corinthians Flag of Spain.svg Andy Soucek 1:20.511
9 Flag of Scotland.svg Rangers F.C. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ryan Dalziel 1:20.584

Knockout stages

Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals Pole Shoot Out
A1 Sevilla FC 1:19.463
B4 Tottenham Hotspur 1:19.690 A1 Sevilla FC 1:19.655
A3 Olympiacos CFP 1:20.022A3 Olympiacos CFP 1:20.244
B2 A.C. Milan 1:20.173 A1 Sevilla FC 1:19.351
A2 PSV Eindhoven 1:19.411B1 Beijing Guoan 1:18.529
B3 A.S. Roma 1:19.977 A2 PSV Eindhoven 1:19.565
A4 Galatasaray S.K. 1:20.683 B1 Beijing Guoan 1:19.071
B1 Beijing Guoan 1:18.566

Grid

Pos.TeamDriverTime
1 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Guoan Flag of Italy.svg Davide Rigon 1:18.529
2 Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla FC Flag of Spain.svg Borja García 1:19.351
3 Flag of the Netherlands.svg PSV Eindhoven Flag of the Netherlands.svg Yelmer Buurman 1:19.565
4 Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos CFP Flag of Denmark.svg Kasper Andersen1:20.244
5 Flag of Italy.svg A.C. Milan Flag of the Netherlands.svg Robert Doornbos 1:20.173
6 Flag of Italy.svg A.S. Roma Flag of Italy.svg Enrico Toccacelo 1:19.977
7 Flag of Turkey.svg Galatasaray S.K. Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Pier Guidi 1:20.683
8 Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Duncan Tappy 1:19.690
9 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Al Ain Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber 1:19.640
10 Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund Flag of France.svg Nelson Philippe 1:19.671
11 Flag of Portugal (official).svg F.C. Porto Flag of France.svg Tristan Gommendy 1:20.440
12 Flag of Brazil.svg SC Corinthians Flag of Spain.svg Andy Soucek 1:20.511
13 Flag of Scotland.svg Rangers F.C. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ryan Dalziel 1:20.584
14 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg R.S.C. Anderlecht Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Craig Dolby 1:20.685
15 Flag of Brazil.svg CR Flamengo Flag of Brazil.svg Tuka Rocha 1:24.359
16 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg FC Basel 1893 Flag of Germany.svg Max Wissel no time
17 Flag of England.svg Liverpool F.C. Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés no time

Race 1

Davide Rigon (green) leads Borja Garcia (red and white) and Enrico Toccacelo (red and orange) under the safety car, during the first race. SF Donington 4.jpg
Davide Rigon (green) leads Borja García (red and white) and Enrico Toccacelo (red and orange) under the safety car, during the first race.
Duncan Tappy (white) lines up a pass on Toccacelo. SF Donington 5.jpg
Duncan Tappy (white) lines up a pass on Toccacelo.
PosNoTeamDriverLapsTime/RetiredGridPts.
112 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Guoan Flag of Italy.svg Davide Rigon 2841:29.425150
222 Flag of Italy.svg A.S. Roma Flag of Italy.svg Enrico Toccacelo 28+2.577645
319 Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Duncan Tappy 28+14.909840
45 Flag of the Netherlands.svg PSV Eindhoven Flag of the Netherlands.svg Yelmer Buurman 28+15.305336
521 Flag of England.svg Liverpool F.C. Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés 28+20.1841732
66 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Al Ain Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber 28+22.996929
716 Flag of Portugal (official).svg F.C. Porto Flag of France.svg Tristan Gommendy 28+23.6751126
817 Flag of Scotland.svg Rangers F.C. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ryan Dalziel 28+24.5711323
910 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg FC Basel 1893 Flag of Germany.svg Max Wissel 28+25.4491620
1018 Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla FC Flag of Spain.svg Borja García 28+29.431218
1114 Flag of Brazil.svg SC Corinthians Flag of Spain.svg Andy Soucek 14Alternator1216
129 Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos CFP Flag of Denmark.svg Kasper Andersen10Water Temp.414
134 Flag of Turkey.svg Galatasaray S.K. Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Pier Guidi 9Engine712
148 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg R.S.C. Anderlecht Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Craig Dolby 7Engine1410
1511 Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund Flag of France.svg Nelson Philippe 6Acc. Damage108
167 Flag of Brazil.svg CR Flamengo Flag of Brazil.svg Tuka Rocha 2Engine157
173 Flag of Italy.svg A.C. Milan Flag of the Netherlands.svg Robert Doornbos 0Engine56
Fastest lap: Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) 1:20.183 (112.243 mph)

Race 2

Tristan Gommendy's F.C. Porto car in the treacherous conditions of race two. SF Donington 3.jpg
Tristan Gommendy's F.C. Porto car in the treacherous conditions of race two.
Max Wissel and Borja Garcia tussling for position at the Melbourne Hairpin. SF Donington 1.jpg
Max Wissel and Borja García tussling for position at the Melbourne Hairpin.
PosNoTeamDriverLapsTime/RetiredGridPts.
118 Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla FC Flag of Spain.svg Borja García 2241:56.268750
27 Flag of Brazil.svg CR Flamengo Flag of Brazil.svg Tuka Rocha 22+10.074145
321 Flag of England.svg Liverpool F.C. Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés 22+12.2241240
411 Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund Flag of France.svg Nelson Philippe 22+14.962236
519 Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Duncan Tappy 22+23.6661432
612 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Beijing Guoan Flag of Italy.svg Davide Rigon 22+24.6811629
710 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg FC Basel 1893 Flag of Germany.svg Max Wissel 22+27.225826
85 Flag of the Netherlands.svg PSV Eindhoven Flag of the Netherlands.svg Yelmer Buurman 22+42.9151323
916 Flag of Portugal (official).svg F.C. Porto Flag of France.svg Tristan Gommendy 22+54.5131020
1022 Flag of Italy.svg A.S. Roma Flag of Italy.svg Enrico Toccacelo 22+57.3981518
119 Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos CFP Flag of Denmark.svg Kasper Andersen22+59.946516
1214 Flag of Brazil.svg SC Corinthians Flag of Spain.svg Andy Soucek 19Accident614
134 Flag of Turkey.svg Galatasaray S.K. Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Pier Guidi 8Accident412
1417 Flag of Scotland.svg Rangers F.C. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ryan Dalziel 6Accident910
156 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Al Ain Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber 0Accident118
168 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg R.S.C. Anderlecht Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Craig Dolby 0Engine37
DNS3 Flag of Italy.svg A.C. Milan Flag of the Netherlands.svg Robert Doornbos Engine0
Fastest lap: Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven) 1:40.926 (89.174 mph)

Notes

References