The 2008 Superleague Formula season was the inaugural Superleague Formula championship. The season started very late in 2008 with the first round being on August 31 at Donington Park. There were six rounds (twelve races) in total with the successful season finale at Circuito Permanente de Jerez on 23 November. In the 18 cars on the grid were established A1GP and GP2 drivers as well as two ex-Formula One race starters, Robert Doornbos and Antônio Pizzonia.
Beijing Guoan, run under former Formula One team Zakspeed with driver Davide Rigon, were eventually crowned the first ever champions at the last event of the season.
Round | Race | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Club | Winning Team | Report | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | R1 | Donington Park | August 31 | Beijing Guoan | Beijing Guoan | Beijing Guoan | Zakspeed | Report |
R2 | PSV Eindhoven | Sevilla FC | GTA Motor Competición | |||||
2 | R1 | Nürburgring | September 21 | A.C. Milan | PSV Eindhoven | A.C. Milan | Scuderia Playteam | Report |
R2 | SC Corinthians | PSV Eindhoven | Azerti Motorsport | |||||
3 | R1 | Zolder | October 5 | Borussia Dortmund | Liverpool F.C. | Liverpool F.C. | Hitech Junior Team | Report |
R2 | Atlético Madrid | Beijing Guoan | Zakspeed | |||||
4 | R1 | Estoril | October 19 | A.S. Roma | Atlético Madrid | Liverpool F.C. | Hitech Junior Team | Report |
R2 | Borussia Dortmund | Al Ain | Azerti Motorsport | |||||
5 | R1 | Vallelunga | November 2 | Liverpool F.C. | Beijing Guoan | Beijing Guoan | Zakspeed | Report |
R2 | Atlético Madrid | F.C. Porto | Hitech Junior Team | |||||
6 | R1 | Jerez | November 23 | Liverpool F.C. | R.S.C. Anderlecht | A.C. Milan | Scuderia Playteam | Report |
R2 | Beijing Guoan | Borussia Dortmund | Zakspeed |
NOTE – R2 starts |
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | DNS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 50 | 45 | 40 | 36 | 32 | 29 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Superleague Formula was an open wheel single seater motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It used the slogan 'The Beautiful Race: Football at 300 km/h'. By 2011 the link with football was fading with more than half the teams no longer associated with football teams. It was founded by businessmen Alex Andreu and Robin Webb. On 19 May 2010, Andreu stepped down in his role as series president, with Alfredo Brisac named as his successor not many weeks later. The season ran between April and November at the same time as most other European race series. Every team used identical cars and 750-horsepower V-12 engines. The Sonangol Group was the series' title sponsor from June 2009 until the end of the 2010 season.
The 2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round was the second round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on September 21, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, one more than at the opening round at Donington Park, with the introduction of the car representing Atlético Madrid driven by Andy Soucek. Other driver changes saw debuts for James Walker and Antônio Pizzonia. The meeting saw wins for A.C. Milan and PSV Eindhoven, while Beijing Guoan extended their championship lead to 24 points.
The 2008 Estoril Superleague Formula round was the fourth round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on October 19, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the previous two rounds. There were four driver changes for this round of the championship: Franck Perera joined A.S. Roma replacing Enrico Toccacelo, with Toccacelo moving to the Borussia Dortmund car, replacing Paul Meijer as original driver Nelson Philippe was on GP2 Asia Series duty in Shanghai. Meijer also stayed in the series, moving to the Al Ain car, as both of their previous drivers Andreas Zuber and Bertrand Baguette were unavailable. Just like Baguette, Duncan Tappy was unavailable to drive the Tottenham Hotspur car, and was replaced by Dominik Jackson. The meeting saw a second win for Liverpool F.C. and a first win for Al Ain. Beijing Guoan extended their championship lead to 35 points, thanks to a pair of fifths for Davide Rigon.
The 2009 Superleague Formula season was the second Superleague Formula championship. The series was rebranded the "Superleague Formula by Sonangol" for this season and also 2010 with the Angolan oil company becoming the title sponsor. It began on June 28 at Magny-Cours and finished on November 8 at Jarama.
The 2008 Vallelunga Superleague Formula round was the fifth round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on November 2, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the previous three rounds. There were two driver changes before this round of the championship and one during the round: Duncan Tappy returned to the Tottenham Hotspur cockpit replacing Dominik Jackson, having missed the previous round in Portugal and Kasper Andersen was replaced by Stamatis Katsimis in the Olympiacos CFP car. Having broken a bone in his right hand in practice, Paul Meijer was replaced by Dominick Muermans in the Al Ain car – becoming their fourth driver in five races. The meeting saw a third win for championship leaders Beijing Guoan and a first win for F.C. Porto. Beijing also extended their championship lead to an almost unassailable 59 points.
The 2008 Jerez Superleague Formula round was the sixth and final round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on November 23, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the previous four rounds. There were two driver changes before this round of the championship: James Walker replaced Enrico Toccacelo in the Borussia Dortmund car and Bertrand Baguette returned to the Al Ain cockpit replacing Dominick Muermans. Paul Meijer had been expected to return, however his injury from the previous round at Vallelunga kept him out. The meeting saw a second win for A.C. Milan and a first win for Borussia Dortmund. With a ninth in the first race coupled with other low placings for Liverpool F.C. and PSV Eindhoven, Beijing Guoan clinched the first Superleague Formula title. With a third in the final race, Beijing won the title with 413 points, some 66 points clear of PSV, and two points further back were Milan.
The 2009 Magny-Cours Superleague Formula round was the opening round of the 2009 Superleague Formula season, with the races taking place on 28 June 2009. Liverpool F.C. and A.C. Milan shared the two race wins, with Liverpool also being the Weekend Winner after winning the six-car Super Final. The supporting events were the Euroseries 3000 and the Mitjet Series.
Rangers FC Superleague Formula team was the open wheel single seater motor racing team of Rangers. The Rangers racing team competes in the Superleague Formula. It has been operated by Alan Docking Racing for all seasons, although Team West-Tec operated the Rangers team in 2008 pre-season. The car was revealed outside Ibrox Stadium with the Rangers first team present, including manager Walter Smith. Rangers Football Club had a team in the Superleague Formula race car series. The Rangers F.C. team had been operated by Alan Docking Racing. In 2008 Ryan Dalziel drove for Rangers F.C. in the team's maiden season. James Walker also drove for the team in one round of the 2008 season and posted their best result, a fourth-place finish.
AC Milan Superleague Formula team was a racing team representing Italian football club AC Milan in Superleague Formula.
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo Superleague Formula team is the racing team of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, a football team that competes in Brazil in the Série A. The Flamengo racing team competes in the Superleague Formula. It was operated by Team Astromega during the first season.
The 2010 Superleague Formula season was the third Superleague Formula championship. The series was rebranded "Superleague Formula by Sonangol", due to a two-year deal that began in the previous season. The first race of the season was on 4 April at Silverstone and it finished on 24 October at Navarra after a series record of 12 race weekends in all.
Beijing Guoan Superleague Formula team is the racing team of Beijing Guoan, a football team that competes in China in the Chinese Super League. The Beijing Guoan racing team competes in the Superleague Formula. They are operated by Alan Docking Racing. They would not return until 2010.
Atlético de Madrid Superleague Formula team was a motor racing team representing Spain's Atlético Madrid in the Superleague Formula championship.
Reid Motorsport is a former British racing team operated by Anthony Reid, the former team truckie of Ultimate Motorsport. The team was founded in 2009 and it only ever competed in the now defunct Superleague Formula race series. It was created when Ultimate Motorsport left the Superleague Formula series. Reid rebranded the team ready for the 2009 Monza Superleague Formula round. They won a race with Sébastien Bourdais behind the wheel of the Sevilla FC entry. They also operate the Galatasaray S.K. entry and took victory in 2009 again there with Ho-Pin Tung.
The 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series was the sixth season of the single–seater category. It began at the Ciudad del Motor de Aragón in Spain on 17 April, and ended at Circuit de Catalunya, also in Spain, on 10 October.
The 2010 Silverstone Superleague Formula round was a Superleague Formula round, held on 4 April 2010 at the Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, England. It was the first ever round at the Silverstone Circuit and the opening round of the 2010 Superleague Formula season.
The 2010 Zolder Superleague Formula round was a Superleague Formula round held on July 18, 2010, at Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. It was the third year in a row that Superleague Formula visited the Zolder circuit, making it the only circuit to feature on the calendar every year until 2010. It was the sixth round of the 2010 Superleague Formula season.
The 2010 Adria Superleague Formula round was a Superleague Formula round held on September 5, 2010, at the Adria International Raceway circuit, Adria, Italy. It was Superleague Formula's first visit to the circuit after visits in previous years to Italy's Vallelunga and Monza circuits. It was the eighth round of the 2010 Superleague Formula season.
The 2010 Beijing Superleague Formula round was a Superleague Formula round held on October 10, 2010, at the Beijing International Street Circuit, Beijing, China. It was Superleague Formula's second visit to China, after previously visiting the Ordos International Circuit the week before. It was also the first time the championship raced on a street circuit. It was a non-championship event, after the track failed to gain the required FIA Grade 2 status in order to host a championship event. It was originally scheduled to be the eleventh round of the 2010 Superleague Formula season.
The 2011 Superleague Formula season was the fourth and final season Superleague Formula championship. The series reverted to being known simply as "Superleague Formula", with 2009's two-year sponsorship deal with Sonangol also having expired. The first race of the season was held on 5 June at Assen and was due to finish at a venue in New Zealand after 8 race weekends.
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