Formula BMW Europe, 5-7.9.08: Rounds 13 + 14, Spa (BE).

Formula BMW Europe, 5-7.9.08: Rounds 13 + 14, Spa (BE). Thrills at the
top of the table: maiden wins for Wittmann and Breysse. Spa (BE), 7
September 2008. The Formula BMW Europe race weekend in Spa, Belgium
threw up a few surprises for some of the drivers. Esteban Gutierrez
(MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing), who had arrived with a substantial points
lead, headed back home without a podium place following a fraught
qualifying. German driver Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing)
stole the show from his team-mate when he claimed his first win of the
season on Saturday, taking the chequered flag ahead of Tiago Geronimi
(BR/Eifelland Racing) and Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing). In
Sunday’s race, it was Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) who crossed the
finish line first in front of Tambay and Geronimi. Round 14 saw
Geronimi starting from pole and maintaining his lead on the first lap.
An accident involving numerous cars, but from which all drivers emerged
unscathed, brought out the safety car at the end of the first lap. The
field bunched up closely before the restart and on the fourth lap
Geronimi lost the lead to Wittmann initially. Then Tambay managed to
pass the three drivers ahead of him in a corner on lap five, but before
the lap was over he had to concede the lead to Breysse, who moved into
the front slot and did not relinquish it until the end of the race.
Ahead of the season finale in Monza, Italy this coming weekend
(12-14.9.) the question as to who will be the ultimate champion is more
exciting than ever. In Round 14, Gutierrez started from 20th on the
grid and moved up to an eighth-placed finish to reap some important
points. With two races to go before the end of the season, there are
still 60 points up for grabs as well as two extra points for pole
position. Gutierrez currently has 315 points, ahead of Wittmann (283)
and Tambay (260). The Rookie championship, the winner of which will
receive one of BMW’s attractive sponsorship packages for next season, is
still being contested by two drivers. Michael Christensen (DK/Double R
Racing, 130 points) is currently ahead of David Mengesdorf
(DE/Mücke Motorsport, 120). After 14 out of 16 rounds of Formula
BMW Europe, six different winners from four teams have emerged so far:
Gutierrez (7 wins, Josef Kaufmann Racing), Tambay (2, Eifelland
Racing), Juncadella (2, Eurointernational ), Geronimi (1, Eifelland
Racing), Wittmann (1, Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Breysse (1, DAMS).
1st place Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team): “For me there were just two
possibilities in this race: either I make it onto the podium or I risk
too much and drop out of the race completely. Of course I’ m thrilled
about my first win and the first win for the DAMS team, since I had a
very fast pace thanks to a perfect car and new tyres. On this circuit I
benefited from the extra speed gained by driving in the slipstream. It’s
the perfect place to get right up close to the car in front and then
overtake.” 2nd place: Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing): “There
really were a lot of fantastic overtaking manoeuvres in this race. You
have to plan such attempts very carefully. During the safety car phase,
when I was in fourth place, I thought a lot about the chances I had of
getting to the front. When I was passing Tiago Geronimi, I knew that as
a team-mate he wasn’t going to crash me out and I stayed on the
outside. There was nothing I could do to fend off Kevin Breysse’s
overtaking attempt as he braked very late and was taking a big risk.”
3rd place: Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing): “Starting from pole,
obviously you want to win the race, but the overall result is fine.
Finishing second and third in Spa means I can take away a lot of
important points. Now I’m already looking forward to Monza this coming
weekend. It’s going to be an exciting qualifying on the high-speed
track.” BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: “It was another
particularly thrilling race on this fantastic circuit in Spa. The top
positions were being hotly contested, and there were all those other
overtaking manoeuvres as well. I’m impressed at how much the young
drivers have learnt since the start of the season.” Results Round 14:
1. Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) 21:57.831 2. Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland
Racing) 21:59.981 3. Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing) 22:00.871 4.
Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Team) 22:01.463 5. Carlos Huertas (CO/Double R Racing)
22:01.565 6. Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 22:01.624 7.
Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) 22:02.695 8. Esteban Gutierrez
(MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 22:02.760 9. Doru Sechelariu (RO/Fortec
Motorsport) 22:04.434 10. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing)
22:06.435 11. Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB/Double R Racing) 22:09.430 12.
Philipp Eng (AUT/ Mücke Motorsport) 22:09.671 13. Mihai Marinescu
(RO/FMS International) 22:12.037 14. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld
Racing) 22:12.389 15. Facundo Regalia* (ES/Eurointernational) 22:12.659
16. Jazeman Jaafar (MY/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 22:14.037 17. Simon Moss
(ZA/DAMS Team) 22:15.037 18. David Mengesdorf* (DE/Mücke
Motorsport) 22:18.314 19. Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International)
22:18.532 20. Marlon Stockinger (PH/Eurointernational) 22:20.909 21.
Asad Rahman* (AE, Motaworld Racing) 22:33.413 Not classified: Ramon
Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport), Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland
Racing), William Buller (GB/Fortec Motorsport), Mathijs Harkema
(NL/Motaworld Racing), Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International), Kazeem
Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing). Fastest lap: Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS
Team) 2:30.800 * Rookie Standings after 14 out of 16 rounds:
1. Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 315, 2. Marco Wittmann
(DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 283, 3. Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing)
260, 4. Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) 236, 5. Pedro Bianchini
(BR/FMS International) 137, 6. Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) 136, 7.
Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 130, 8. Tiago Geronimi
(BR/Eifelland Racing) 126, 9. David Mengesdorf* (DE/Mücke
Motorsport) 120, 10. Mihai Marinescu (RO/FMS International) 104, 11.
Carlos Huertas (Co/Double R Racing) 95, 12. William Buller (GB/Fortec
Motorsport) 76, 13. Jazeman Jaafar (MY/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 65, 14.
Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB/Double R Racing) 57, 15. Doru Sechelariu
(RO/Fortec Motorsport) 51, 16. Facundo Regalia* (ITA/Eurointernational)
47, 17. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 38, 18. Kazeem Manzur*
(GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 37, 19. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport)
33, 20. Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Team) 30, 21. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS
International) 20, 22. Mathijs Harkema (NL/Motaworld Racing) 17, 23.
Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 14, 24. Jordan Williams (GB/DAMS
Team) 4, 25. Juan Cevallos (EC/Mücke Motorsport) 3, 26. Bastian
Graber (DE/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 2, 27. Anthony Comas (FR/Mücke
Motorsport) 0, 28. Kyle Mitchell (ZA/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 0, 29. Asad
Rahman* (AE/Motaworld Racing) 0. Rookie Standings: 1. Michael
Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 130, 2. David Mengesdorf*
(DE/Mücke Motorsport) 120, 3. Facundo Regalia*
(ITA/Eurointernational) 47, 4. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing)
38, 5. Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 37, 6. Ramon Pineiro*
(ES/Fortec Motorsport) 33, 7. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 20,
8. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 14, 9. Asad Rahman*
(AE/Motaworld Racing) 0. Team Standings: 1. Josef Kaufmann Racing 631,
2. Eifelland Racing 421, 3. Double R Racing 282, 4. Eurointernational
279, 5. Fisichella Motor Sport International 261, 6. DAMS Team 169, 7.
Fortec Motorsport Ltd. 158, 8. Mücke Motorsport 123, 9. AM-Holzer
Rennsport 67, 10. Motaworld Racing 31.