Race Report

ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Formula ACI CSAI Abarth

Circuit: Vallelunga (I), Length: 4.085 km, 16^th/17^th April 2011, Rounds 1 & 2
www.vallelunga.it

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2011:
Patric Niederhauser (CH), Sergey Sirotkin (RUS) uad Robert Visoiu (ROM)

Victory for Niederhauser, Podium for Sirotkin

The first of seven meetings of the Italian Formula Abarth Championship took place at Vallelunga, close to the gates of Rome. The field of 21 drivers were very eager to start racing after the long winter break.

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Qualifying

Saturday, 16/04/11, 14.30 – 15.00, Weather: Cloudy, 16°C

The rules of the championship only allow for one qualifying session, with each driver’s fastest lap determining their Race One grid positions. For Race Two the top eight are simply reversed, with the 8^th fastest driver starting from pole, the 7^th fastest starting from 7^th, and so on. From 9^th place on the positions are according to the results of Race One.
Patric dominated the two free practice sessions, and was clearly not going to leave the first pole position of the season to anybody else. Sergey also put in a strong performance to claim 3^rd place on the grid. For Robert it was his very first qualifying session in a single seater race car, and he did very well, securing a grid position in the front half of the field with a fine lap for 9^th overall.

Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 17/04/11, 11.00, Weather: Sunny, 16°C

The weather was good, and everybody was excited in anticipation of the first start of the season. Patric made a very good start and took the lead, having started from pole position while Kuroda filed in behind him and Sergey was able to hold 3^rd. Robert also managed the first start of his formula career well enough and only lost a place in one of the next corners, dropping to 10^th. Patric immediately began to try and open up a gap at the front, though his lead was never really in danger. In the process he set the fastest lap of the race and drove like Swiss clockwork all the way to the finish. He took a well earned victory in this first race of the season. Sergey, meanwhile, sustained front wing damage and was left to try and hold his position for what felt like far too many laps. Heche finally got the better of him, and squeezed past, and then Camplese caught up with him. An aggressive attack from Camplese saw Sergey forced a long way off onto the grass and resulted in a Drive Through penalty for Camplese. Sadly that didn’t help Sergey much, as he had now fallen back to 12^th and despite his best efforts even that was denied him before the end after Spavone and Zonzini both found their way past as well, demoting him to 14^th by the end. Despite this being Robert’s very first race he was already enthusiastically mixing it with the pack, and managed a courageous overtaking move on Barrabeig, slipping through on the inside on one of the corners. When Sergey dropped back, Robert inherited an excellent 8^th place, which he defended effectively until all the way to the chequered flag.

Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 17/04/11, 16.50, Weather: Sunny, 19°C

The second race promised even more excitement and duly delivered. This time Sergey made the best start, immediately gaining three places for 3^rd. Patric was 7^th and Robert 8^th after the start, but Robert had to give way to Ghiotto early on and had to battle with Kuroda and Agostini. He managed to regain 8th at by the end to claim a second Top Ten finish and a healthy number of points. Patric, meanwhile, was stuck just behind Agostini at first, but seemed to be on a roll. Agostini and de Beer stood no chance, and Patric then quickly closed the gap to his team-mate. Sergey was steadily applying pressure to Costa for 2^nd place, but Costa drove very well and Sergey stayed 3^rd before it was his turn to come under pressure from Patric. A minor error from Sergey was enough for Patric and he immediately got past, only to find what Sergey already knew; Costa was putting up quite a fight. With Sergey staying close, when Patric went wide in one of the corners, Sergey was ideally placed to benefit. Now back in 3^rd he was determined to keep his podium position, and didn’t give Patric another chance, leaving Patric to finish a very exciting race in 4^th. That meant the team had all three drivers in the top ten for the second time this weekend, a very good start into the new season!

Championship Standings

Formula Abarth Italian Championship 2011 after 2 out of 14 races:

1^st P. Niederhauser (CH), 30 points; 2^nd Michael Heche (CH), 28 points; 3^rd N. Costa (BRA), 19 points; 4^th R. de Beer (RSA), 16 points; 5^th L. Agostini (I), 15 points; 6^th L. Ghiotto (I), 11 points; 7^th S. Sirotkin (RUS), 9 points; 8^th R. Visoiu (ROM), 8 points

2011 FORMULA ABARTH RACE CALENDAR

2011 FORMULA ABARTH ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

2011 FORMULA ABARTH EUROPEAN SERIES

Read more:

• www.acisportitalia.it/ABARTH_IT
• www.acisportitalia.it/ABARTH_EU
• www.italiaracing.net