Race Report

EUROPEAN SERIES, Rounds 7, 8 & 9
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 1, 2 & 3
Formula Abarth

Circuit: Mugello (I), Length 5.245 km, 08^th / 09^th & 10^th June 2012
www.mugellocircuit.it

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2012:
Samin Gomez (VEN), Kevin Joerg (CH) and Gregor Ramsay (GB)

2^nd place for Joerg in Mugello

The Formula Abarth runners took part in the Italian Racing Weekend at the demanding Mugello circuit, set in the Tuscan hills. The event counted towards the Formula Abarth Italian Championship and the European Series.

Qualifying

The rules of the championship allow for two qualifying sessions, each 15 minutes long, with a break of just ten minutes in between. Results from session 1 determine the grid for Race One, while results from session 2 determine the grid for Race Two; the grid for Race Three is based on the results of Race One, with the first six finishers starting in reverse order.
The first part of the session went quite well, and all the cars were very close together. The second part of the session was interrupted by a red flag, and after that the drivers were left with just seven minutes to pursue pole position. Our drivers were placed between 4th and 9th in each session and therefore started each race from good positions.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race One (22 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 09/06/12, 14.10, Weather: Sunny, 24°C

The first race of the weekend was run in weather that was steadily heating up. Kevin got a great start and tried to attack Urrutia, but Urrutia pushed him wide, and Kevin unfortunately ended up hitting a corner marker. He was able to continue but he’d lost several places by then. Samin started very well and managed to get past Gregor to claim 6th but then she suspected there was an engine problem so she called into the pits to get it checked. There wasn’t enough time to check it out properly so she was sent back out and finished the race in 12^th which was a real shame. A proper investigation later revealed an issue with the gears. Gregor made no mistakes and drove a great race to come home in 6^th, which meant of course that he would start the third race from pole position. Kevin came home directly behind Gregor in 7^th place.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 10/06/12, 09.10, Weather: Cloudy, 18°C

The race started under cloudy skies and in somewhat cooler temperatures. After the start Kevin was 5^th, but then Ghiotto fell back after an incident with Urrutia, and Kevin managed to get past Zonzini. That promoted him to 3^rd while Samin was 5^th and was able to defend her position against Costa for the first half of the race. Costa managed to pass Samin at around the half way mark and was soon on Kevin’s tail. Kevin meanwhile had been applying pressure to Urrutia for several laps, and when Costa started to close on him he decided it was time to launch his attack. At the end of the straight he was in just the right place and pulled past Urrutia into 2^nd place. Costa attempted to follow him through, made a mistake and fell back behind Zonzini. That put him back within in Samin’s reach, and she didn’t need a second invitation to get past him. That moved her back up to 5^th. Gregor opted to save his new tyres for the third race, where he would start from pole position so that meant the best he could hope for would be to defend his position in this race. He drove well to come home in 7^th after a relatively quiet race. Kevin meanwhile was closing on Bonifacio towards the end and finished in an excellent 2^nd. Samin also held onto her place for a well-deserved 5^th with no further incidents to trouble her.

Formula Abarth European Series & Formula Abarth Italian Championship

Race Three (15 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 10/06/12, 09.10, Weather: Cloudy, 15°C

Gregor stalled at the start and had to sit there as the others went past him to the right and the left. Most of them missed him but not everyone was so lucky and he was hit hard, pitching the car into a spin, putting an instant end to his race.
Kevin managed to avoid the chaos and soon overtook Beretta, then drove a flawless race to a 4^th place finish. Samin, meanwhile, had to start a long way back based on the results of the first race, However she immediately set about to improve her position and started overtaking. She managed to make up a number of places with a series of great manoeuvres that moved her up the order steadily. She finished the race in 5^th just behind Kevin despite the short race duration.

Championship Standings

Formula Abarth European Series 2012 after 9 out of 24 races:

1^st Bruno Bonifacio (I), 104 points; 2^nd Luca Ghiotto (I), 99 points; 3^rd Nicolas Costa (BRA), 94 points; 4^th Santiago Urrutia (Urg), 79 points; 5^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 72 points; 6^th Emanuele Zonzini (I), 70 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 45 points; 8^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 33 points

Championship Standings

Formula Abarth Italian Championship 2012 after 3 out of 18 races:

1^st Bruno Bonifacio (I), 45 points; 2^nd Santiago Urrutia (Urg), 33 points; 3^rd Emanuele Zonzini (I), 31 points; 4^th Luca Ghiotto (I), 29 points; 5^th Kevin Joerg (CH), 26 points; 6^th Nicolas Costa (BRA), 22 points; 7^th Samin Gomez (VEN), 14 points; 8^th Gregor Ramsay (GB), 9 points

2012 FORMULA ABARTH RACE CALENDAR

2012 FORMULA ABARTH EUROPEAN SERIES & ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Read more:

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