Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:24

Spaniard takes lead from Zanella as Bortolotti strengthens championship charge

Ramon Pineiro stormed to a third successive victory after winning today's (Sunday) second FIA Formula Two race at the Red Bull Ring.

The young Spaniard took the lead from pole-sitter Christopher Zanella at Turn 2 on the first lap, and in similar style to yesterday, went on to build a comfortable lead to take the chequered flag. Mirko Bortolotti further strengthened his championship charge with a second place while Romanian Mihai Marinescu claimed his second successive podium finish.

Zanella, starting on pole after Mirko Bortolotti's post-qualifying penalty, made a good start, but Pineiro attacked the Swiss driver into Turn 2, with Zanella subsequently going wide. 19-year-old Pineiro then took the lead while Bortolotti also found his way past into second.

Throughout the 26-lap race, Pineiro regularly had a lead of around two seconds, although Bortolotti showed threatening pace at the end of the race, setting the fastest lap to close within 1.2 seconds of the Spaniard.

Mihai Marinescu also capitalised on Zanella running wide at Turn 1 to move into third place where he stayed untroubled for the rest of the race while 21-year-old Zanella was forced to settle for fourth, just ahead of Kelvin Snoeks who made up three palces to round out the top five.

After being caught up in the first corner incident involving Armaan Ebrahim, Tobias Hegewald brought his JPH1B car home in sixth place ahead of Russian Max Snegirev who equalled his best ever result of seventh.

Frenchman Benjamin Lariche rounded off a strong weekend to secure yet another points finish at the 4.3km Austrian track with eighth place with Mikkel Mac came home in ninth. British F2 newcomer Luciano Bacheta enjoyed yet another points finish on his debut to round out the top 10 and made even more impressive given he started the race in 15th position.

Meanwhile, there was less luck for the rest of the British drivers with Jack Clarke and Alex Brundle being forced to retire after being caught up in separate incidents at the first corner, with James Cole also dropping down the order due to brake issues.

Despite starting from the back of the field Theimo Storz drove a superb race to claim 14th position while Spaniard Miki Monras endured yet more bad luck to drop to 11th after spinning early on.

A post-race investigation by the stewards also saw Plamen Kralev handed a five place grid penalty at the next F2 rounds for overtaking under a yellow flag.

Speaking afterwards race winner Pineiro said: "I think this was the hardest race I've won because I just built up a two second gap and then Mirko and Mihai were just doing qualifying laps every single lap and I knew just one mistake would bring them even closer. So it was very hard to stay consistent and stay on the limit, which is the hardest thing to do but I could manage it and take the win back home."

The next rounds (13 and 14) of the 2011 FIA Formula Two Championship take place at Monza on 30 September to 2 October.

Results, Red Bull Ring, Race two:

1. Ramon Pineiro, 26 laps
2. Mirko Bortolotti, +1.204s
3. Mihai Marinescu, +9.920s
4. Christopher Zanella, +12.709s
5. Kelvin Snoeks, +20.818s
6. Tobias Hegewald, +24.689s
7. Max Snegirev, +30.592s
8. Benjamin Lariche, +33.186s
9. Mikkel Mac, +33.537s
10. Luciano Bacheta, +35.887s

For more information on the series click onto www.formulatwo.co

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:24

Austro-Italian sets quickest lap of the weekend with Zanella just securing second

Mirko Bortolotti secured pole position for today's (Sunday) second FIA Formula Two race at the Red Bull Ring after setting the fastest lap of the weekend so far.

The Austro-Italian set a time of 1:20.536s, 0.3 seconds clear of championship rival Christopher Zanella who put in a last gasp time to go second, despite spinning early in the session. Yesterday's race winner Ramon Pineiro will start third.

For the first time this weekend the drivers were greeted with less searing temperatures as the 30-minute session got underway in dry but cloudy conditions. Bortolotti was the first driver to lead the way lapping in the 1min 22s with Alex Brundle, Mihai Marinescu, Pineiro and Zanella all looking quick.

By the halfway stage, all of the field had pitted for fresh tyres before returning to the 4.3km Austrian track to set their fastest time with the overboost facility enabled.

Brundle again looked strong leading from Tobias Hegewald as the leader spot then began to change constantly. Korean driver Sunghak Mun was also running in the top 10 along with Russian Max Snegirev.

Spaniard Miki Monras, who unfortunately failed to finish in yesterday's race after receiving contact from Mikkel Mac, then went top but it was 21-year-old title leader Bortolotti who stamped his authority to claim his sixth pole.

In the last few moments, Pineiro and Marinescu had looked to have secured second and third respectively until a last surge by Zanella, who had been 19th at one stage, saw him edge his way into P2 with Pineiro in third and Marinescu having to settle for  fourth.

Hegewald, who also had a disappointing race one, claimed fifth spot ahead of a career best sixth from Snegirev with Monras settling for seventh. Dutchman Kelvin Snoeks claimed eighth spot with Benjamin Lariche, who has looked strong all weekend, in ninth and Brit Alex Brundle completing the top 10.

Speaking afterwards Bortolotti said: "Obviously I'm really happy, it was a really good session for us. The lap was really good and I think it was the maximum for this car on this track to be honest with the boost. The lap was really good and I'm very happy about pole position and starting on the first row again but this time on the clean side of the track though so it should be good and I'm looking forward to the race."

Today's second race (round 12) at the Red Bull Ring gets underway at 14:45 (local time) with full coverage on the official F2 website.

Results, Red Bull Ring, Qualifying two:

1. Mirko Bortolotti, 1:20.536s
2. Christopher Zanella, +0.355s
3. Ramon Pineiro, +0.395s
4. Mihai Marinescu, +0.557s
5. Tobias Hegewald, +0.797s
6. Max Snegirev, +0.962s
7. Miki Monras, +1.016s
8. Kelvin Snoeks, +1.168s
9. Benjamin Lariche, +1.176s
10. Alex Brundle, +1.206s

For more information on the series click onto www.formulatwo.com

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:24

Spanish teenager wins opening F2 race in Austria

Ramon Pineiro secured his second successive win in the FIA Formula Two Championship after dominating the first race at the Red Bull Ring today (Saturday).

The 19-year-old Spaniard started on pole, made a great start and never looked back as he comfortably built a lead at the front. Austro-Italian Mirko Bortolotti finished second to increase his lead at the top of the drivers' standings, while Mihai Marinescu finally claimed his maiden F2 podium after holding off a charging Alex Brundle.

There was drama right from the very first corner of the 26 lap race when Johannes Theobald made contact with Brit Jack Clarke and newcomer Rene Binder causing the German to go airborne in the braking zone for turn one and rolled before coming to rest the right way up. Despite the severity of the incident, Theobald immediately stepped out of the car, demonstrating the safety of the JPH1B car.

The action continued at the same corner on the second lap of the race, as Miki Monras and Mikkel Mac collided while braking, forcing both out of the race and severely damaging the Spaniard's title hopes.

As the race continued, Pineiro continued to pull away with Bortolotti following but unable to mount a challenge. Christopher Zanella, who had started the race third, was now running in fifth but the Swiss racer would eventually end the race pointless after a moment in the final stages, combined with a drive-through penalty for exceeding the track limits, ended a difficult afternoon for the 21-year-old.

The real battle, however, lay between Marinescu and Brundle for the final spot with the Brit putting the Romanian under increasing pressure but was unable to pass him leaving Mihai to take the honours.

After being involved with the first lap incident, Jack Clarke drove an impressive race to finish fifth, passing Julian Theobald and Christopher Zanella along the way. Theobald hung on to secure sixth place and a career best result while Luciano Bacheta impressed on his F2 debut with seventh.

Benjamin Lariche, James Cole and Plamen Kralev, rounded out the top 10 but the race belonged to Pineiro who never really looked trouble as he brought his 500bhp car home for his second win and move into fourth place in the drivers' standings.

Speaking afterwards a delighted Pineiro said: "I knew that the start was very important so I made sure I got to the first corner first and my pace was the fastest out there. I just tried to build up the gap smoothly and make no mistakes and bring the car home and take the win.

"The temperature was quite high outside and to keep your concentration in the high temperature is very tough especially when you're on your own, you must keep your focus and I think I managed it ok."

Sunday's qualifying session gets underway at 09:05 (local time) with full coverage on www.formulatwo.com.

Results, Red Bull Ring, Race one:

1. Ramon Pineiro, 26 laps
2. Mirko Bortolotti, +5.401s
3. Mihai Marinescu, +14.153s
4. Alex Brundle, +14.574s
5. Jack Clarke, +26.893s
6. Julian Theobald, +31.358s
7. Luciano Bacheta, +34.381s
8. Benjamin Lariche, +35.115s
9. James Cole, +41.405s
10.Plamen Kralev, +47.603s

For more information on the series click onto www.formulatwo.com

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:24

Spaniard continues recent good run of form at Red Bull Ring

Ramon Pineiro claimed pole position for today's (Saturday) first FIA Formula Two race of the weekend at the Red Bull Ring after putting in a late surge to fend off Mirko Bortolotti and Christopher Zanella.

The top three were covered by 0.212 seconds in the closely fought session which also saw the top 10 covered by a mere second. Romanian Mihai Marinescu qualified fourth, with Alex Brundle's late effort securing him fifth place for today's round 11 which gets underway at 13:45 (local time). Miki Monras starts sixth while Luciano Bacheta on his F2 debut qualified an impressive seventh.

Once again the drivers' were greeted with glorious sunshine at the newly revived 4.3km Austrian track with Marinescu leading the way followed by Zanella and Austro-Italian Bortolotti.

By the halfway stage most of the field were starting to pit for fresh rubber before the session was red flagged after Tobias Hegewald pulled up on the approach to Turn 3.

The session resumed with 15 minutes left to play out with Marinescu once again leading the way before a string of changes which saw both Theobald brothers, returning after missing the last rounds at Brands Hatch, enjoy their time at the top of the timesheets.

With just a few minutes of the 30-minute session remaining, the lap times began to tumble with 21-year-old title leader Bortolotti now on top and on course for his sixth pole of the season until a large charge by Pineiro secured the honours in the last few moments.

Speaking afterwards the 19-year-old Spanish pole-sitter said: "My weekend at Brands Hatch was good and has given me a big boost for the rest of the rounds and here is the proof. In qualifying for the last six races I have been on the front row four times, so pole had to come and it's come here. It's good because the car performs very well and I have very good pace for the race."

Further down the field, Danish driver Mikkel Mac secured an impressive eighth place with Johannes Theobald in ninth and Benjamin Lariche maintaining his strong form from Friday to complete the top 10.

Jack Clarke was unlucky not to improve on his 13th position after he spun early on and subsequently damaging his tyres. Meanwhile Plamen Kralev was shown the black flag during that session for exceeding the track limits and will start from the back of the field along with German Hegewald.

Round 11 takes place at 13:45 with full coverage, including live streaming, available on the official F2 website.

Results, Red Bull Ring, Qualifying one:

1. Ramon Pineiro, +1:21.946s
2. Mirko Bortolotti, +0.134s
3. Christopher Zanella, +0.212s
4. Mihai Marinescu, +0.572s
5. Alex Brundle, +0.656s
6. Miki Monras, +0.802s
7. Luciano Bacheta, +0.835s
8. Mikkel Mac, +0.878s
9. Johannes Theobald, +0.925s
10. Benjamin Lariche, +0.977s

For more information on the series click onto www.formulatwo.com