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The next race weekend will take place on the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, from September 5th to 7th.
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Continued from News mail your links to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Frédéric Vervisch on course for the title!
Frédéric Vervisch produced another great performance at the East German EuroSpeedway, Lausitzring. Three weeks ago, the 22-year-old Belgian racing driver already took a double victory and scored the maximum points, something he almost repeated this weekend. At the wheel of the Jo Zeller Racing Dallara F306-Mercedes, Frédéric set a good pace in free practice. He set the second fastest time, only three hundredths of a second slower than Saavedras’s top time. In the first qualifying session, Frédéric was fastest, only during second timed practice, was he beaten by Saavedra and then only by just under a tenth of a second. But pole position and the second place on the grid were ideal starting positions for the races. Frédéric Vervisch: “The set-up of my car wasn’t optimal during qualifying, so we made some changes, that hopefully will help us during the races.” They were indeed useful as Frédéric was able to leave everyone behind him at the start of race 1 and he took the chequered flag after a perfect race. “It took quite a lot of time before the lights went out, which is a dangerous situation for the clutch”, said Vervisch. “After a few laps, there was a caution, but once the race restarted, I was able to increase my lead. I made sure not to take any risks, because we took ten points for the victory and an extra point for the fastest race lap. In the championship I’ve increased my lead to 25 points on my closest challenger.” His points lead increased in race 2. Starting from second position, the Jo Zeller Racing team driver took the lead immediately. “There was another caution period because a car came to a hold in the gravel. But after that, I was able to keep Saavedra and Cecotto behind me. Now also, I drove without taking any risks to take full points. There was one dangerous moment when a medical car came on the track unheralded. I was able to avoid a collision”, Frédéric commented. Vervisch has now increased his lead in the German ATS Formula 3 Cup and has 103 points, while Saavedra, his nearest rival, is back on 72. Vervisch: “Without the support of my loyal sponsors and partners, this result would not have been possible. For their dedication I want to thank the whole Jo Zeller Racing team. They gave me a perfect car for these races. The title is now within reach. I don’t want to start dreaming, but on the Sachsenring we must be able to secure the title with this succesful package.”
Vervisch – Lord of the Ring ATS F3 Cup Slightly disappointed after the last race weekend in Assen, where he scored only six points, Frederic Vervisch’s solution is not lose points unnecessarily. At the Nurburgring, where the sixth round of the German ATS Formula 3 Cup was held alongside the 1000KM LMS race, Frederic was not racing in the usual blue and grey colours of Swiss Racing Team as just before the weekend, the 22-year-old Belgian changed teams. Now he is racing for Jo Zeller Racing, a team with experience in both the ATS F3 Cup and the F3 Euro Series. Frederic now believes he has a competitive package at his disposal with which he should be able to score plenty of points. And that is exactly what he did! In Friday qualifying, Frederic went straight to pole position, although it was close at the end, the second placed car just nine hundredths of a seconds behind. "A flat spot ruined a set of tyres and that is why I wasn't able to go faster", Vervisch commented on his first pole of the season. On Saturday morning he did it again taking pole for the second race. This time with a 1:50.957, more than seven tenths of a second faster than his rivals. Come the races it got even better! Frederic was simply too strong for the rest of the field! In race 1 he finished 21 seconds up on the second placed car in spite of a problem with the steering wheel during the race. His second victory of the weekend followed a few hours later with a reduce lead of `only' ten seconds. With two extra points for fastest laps and points for both pole positions, Vervisch took the maximum. During the last three seasons of the ATS Formula 3 Cup, only one driver succeeded in doing this: Ho-Pin Tung in 2006. "I'm very happy", Frederic said after the second race. "Although the relationship between Jo Zeller Racing and me is very new, we made a great performance. One thing is sure: I did not lose my speed. There is still some room for improvement. I think that if we get to know each other better, we will be an unbeatable duo. I want to thank my sponsors and the whole team for their commitment." In championship, Vervisch is now leading with 80 points while Matteo Chinosi and Johnny Cecotto share second place with 61 points.
Vervisch takes phenomenal victory at Hockenheim
To win however, you don’t need to start on pole, Frédéric Vervisch made this plain with his earlier wins this season. He did it again over the weekend in round eight of the championship. During qualifying, which was interrupted by various incidents and crashes, Frédéric set the third and fourth fastest times. “Comparing to the season opener two months ago, this is a serious improvement”, he said after the second session. “The gaps are also very small, so we must be able to get some good results.” In the opening race, Round 7, he finished in fourth place, before taking a superb victory in Round 8. The race director decided that due to the heavy rain the race should start behind Safety Car. At the end of the first lap, all the drivers came in for rain tyres, Which of course begs the question, why, when the race director deemed it necessary to use the Safety car at the start, did he not declare a wet race and get everyone onto wets in the first place,? However he didn’t so Frederic’s Swiss mechanics set to work and with a fast tyre change go him out in third. On the wet track, Frédéric was the fastest of all. Neither Johnny Cecotto nor Kevin Mirocha could keep him back , although a minor spin did let Mirocha back in front, albeit briefly. He wasn’t wasn’t able to hold off Frédéric for long however and on the penultimate lap, Vervisch overtook Mirocha in the Sachs turn and pulled out a lead of almost four seconds in that final lap! Frédéric Vervisch: “Fantastic. It was an exciting race in treacherous conditions. I had to cope with a lot of aquaplaning, but was able to keep my car on the road. Only one time I lost control of the car and spun, but was able to regain the lead in the penultimate lap and win the race. It was a well-earned victory in which everyone at SRT has his share.” With the fifteen points Frédéric scored this weekend, he reduced the gap to leader Matteo Chinosi to only four points. He also increased his advantage over Saavedra to ten. Finally !
With the third time in the first qualifying practice, Frédéric had everything in his hands to score a fine result. After a good start in race 1, Frédéric put race leader Matteo Chinosi under pressure. “At the end of the second lap, I had a good exit out of the chicane and I was able to get into the slipstream of Chinosi. While going into the Mercedes Arena, I passed him on the outside. Chinosi kept the pressure on after I first built up a small advantage. I held off his attacks and went straight to my first win of the season”, Frédéric said after the champagne shower. Good starts are Frédérics trademark. In race 2 also, where he started from seventh place on the grid, Frédéric started very quickly and overtook five of his opponents before the first corner. A blocking rear wheel costed Frédéric the second place on the grid. Vervisch: “Already during the first race we noticed how the rear wheel blocked under braking. But this time I got a lot of understeer and one of my rivals took advantage of my problem to overtakeme.” With a victory and a third place on the rostrum, Frédéric climbs up to second place in the championship. “We have a lot of work to do before the next races. We gained some speed, but that is still not enough to be in front all the time. I want to thank everyone at Swiss Racing Team for his commitment. Our rivals may prepare for a fierce battle on the Hockenheimring.” Frédéric Vervisch: “I would like to dedicate my victory to Jean-Pierre Hardy, who passed away earlier this week. He was a very sympathetic man who, amongst other things, was one of the people behind the Racing Show in Liège. His early death came as a complete shock to us all…” pics - motion-company.eu RACE 1
Race 2
Vervisch close to victory in Oschersleben
Qualifying promised to be very difficult. “Even though we had a lack of power, we were in front until the session was neutralised due to different incidents. I wasn’t able to get the most out of my tyres after that and this resulted in a seventh and sixth place on the grid for both races”, said Vervisch. Like in Hockenheim, Frédéric made fantastic starts, but the Opel engine seemed to be a real handicap during the races. In the first race, Fred was able to finish fifth. In race 2, Frédéric got a better result. At the start, he overtook three cars and when the leaders pushed each other off the track, the 21-year-old Belgian took the lead. And he did well. He was able to hold off Johnny Cecotto, the son of the former motorcycle world champion, until the penultimate lap. Lapping a slower car, Fred was forced off the track into the dirt and lost the lead to Cecotto. Nevertheless, Frédéric finished in a strong second place. Vervisch concluded: “We minimised the damage again in Oschersleben. Like Cecotto, I scored twelve valuable points and no other driver did better this weekend. Looking at the situation with the engine, this is just great.” In the points standings Frédéric climbed from seventh to fourth place. He is now only six points behind the leader. On May 23rd and 24th, Frédéric races again in the ATS F3 Cup. This time on the Nürburgring in course of the 24-hour race.
Vervisch rewarded with podium finish after difficult weekend
Frédéric Vervisch was rewarded with a place on the podium after a difficult first weekend in the German F3 Championship. Nobody could have guessed that the first weekend of the German ATS Formula 3 Cup on the Hockenheimring would be so difficult. Last year’s runner-up was very fast during the previous tests and on this track he opened his 2007 campaign with a victory. The OPC Challenge Opel engine in Frédérics Dallara F307 was no match for the rivals of Mercedes, Honda and Volkswagen. Already on the official test dayon Monday, April 21st, he had a lack of pace and it didn’t change during qualifying, where he secured the 6th and 8th place on the grid of both races,his runs being hampered by traffic. With his experience Frédéric was able to bring in some good results. After a great start in race 1, Fred moved up from sixth to second place. But the less powerful engine proved to be a disadvantage on the long straights. “I was not able to hold of Sebastian Saavedra, who races a Mercedes engine. Only a couple of laps before the finish he went past me and he left me easily behind. This was another proof of the lack of power of our Opel engine”, Frédéric told after finishing in third position. In race 2, Frédéric again made a blistering start. This time he gained six places. The possibility to finish on the podium was taken from him after Saavedra touched him three laps before the end. “It is a real pity, as we lost a lot of precious points. It was our goal to minimize the damage and take as many points we could. This retirement cost us a possible second place in the championship. Very disappointing.” “We know we have a lot of homework to do before the next race in Oschersleben. We will get together with Opel to discuss the engine problems.It isn’t too late, as the season just started. But we have to find a solution as soon as possible”, Vervisch said.
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This
weekend, Frédéric Vervisch came a step closer to the title in the German
Formula 3 Championship after a victory and a fourth place at Hockenheim.
Frédéric
Vervisch scored his first victory of the season on the Nürburgring this
weekend. “Finally”, the 21-year-old Belgian yelled after getting out of
his Dallara F307 OPC Challenge with which he won race 1.
The
problems with the OPC Challenge engine Frédéric Vervisch encountered
during the season opener of the ATS Formula 3 Cup persisted in
Oschersleben, where the second round of the championship was held.
Frédéric's Swiss Racing Team worked feverishly to find a solution,
without effective results however. 