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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Final championship positions after 12 rounds: 1. Liverpool FC 412, 2. Tottenham Hotspur 382, 3. FC Basel 308, 4. RSC Anderlecht 305, 5. FC Porto 302, 6. Olympiacos 300, 7. AC Milan 286, 8. Corinthians 264, 9. Sevilla FC 253, 10. Rangers FC 241, 14. FC Midtjylland 203.
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk LIVERPOOL FC AND HITECH ARE SUPERLEAGUE CHAMPIONS
The weekend didn’t start well for the Silverstone-based team who went into the Spanish rounds with a 49 point advantage over Tottenham Hotspur. However, despite 100 points on offer for the two race wins, their main rival needed victory with a disaster for Liverpool FC to realistically have any chance of claiming the title. But such has been the form of the Hitech Junior Team and Vallés this season, there was little Spurs’ Craig Dolby could do to wrest the title from the Spaniard’s hands. Despite a storming second race for the Briton, the title was already Vallés’ with a 100% reliability record and a top ten finish at every race. The opening round proved disastrous for Anderson however, the young Dane the unfortunate victim of a first corner incident which saw him lock up his wheels and run straight on into the gravel his race over on the spot. For Gommendy a superb pass on Flamenco early on put him ninth before the mandatory pit stops with Vallés up to 12th. After the stops, the pair rejoined in ninth and tenth, another fantastic job by the Hitech mechanics, elevating the Liverpool FC car up two places. As the race settled down the duo were soon on the tail of the eighth-placed Olympique Lyonnaise car, the trio running nose to tail. Just a few laps from the flag, a collision between AS Roma and Corinthians put them both out of the race and promoted Gommendy and Vallés while a lap later they both found a way past Olympique Lyonnaise to take the flag sixth and seventh. Starting race two from pole position, Anderson made the perfect getaway to lead into the first corner. A multi-car tangle midfield was avoided by a fast-starting Liverpool FC in seventh and FC Porto in tenth, but resulted in the deployment of the safety car. At the restart Galatasary got the jump on the FC Midtjylland car of Andersen, while Liverpool FC also dropped a place, the order staying the same up to the pit stops. As the race settled down again after the stops, a great effort by Vallés moved him up to sixth but Anderson dropped to third with Gommendy now into eighth, with a superb move on Flamengo. A strong second half of the race allowed Anderson to hold onto third place to take a well-earned podium finish. While Vallés was briefly held up by the Atlético Madrid car, which rejoined in front after a pit stop, which allowed the fourth-placed Seville car to stretch the gap back to Vallés. The Liverpool car though was soon past Madrid while behind, a charging Gommendy passed AC Milan before a great pass on Madrid to move into sixth. Just a few laps from home a mistake by Sevilla FC allowed both Liverpool FC and FC Porto through, the pair crossing the line fourth and fifth just behind the FC Midtjylland car of Anderson to give the title to Liverpool FC. The final dash for cash five-lap race that rounded off the day, netted third place for Liverpool FC with FC Porto, running off the track at the first corner, recovering to finish fifth.
LIVERPOOL FC MAINTAINS SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA LEAD
The weekend started well for the Silverstone-based team with FC Porto’s Tristan Gommendy quickest in his group just ahead of the Liverpool FC car of Vallés and the FC Midtjylland car of Kasper Andersen eighth. However in the second session, despite an even quicker lap, Gommendy was fifth fastest, two places ahead of Andersen, while Vallés could only manage 12th. Saturday’s qualifying proved disappointing for the leaders, Vallés forced to start eighth for the first of the two 45 minute plus one lap race. But in true storming style, the early season pace-setter drove a superb race, slotting into fifth place at the first corner with his chief title rivals Tottenham Hotspur behind him. After dropping back to seventh before the pits stops, a stunning move to repass the Spurs car also netted another place as the Spaniard swept ahead of the FC Basel car around the outside at the chicane to put the 23 year-old back into fifth place. A lap later Adrian moved ahead of the Galatasary car into fourth before the compulsory pit stop, which he held to the flag. A solid drive from Gommendy enabled him to make a good pass on the Tottenham Hotspur car before locking up under braking for the chicane, narrowly missing the back of Vallés. The Frenchman found a way past Corinthians over the closing stages to finish seventh. For FC Midtjylland and Andersen, the race proved disappointing, after a brake problem in qualifying put him in a lowly grid position. A gearbox problem in both races cost Andersen dearly, the Dane finishing 12th in race one. The weekend’s second race featured another strong drive from Vallés, the triple race-winner comfortably matching the times of the leaders and easily up into fifth chasing fourth place at the finish. A strong drive by Gommendy saw him into sixth place. However three laps from home, his engine failed forcing instant retirement, effectively costing FC Porto fourth in the championship. There was disappointment for FC Midtjylland too; the recurring gearbox problems eventually forcing Andersen out of race two. Liverpool FC has maintained its lead at the top of the points table, ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Olympiacos, moving ahead of FC Basel for third. FC Porto is currently seventh with FC Midtjylland 16th.
VICTORY FOR FC PORTO WHILE LIVERPOOL FC EXTENDS SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA LEAD
With rapid Spaniard Adrian Vallés at the wheel, the Liverpool FC team, which also finished third in the Superfinal moves 58 points clear of series rivals Tottenham Hotspur with two rounds remaining. For FC Midtjylland, the weekend got off to a good start, Kasper Andersen posting the sixth quickest time in his group. However the young Dane was unable to repeat the performance that netted him his maiden pole in Zolder, into a podium finish. The Silverstone-based team also got off to a good start with FC Porto who was quickest in its group and Liverpool FC third in its session. Going through into the quarter finals, FC Porto was pitched against championship rivals FC Basel, with the experienced Max Wissel at the wheel just getting the verdict. For Vallés running against RSC Anderlecht, the series leader quickly showed the way, going through into the semi finals in which he’d face Olympiacos. At the end Vallés just missed out, to take a second row start for race one, with FC Porto lining up eighth and FC Midtjylland just behind on row six. At the start, Liverpool FC held position, running behind Olympiacos and Corinthians but a superb pit stop allowed the championship leader to jump the pair and take the lead on lap eight. Over the closing stages of the race, Vallés held a slender lead over Olympiacos. But with his tyres beginning to wear and his brakes fading, the 23 year-old wisely allowed the charging Esteban Guerrieri through to take victory, with second place for Vallés extending his lead over FC Basel, who was forced out even before the start with gearbox problems. Behind, FC Porto fell victim to a spin by Atlético Madrid, which clipped the front of the unfortunate Parente’s car and forced him off into the gravel, while FC Midtjylland, after an engine failure one lap from home, ended his race in the pits. Race two allowed the Portuguese debutant to make amends however. Starting from the front row, Parente got the jump on pole-sitter Galatasary but was beaten into the first corner by Flamengo to slot into second place. Another superb pit stop for the FC Porto driver allowed him to take the lead and despite coming under pressure over the remaining laps, he held his nerve to take the club’s second win of the season. Vallés drove a solid race from 16th on the fully reversed grid to take ninth place. Despite a sterling job by the Hitech team to replace the FC Midtjylland car’s engine between races in just one and a half hours, Andersen was forced into retirement with a faulty alternator. Liverpool FC has extended its lead at the top of the points table, with Tottenham Hotspur moving ahead of FC Basel for second. FC Porto maintains sixth with FC Midtjylland slipping to eighth place. The team now heads to the ultra-fast Monza circuit in Italy for the penultimate rounds of the series, rounds nine and ten, over the weekend of 3/4 October.
VICTORY FOR FC PORTO AND LIVERPOOL FC MAINTAINS LEAD
FC Midtjylland, which secured its first ever pole last time out in Zolder had to be content with a fifth place finish in race two, leading home Vallés in the second main 44 minute plus one lap race to ensure all three Hitech cars finished in the top six. The Donington Park rounds five and six were badly affected by torrential rain during Saturday’s qualifying runs, with the sessions being abandoned and the grid for race one being determined by the Group qualifying from the morning. This put Liverpool FC in its lowest grid position of the year after Vallés was badly baulked during his flying lap, the young Spaniard lining up tenth.
Immediately behind Vallés on the grid, Gommendy lined up the FC Porto
car in 12th with the FC Gommendy (FC Porto) and Anderson (FC Midtjylland) also showed their potential as race winners, Gommendy making up four places from his grid spot to finish eighth and Anderson completing the top ten, moving up six places from his qualifying position. For race two with the whole grid reversed, it was FC Midtjylland who lined up first of the three Hitech-run cars, Andersen who so very nearly won last time out in Zolder, starting ninth. Immediately behind him was the FC Porto car in 11th with Liverpool FC 13th. All three drivers made great progress through the race, the most impressive being Gommendy who made his way through to the front of the field to take his first win of the year, his second Superleague Formula victory for FC Porto. Behind him FC Midtjylland and Liverpool FC crossed the line nose to tail in fifth and sixth places, both greatly improving from their start positions but neither qualifying through to the ten minute €100,000 dash for cash super finale. That was left to FC Porto to fight out with the top three from each race, Gommendy lining up alongside FC Basel, winner of round one, on the front row. A slow getaway for the Frenchman however, handed the lead to FC Basel with the FC Porto car entering the first corner in fourth. Despite a valiant effort to get back on terms with the leaders, contact with Sporting Portugal forced Gommendy into a spin and dropped him to fifth, which he claimed at the finish. Liverpool FC maintains its lead at the top of the point table ahead of FC Basel while victory has promoted FC Porto to fifth with FC Midtjylland sharing eighth place.
HITECH JUNIOR WINS SECOND SUCCESSIVE SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA EVENT
The David Hayle-led team, once again dominated Friday’s free practice with the trio topping the times in the second of three sessions. At the conclusion of the day, it was Liverpool FC on top, with FC Midtjylland third and FC Porto fifth. However in the qualifying shoot-out it was the young Dane Andersen who shone, with an impressive run that started with the quickest time in his group. Thereafter the 24 year-old was the man to beat, moving through the semi-finals into the final dash for pole against Glasgow Rangers. Andersen set the fastest time of 1m 19.878 seconds, just 0.078sec quicker than John Martin, to take his first ever Superleague Formula pole position at the 2.471mile former Grand Prix track. In the first of two 45 minute races, Kasper made a dream start to lead into the first corner while a fast-starting Vallés was quickly into third. Gommendy was the unfortunate victim of a clash with Tottenham Hotspur into the first corner which caused a slow puncture and broke the front wing. Andersen gradually extended his lead as the cars pitted for their compulsory tyre change but the young Dane, bidding for his first win, saw his hopes vanish when the engine stalled. This dropped him to 13th when he rejoined however a spin on lap 19 brought out the safety car and ended his race. This left Liverpool FC fighting for race victory with Vallés, winner of the previous round, comfortably among the quickest on track however the young Spaniard had to settle for third at the flag. After pitting to replace his puncture, Gommendy recovered well to finish 13th. With the whole grid reversed for race two it was again FC Midtjylland that lined up first of the three Hitech-run cars, Andersen starting sixth with FC Porto just behind and Liverpool FC 16th. Torrential rain prior to the race forced a safety car start and later as the track dried during a safety car period caused a flurry of pit activity to change tyres. A fantastic drive through the field allowed the Liverpool FC car of Vallés to claw his way back into the race as the 24 year-old moved up into third place and claim his second podium finish of the day to become weekend winner. FC Midtjylland’s Andersen drove a steady race to finish sixth ahead of the FC Porto car of Gommendy just behind in seventh.
HITECH JUNIOR WINS IN SUPERLEAGUE OPENER
The David Hayle-led team, also fielding cars for FC Porto (Tristan Gommendy) and FC Midtjylland (Kasper Andersen) dominated Friday’s free practice, the trio topping the time sheets prior to qualifying on Saturday. In their respective groups, Vallés led the way in Grp A to easily go through to the Quarter Finals while Gommendy and Andersen in Grp B also went through, with second and fourth quickest times respectively. For Andersen however, a blistered tyre meant he was unable to take part in the Quarter Finals, and Gommendy was pipped by RSC Anderlecht leaving Vallés flying the Hitech banner in the semi-finals. A superb performance by Vallés, pitched against Anderlecht had him qualify through to the pole-shootout against Corinthians in which he lost out on the top spot by just three tenths of a second. In the first of two 45 minute races, Adrian dropped to third off the line, passed by Tottenham Hotspurs while pole sitter Corinthians led, although Vallés was soon back up to second. A multi-car incident further down the field in which Gommendy was an unfortunate victim forced out the safety car and saw the FC Porto car into the pits to replace a wheel. This allowed the field to bunch up and at the restart Vallés wasted no time in disposing of Corinthians for the lead, which he maintained during the mandatory pit-stop and extended to nearly 14 seconds at the flag. For Andersen, starting from the back of the grid, a stirring drive through the field netted a superb eighth place but for Gommendy a gearshift problem eventually forced retirement. With the whole grid reversed for the second race, it was Gommendy’s FC Porto car that lined up first of the three Hitech-run cars, the young Frenchman starting from the second row. Behind him, the FC Midtjylland car of Andersen started 11th with Vallés right at the back. At the lights, all three made a good getaway but a spin for FC Porto on the opening lap dropped him down the order, putting Andersen’s FC Midtjylland car in eighth and the highest Hitech car. A steady drive by Vallés and Gommendy over the course of the race allowed them to move up through the order, the duo enjoying a battle for eighth place. On the final lap Vallés and Gommendy capitalised on a gearbox problem for the Tottenham car, the pair crossing the line sixth and seventh while Andersen, struggling with a broken exhaust came home in 15th. New for 2009 is the Super Finale, a ten minute sprint race for the first three from each of the two previous races, with the winner of the opening race taking up the pole spot. This ensured Vallés would start from the front and after a great getaway, the young driver, in his second season in Superleague Formula, never put a wheel wrong to take a resounding four-second victory.
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Liverpool
FC has clinched the 2009 Superleague Formula by Sonangol Championship
with two strong performances by Adrian Vallés in the final rounds at
Jarama on Sunday. FC Midtjylland’s Kasper Anderson ended his year with a
podium finish, while FC Porto and Tristan Gommendy jumped to fifth in
the overall standings.
Hitech-run
Liverpool FC maintained its lead at the head of the Superleague Formula
by Sonangol league table with two steady drives in the penultimate
rounds at Monza last time out. Spaniard Adrian Vallés finished fourth
and fifth in the two races, to give the team a 49 point advantage with
two rounds remaining.
Hitech-run
FC Porto took victory in the second of three Superleague Formula races
at Estoril on Sunday while second and ninth place for Liverpool FC
extends its lead at the top of the tables. New signing Alvaro Parente,
making a one-off appearance for the squad in the FC Porto car, recovered
from being forced out of the opening race with a convincing victory in
the second. 
Hitech-run
FC Porto enjoyed its first Superleague Formula victory of the year in
the second race at Donington Park on Sunday, with Tristan Gommendy
storming through from tenth on the grid to the club’s second ever win.
Two sixth places for Liverpool FC’s Adrian Vallés were enough to keep
him at the top of the points table ahead of FC Basel, with three rounds
remaining.
The
Hitech Junior Team consolidated its lead in the 2009 Superleague Formula
by Sonangol at Zolder this weekend after a brace of third places netted
overall victory for Liverpool FC and Adrian Vallés. Rapid Kasper
Andersen drove a stunning qualifying lap to take his first ever SL pole
for FC Midtjylland while the teams third driver Tristan Gommendy in the
FC Porto car had his best qualifying of the year to post the fifth
quickest time.
Hitech
Junior dominated the opening rounds of the 2009 Superleague Formula by
Sonangol at Magny Cours this weekend taking victory in Sunday’s first
race and then again in the Super Finale with the Liverpool FC car of
Adrian Vallés. The 23 year-old Spaniard drove faultlessly throughout the
weekend, with victory in the 10-minute finale while sixth place in the
second 45 minute race also puts Vallés at the top of the leader board.