Twice pole position for Spaniard Pineiro.

 

Silverstone, 4th July 2008. 29 drivers competed for qualifying in the Formula BMW Europe on the British Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone in bright sunshine. Ramon Pineiro (ES/Fortec Motorsport) turned in the best performance in front of the enthusiastic Formula 1 crowd.
An exciting qualifying saw 16 drivers within one second of each other. The 16-year-old Spaniard recorded the fastest times for the fifth and sixth round in the season (round 5 on Saturday at 16.30 – 17.00 and round 6 on Sunday 8.20-8.50). The junior in Formula BMW Europe, who is being sponsored by BMW, succeeded in claiming the best qualifying result for the first time. This is an impressive achievement because it is Pineiro’s first season racing in a formula vehicle. The schoolboy from Barcelona is positioned at number 15 in the overall ranking and he has been fighting to overcome nervousness in previous races. For the first time, Silverstone gave him the backdrop to prove the talent which convinced the instructors in the selection process for junior sponsorship in Formula BMW Europe.
Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) will start the race in second position on the grid. Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing) will start in third place in the second row.
The second best time driven by each driver in qualifying determines the starting line-up for the sixth round of the season on Sunday. This means that Pineiro will start ahead of Gutierrez and Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International).

 

Rounds 5 + 6.
Polesetter and best rookie - Ramon Pineiro (ES/Fortec Motorsport):
“I’m tremendously excited about the two pole positions. My secret was that I tried to keep calm. When I competed in previous races, I was always totally wound up but in this qualifying I focused on perfect driving for each corner. When I completed free practice, I had a very good debriefing with my team. We analyzed the data and that was a big help to me. Out on the track, I kept thinking about a few key messages. For example: ‘Ramon, drive fast into the corners and drive out fast.’ It worked.”

 

Twice in position 2: Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing):
“Silverstone is a very special race for me. My entire family with lots of relatives travelled here from Mexico in order to support me. A total of 25 people are giving me enthusiastic support right here. Naturally, that’s a lot of pressure. But I look at it like this: The entire event is an outstanding exercise in not allowing yourself to be deflected. After all, the responsibility you have for the fans and the sponsors who are supporting you just keeps on increasing. I’m proud that I did so well in qualifying and that I’ll be starting the race in both rounds from the first row on the grid. Unfortunately, my two fastest laps were not counted because all four wheels went off the track, otherwise I would have been in pole. I received a tough penalty for that but you can also win a race starting in second place. I’m fantastically motivated.”

Grid positions Race 5:
1. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport) 1:51.712
2. Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 1:51.980
3. Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing) 1:52.114
4. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 1:52.255
5. Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International) 1:52.402
6. Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) 1:52.523
7. Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 1:52.580
8. Carlos Huertas (CO/Double R Racing) 1:52.637
9. Mihai Marinescu (RO/FMS International) 1:52.668
10. Facundo Regalia* (ES/Eurointernational) 1:52.762
11. Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB/Double R Racing) 1:52.851
12. Jordan Williams (GB/ DAMS Team) 1:52.883
13. Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 1:52.934
14. Doru Sechelariu (RO/Fortec Motorsport) 1:52.951
15. Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Team) 1:52.977
16. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 1:52.979
17. Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing) 1:53.007
18. Giancarlo Vilarinho (BR/Eurointernational) 1:53.019
19. David Mengesdorf* (DE/Mücke Motorsport) 1:53.141
20. Bastian Graber (DE/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 1:53.306
21. Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) 1:53.341
22. Jazeman Jaafar (MY/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 1:53.358
23. William Buller (GB/Fortec Motorsport) 1:53.482
24. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 1:53.574
25. Mathijs Harkema (NL/Motaworld Racing) 1:53.608
26. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 1:53.619
27. Juan Cevallos (EC/Mücke Motorsport) 1:53.897
28. Asad Rahman* (AE/Motaworld Racing) 1:56.861
29. Velibor Jovanovic (SER//Mücke Motorsport) 1:59.599
*Rookie

 

Grid positions Race 6:
1. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport) 1:52.019
2. Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 1:52.414
3. Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International) 1:52.423
4. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 1:52.597
5. Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing) 1:52.612
6. Mihai Marinescu (RO/FMS International) 1:52.722
7. Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) 1:52.772
8. Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB/Double R Racing) 1:53.023
9. Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 1:53.055
10. Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing) 1:53.082
11. Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 1:53.088
12. Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Team) 1:53.114
13. Doru Sechelariu (RO/Fortec Motorsport) 1:53.120
14. David Mengesdorf* (DE/Mücke Motorsport) 1:53.184
15. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 1:53.429
16. Jazeman Jaafar (MY/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 1:53.441
17. Jordan Williams (GB/ DAMS Team) 1:53.441
18. Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) 1:53.473
19. Facundo Regalia* (ES/Eurointernational) 1:53.484
20. Bastian Graber (DE/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 1:53.492
21. Carlos Huertas (Co/Double R Racing) 1:53.654
22. Giancarlo Vilarinho (BR/Eurointernational) 1:53.668
23. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 1:53.761
24. William Buller (GB/Fortec Motorsport) 1:53.791
25. Mathijs Harkema (NL/Motaworld Racing) 1:54.125
26. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 1:54.378
27. Juan Cevallos (EC/Mücke Motorsport) 1:54.464,
28. Asad Rahman* (AE/Motaworld Racing) 1:57.707
29. Velibor Jovanovic (SER//Mücke Motorsport) 1:59.959

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