Sensational battle for the lead: Geronimi is the winner.

 

Tiago Geronimi (Eifelland Racing) of Brazil took the flag in a spectacular race on Valencia’s street circuit. The 11th round of Formula BMW Europe was dominated by nail-biting jostling for position from the first to the final lap. The leader of the rankings, Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing), kept Geronimi under pressure throughout the race, but the Brazilian ultimately claimed victory ahead of Gutierrez and Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing).

 

The first European street race in the history of Formula BMW took its toll on the drivers, with just 19 out of 28 starters making it to the finish. But the battle for the top positions in the rankings made for plenty of excitement. Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) had to retire from the race, as did Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing). Gleaning the biggest benefit from this was Wittmann, who managed to advance from fourth to second in the points. After the 11th of 16 races, Gutierrez leads with 274 points, ahead of Wittmann (214), Juncadella (200) and Tambay (198).

 

At the start Geronimi capitalised on the squabbling for positions by surging from fourth place to the front of the field. Polesetter Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) dropped back to fifth place at the start, and on lap nine was forced to retire after colliding with third-placed Facu Regalia (ES/Eurointernational). On the first lap, Juncadella’s car ended up in such an unfortunate position on the track after an accident that the safety car was immediately called out. Right to the very end of the race there were fierce battles in particular for the top positions. On lap nine Geronimi briefly ceded his lead to Gutierrez, but fought his way to his first victory in Formula BMW Europe after a mistake by Gutierrez on lap ten. Another Eifelland driver from Brazil – Henrique Martins – was best rookie after finishing fifth.

 

1st place Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing): “I’m over the moon about my first win. While Esteban was constantly breathing down my neck, I just tried to stay cool, make no mistakes and keep on the track. After the press conference the first thing I have to do is ring my father Luigi in Brazil. He will be incredibly happy about my win.”

 

2nd place Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing): “That was a race I’ll never forget: ten laps of full-on adrenalin! It was a tough battle for the lead with lots of overtaking. I was constantly looking for passing

 

opportunities. Over the radio I head that Juncadella and Tambay had retired, but I pushed that aside in my mind. I was just determined to win. In the end, what was crucial was that I was able to increase my overall lead.”

 

3rd place Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing):
“At the start Kevin instantly took the battle line, which meant that despite my better start I couldn’t get past him. It was Tiago in fourth place who was laughing all the way to the front. As on Friday, I was struggling with my brakes all the time. I’m sure that was evident from the outside. Because Daniel and Adrien didn’t finish, I’m now in second place. But it’s certainly not a case of schadenfreude. I would rather beat them out on the track.”

Results round 11:
1. Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing) 24:21.912
2. Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 24:22.049
3. Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 24:22.899
4. Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International) 24:25.365
5. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 24:26.635
6. Facundo Regalia* (ES/Eurointernational) 24:28.816
7. David Mengesdorf* (DE/Mücke Motorsport) 24:29.314
8. William Buller (GB/Fortec Motorsport) 24:33.562
9. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 24:34.259
10. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 24:35.271
11. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 24:36.645
12. Mathijs Harkema (NL/Motaworld Racing) 24:38.539
13. Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB/Double R Racing) 24:39.167
14. Bastian Graber (DE/ AM-Holzer Rennsport) 24:45.466
15. Marlon Stockinger (PH/Eurointernational) 24:53.687
16. Sami Favre (FR/Mücke Motorsport) 25:09.827
17. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport) 25:10.199
18. Asad Rahman* (AE, Motaworld Racing) 25:10.784
19. Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Team) 26:12.075
20. Carlos Huertas (CO/Double R Racing) +1 Runde
21. Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) DNF.
Not classified: Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing), Doru Sechelariu (RO/Fortec Motorsport), Kyle Mitchell (ZA/AM-Holzer Rennsport), Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational), Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing), Mihai Marinescu (RO/FMS International), Jazeman Jaafar (MY/AM-Holzer Rennsport). Fastest lap: Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 2:15.164.
* Rookie

 

Standings after 11 out of 16 rounds:
1. Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 274,
2. Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 214,
3. Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) 200,
4. Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing) 198,
5. Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International) 119,
6. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 100,
7. David Mengesdorf* (DE/Mücke Motorsport) 99,
8. Mihai Marinescu (RO/FMS International) 92,
9. Kevin Breysse (FR/DAMS Team) 82,
10. Carlos Huertas (Co/Double R Racing) 74,
11. William Buller (GB/Fortec Motorsport) 68,
12. Tiago Geronimi (BR/Eifelland Racing) 67,
13. Jazeman Jaafar (MY/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 64,
14. Rupert Svendsen-Cook (GB/Double R Racing) 47,
15. Doru Sechelariu (RO/Fortec Motorsport) 43,
16. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 38,
17. Facundo Regalia* (ITA/Eurointernational) 32,
18. Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 28,
19. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport) 21,
20. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 19,
21. Mathijs Harkema (NL/Motaworld Racing) 13,
22. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 11,
23. Jordan Williams (GB/DAMS Team) 4,
24. Juan Cevallos (EC/Mücke Motorsport) 3,
25. Jim Pla (FR/DAMS Team) 2,
26. Bastian Graber (DE/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 2,
27. Anthony Comas (FR/Mücke Motorsport) 0,
28. Kyle Mitchell (ZA/AM-Holzer Rennsport) 0,
29. Asad Rahman* (AE/Motaworld Racing) 0.

 

Rookie standings:
1. Michael Christensen* (DK/Double R Racing) 100,
2. David Mengesdorf* (DE/Mücke Motorsport) 99,
3. Henrique Martins* (BR/Eifelland Racing) 38,
4. Facundo Regalia* (ITA/Eurointernational) 32,
5. Kazeem Manzur* (GB/Josef Kaufmann Racing) 28,
6. Ramon Pineiro* (ES/Fortec Motorsport) 21,
7. Ollie Millroy* (GB/FMS International) 19,
8. Thomas Hillsdon* (GB/Motaworld Racing) 11,
9. Asad Rahman* (AE/Motaworld Racing) 0.

 

Team standings:
1. Josef Kaufmann Racing 514, 2. Eifelland Racing 301, 3. Fisichella Motor Sport International 230, 4. Eurointernational 228, 5. Double R Racing 221, 6. Fortec Motorsport Ltd. 130, 7. Mücke Motorsport 102, 8. DAMS Team 87, 9. AM-Holzer Rennsport 66, 10. Motaworld Racing 24.

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