Formula 3: Zeller shows the Italians a thing or two
DOUBLE VICTORY IN IMOLA As in Monza, Sandro Zeller claimed a double victory on the Italians' home track in Imola. As a result, the driver from Zurich is clearly leading all classifications in the Drexler F3 Cup. The Italians, who compete in various classifications, would have liked to take revenge at the Autodromo "Enzo e Dino Ferrari" for the double defeat at the season opener in Monza. But Sandro [...]
The Italians, who compete in various classifications, would have liked to take revenge at the Autodromo "Enzo e Dino Ferrari" for their double defeat at the season opener in Monza. However, Sandro Zeller left them behind in both free practice sessions on Friday and then also took the best grid position for his Dallara F312-Mercedes in qualifying.
Up and away
While the Dallara F312 Volkswagen of Andrea Cola, his neighbor on the front row, stalled at the start of the first race and lagged behind the field, Zeller managed it perfectly. The Zurich native then went on to win by six seconds ahead of Bernardo Pellegrino in a Dallara F308-Toyota.
With Antoine Bottiroli (Dallara F312-Mercedes), a second Swiss driver finished third alongside Zeller. After an accident in qualifying due to brake failure, this was not necessarily to be expected. His thanks therefore went to his team for the perfect repair work. Cola finished fifth, followed by the other Swiss drivers Kurt Böhlen in the Dallara F309-Volkswagen of series organizer Wöss and Marcel Tobler in his own Dallara F308-Mercedes.
Chain reaction
A mass crash at the back of the field resulted in the race being stopped shortly after the start of the second race. Ricardo Perego had touched Kurt Böhlen, which led to a chain reaction involving a total of six cars. After the restart, 16 of the 22 Formula 3 and Formula Renault 2.0 race cars tackled the remaining distance of 13 laps, including Böhlen.
Once again, Sandro Zeller immediately took the lead. Andrea Cola didn't let the defending champion get too far away this time, however, and was only beaten by half a second at the finish. But that's just it: The Italians only came away with victories in their second home race in the internal TopJet F2000 Italian Trophy.
Zeller back on course for the title
Bernardo Pellegrino climbed onto the podium in third place in the day's overall standings. Behind Czech Tom Beckhäuser (Dallara F308-Opel Spiess), Antoine Bottiroli finished fifth, while Marcel Tobler and Kurt Böhlen swapped places from the first race.
With the double victory, Zeller extended his lead in the Drexler-Automotive Cup over Bottiroli and Cola, as well as in the Swiss Formula 3 Cup supported by Horag Hotz Racing. With his two second places, the Genevan has also moved past Böhlen into second place.
In the Trophy classification for older Formula 3 racing cars up to 2007, Florian Münger in the Dallara F306-Volkswagen from Jo Zeller Racing took victory in the second race. In the Renault class, Simon Stoller celebrated a second place in the first race, in the second race his Tatuus-Renault fell victim to the starting collision in the midfield.
Information: Rolf Schindler
