Post by Mαττ on Mar 20, 2006 21:08:37 GMT -5
2006 WSRC Austrian Grand Prix
Diogo Vincenzi opens his 2006 account in spectacular style today as he drove to a dramatic victory in the Austrian Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, the Brazilian drove a near perfect race to take victory from HSV’s Matt Finlay and Bruno Castello’s Raltwest.
At the lights however, it was Finlay who made the better getaway from 2nd on the grid and took the lead into the first corner. Vincenzi fought back though and on lap two, approaching the Remus hairpin, the Audi driver was able to retake the lead in a perfectly controlled passing manoeuvre. Vincenzi then continued to pull away from Finlay’s Holden by roughly a second per lap until lap six when he was the first of the runners to make his compulsory pitstop, handing the lead back to Finlay.
Leading the race, Finlay pushed like crazy before his own stop, attempting to reduce the gap before his own stop. It was close, but as the HSV exited the pits, the Audi of Vincenzi swept past once again and back into the lead to the delight of the predominantly German crowd. Vincenzi was then never headed, and on lap 10 set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:06.093. By lap 11, the Audi driver had an nine second lead as he took his first win of the 2006 season, his championship campaign back on track.
In third place was the Audi of Matthew Green who endured a battle for position with Raltwest's Bruno Castello. Green was the first man to pit at the end of the first lap and rejoined in 6th position. Presumably the reasoning behind this strategic move was so he wouldn't get caught in traffic. Green was able to keep pace with Castello but when the Raltwest pitted on lap eight, he rejoined behind of the charging Green. Surely Green was now cursing the grid penalty that was applied to him for a rule infringement**. Castello took a close fourth, the final gap being under a second.
Fifth place went to Rhino Racing’s Kyle Schroeder, who finished 12 seconds back from Castello. An early pitstop on lap 5 meant that Schroeder was never really in contention for the podium. There’s clearly a lot of work yet to do for the new team yet. Flavio Santos in the second of the Raltwest Honda’s finished sixth, the final placing of the race with an unusually high attrition rate as Tom Matthews, Reece Byrne, Michael Adeneken and Tom Pell all withdrew from the race due to technical difficulties.
With ten points to Matthew’s none, the championship is an invigorating prospect as Vincenzi looks to reassert himself in the fight for first. Seven points covers the top three drivers, be sure to join us in Imola for round four of the WSRC.
Final race results (unofficial):
1. Diogo Vincenzi....................12:41.156
2. Matt Finlay..........................12:49.107
3. Matthew Green...................13:11.630
4. Bruno Castello.....................13:12.547
5. Kyle Schroeder....................13:24.810
6. Flavio Santos.......................13:48.725
Unclassified:
-. Reece Byrne - Holden
-. Tom Matthews - KDR
-. Michael Adeneken - Eclipse
-. Tom Pell - Ford
Drivers Championship after 3 rounds:
1. Tom Matthews..................20
2. Diogo Vincenzi..................17
3. Matt Finlay........................13
4. Reece Byrne.......................9
5. Matthew Green...................8
6. Bruno Castello....................7
=. Kyle Schroeder...................3
8. Flavio Santos......................1
Constructors Championship after 3 rounds:
1. Audi Motorsport...................25
2. Holden Motorsport...............22
3. West-KDR Porsche...............20
4. Raltwest Honda.....................8
5. Rhino Racing..........................3
press conference to follow...
Diogo Vincenzi opens his 2006 account in spectacular style today as he drove to a dramatic victory in the Austrian Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, the Brazilian drove a near perfect race to take victory from HSV’s Matt Finlay and Bruno Castello’s Raltwest.
At the lights however, it was Finlay who made the better getaway from 2nd on the grid and took the lead into the first corner. Vincenzi fought back though and on lap two, approaching the Remus hairpin, the Audi driver was able to retake the lead in a perfectly controlled passing manoeuvre. Vincenzi then continued to pull away from Finlay’s Holden by roughly a second per lap until lap six when he was the first of the runners to make his compulsory pitstop, handing the lead back to Finlay.
Leading the race, Finlay pushed like crazy before his own stop, attempting to reduce the gap before his own stop. It was close, but as the HSV exited the pits, the Audi of Vincenzi swept past once again and back into the lead to the delight of the predominantly German crowd. Vincenzi was then never headed, and on lap 10 set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:06.093. By lap 11, the Audi driver had an nine second lead as he took his first win of the 2006 season, his championship campaign back on track.
In third place was the Audi of Matthew Green who endured a battle for position with Raltwest's Bruno Castello. Green was the first man to pit at the end of the first lap and rejoined in 6th position. Presumably the reasoning behind this strategic move was so he wouldn't get caught in traffic. Green was able to keep pace with Castello but when the Raltwest pitted on lap eight, he rejoined behind of the charging Green. Surely Green was now cursing the grid penalty that was applied to him for a rule infringement**. Castello took a close fourth, the final gap being under a second.
Fifth place went to Rhino Racing’s Kyle Schroeder, who finished 12 seconds back from Castello. An early pitstop on lap 5 meant that Schroeder was never really in contention for the podium. There’s clearly a lot of work yet to do for the new team yet. Flavio Santos in the second of the Raltwest Honda’s finished sixth, the final placing of the race with an unusually high attrition rate as Tom Matthews, Reece Byrne, Michael Adeneken and Tom Pell all withdrew from the race due to technical difficulties.
With ten points to Matthew’s none, the championship is an invigorating prospect as Vincenzi looks to reassert himself in the fight for first. Seven points covers the top three drivers, be sure to join us in Imola for round four of the WSRC.
Final race results (unofficial):
1. Diogo Vincenzi....................12:41.156
2. Matt Finlay..........................12:49.107
3. Matthew Green...................13:11.630
4. Bruno Castello.....................13:12.547
5. Kyle Schroeder....................13:24.810
6. Flavio Santos.......................13:48.725
Unclassified:
-. Reece Byrne - Holden
-. Tom Matthews - KDR
-. Michael Adeneken - Eclipse
-. Tom Pell - Ford
Drivers Championship after 3 rounds:
1. Tom Matthews..................20
2. Diogo Vincenzi..................17
3. Matt Finlay........................13
4. Reece Byrne.......................9
5. Matthew Green...................8
6. Bruno Castello....................7
=. Kyle Schroeder...................3
8. Flavio Santos......................1
Constructors Championship after 3 rounds:
1. Audi Motorsport...................25
2. Holden Motorsport...............22
3. West-KDR Porsche...............20
4. Raltwest Honda.....................8
5. Rhino Racing..........................3
press conference to follow...