FIA EUROPEAN TOURING CAR CUP - RACE 1, 14 laps
RYAN SHARP WINS THE FIA EUROPEAN SUPER 2000 CUP
ALEXANDER LVOV IS TSAR OF SUPER PRODUCTION
Ryan Sharp and Alexander Lvov were the winners of the 2006
FIA European Touring Car Cup in the Super 2000 and the Super
Production class respectively. The two races of the event’s
second edition were run under torrential rain on a soaked
Estoril track. However 25,000 spectators braved the weather
and gathered on the grandstand cheering at the drivers’
evolutions.
Ryan Sharp, 27 years old from Scotland, dominated both the
S2000 races at the wheel of his SEAT León car run by
GR Asia. A major achievement for this young driver on his
first touring car season, and the second one of the season
for the team directed by Paul Ridgway who have already claimed
the FIA WTCC’s Independents’ Trophy with Tom Coronel.
The team’s other driver today, the young Irishman Emmet
O’Brien, completed their triumph with a brilliant second
place, while experienced Swede Tomas Engström achieved
an excellent third position in his Honda Accord.
The Super Production Cup was won by Alexander Lvov of Golden
Motors. At the wheel of his Honda Civic, the 34 year old Russian
proved to be the fastest and most consistent SP driver in
the wet. Second place went to his fellow countryman Timur
Sadredinov, who is only 17 years old. Janis Horeliks from
Latvia, a representative of the Baltic Touring Car Championship,
snatched third place in his old Honda Integra.
The first Nations’ Cup was awarded to MSA, Great Britain’s
National Sporting Authority, that edged Sweden’s SBF
by two points.
RACE 1 – SHARP DOMINATES IN THE FLOOD
Weather: rainy; track: wet
Ryan Sharp and Emmet O’Brien secured a 1-2 for GR Asia
behind the wheels of their SEAT León cars. Félix
Porteiro claimed the final podium position for BMW Team Italy-Spain
in his first touring car race. Alex Zanardi, who started from
pole eventually finished fourth.
In the Super Production class Russians Alexander Lvov and
Timur Sadredinov achieved a 1-2 while Raimo Kulli from Estonia
took the chequered flag third. Andrey Romanov was due to start
from pole but he stalled at the start of the formation lap
and therefore began from the back of the grid.
The SEAT starts left them with work to do. On the contrary,
Porteiro shot from 3rd to 2nd behind his team-mate Zanardi.
Sharp soon rectified the situation however by re-claiming
2nd spot on the inside of turn 13. SP competitiors Vadim Kuzminykh
and Sergey Krylov made contact in lap 1 which put them both
out of contention. Because of their collision the safety car
was dispatched on lap two and stayed out for two laps. At
the re-start Sharp managed to hold 2nd position and overtook
lead man Zanardi at turn 1. This left Zanardi and Porteiro
side by side but no contact ensued. On lap 5 Robin Rudholm
from West Coast Racing was close to Porteiro but he couldn’t
mount a serious challenge. On the same lap Portuguese driver,
Miguel Freitas, made contact with Sadredinov and Lvov who
were fighting for 2nd position in the SP class. Freitas tried
to rejoin but spun and went into the gravel. Lap 7 saw O’Brien
begin his journey to the podium. He overtook Rudholm for 4th
at turn 1. At this stage, the top three SP drivers, Kulli,
Lvov and Sadredinov crossed the line within two seconds of
each other.
On the next lap Zanardi made a mistake and as result he dropped
to 3rd before being overtaken by O’Brien on the straight.
The Irishman then proceeded to claim 2nd position from Porteiro
two laps later, again at turn 1.
Carl Rosenblad drove well to finish 8th after starting 15th
on the grid. He began Race 2 from pole on the reverse grid.
RACE 2 – ENCORE FOR SHARP AND LVOV
Weather: rainy; track: wet
In a replica of Race 1 Ryan Sharp and Emmet O’Brien
crossed the line 1st and 2nd. Tomas Engström was the
3rd man to take the flag at the wheel of his Honda Accord
Euro-R.
In the SP category Alexander Lvov claimed his second win
of the day and finished 10th overall after a fight with Raimo
Kulli; on the last lap they collided and Kulli went off. Stefano
Valli claimed second place with Timur Sadredinov coming home
third.
At the start the Alfa Romeo of Mattias Anderson struggled
to get off the line. As a consequence the Swede dropped from
2nd to 4th into the first corner. Alessandro Zanardi had promoted
himself to 2nd by this point but it was short lived as the
Italian went wide and dropped down to 9th. Also in lap 1,
Mikhail Ukhov went off but the Russian re-gained several positions
to finish 9th overall.
Zanardi’s bad luck continued in lap 2 when he stopped
his car at the side of the track and retired. Meanwhile Sharp
and O’Brien overtook Robin Rudholm to take 5th and 6th
positions. Engström and Rosenblad were engaged in a fight
for the lead but it was the former who managed to take command.
By lap 3 a pack had formed containing Félix Porteiro,
Sharp and Anderson. Sharp squeezed past Anderson for 3rd and
despite attempting the same move, Porteiro was unsuccessful
and dropped down to 7th. One lap later and the Spaniard retired
in the pits.
Sharp and O’Brien both gained a position in lap 4 by
overtaking Rosenblad and Andersson respectively. When O’Brien
then passed Rosenblad the pair had Engström in their
sights. It was on lap 7 that both GR Asia men overtook the
Swede.
Philip Geipel, who was running an impressive 6th made a mistake
on lap 9 and became stranded in the gravel. On the previous
lap, the same thing happened to Vladimir Labazov and on lap
10 Alexey Dudukalo also suffered the same fate.
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