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05.03.2007
3 races and 3 different winners at the weekend!
After Latvian Otto Birznieks celebrates his first race-win on Saturday, championship-leader Carlos Gaitan knocked back. He wins the second race of the weekend and become second in the third race. Spanish Pedro Mas Manseras won the third race. After 6 of 10 races is half-time in the Formula Cup Mallorca, it looks like 3 driver are fighting for the championship. Championship-leader Carlos Gaiton took the Pole-Position for the second race of the weekend. Otto Birznieks started next to him. Behind them Lucian Toth and Pedro Mas Manseras chaired the second row like Saturday. Gaitan wanted to forget his breakdown from Saturday with a race-win. Really concentrated the Colombian started the first laps. He comes out of the first lap with a small gap. The first positions stayed without big changes after one lap, only Rumanian Lucian Toth past the second Birznieks at breaking and he made pressure to leading Carlos Gaitan. But Gaitan knew to resist Lucians tries to catch the lead. When also Otto Birznieks and Pedro Mas Manseras entered in this fight, Luxembourg Joe Schmitz reached the leading-group. After 8 of 15 laps the gap of the leading 5 drivers was not more than 1.3 seconds. Than it was Birznieks who used the space Lucian Toth gave him at braking to take over the second place. But Toth counter-attack at the hair-pin one lap later when he overtook the blond Otto from Riga at the outside: "I knew that he wanted to slow me down at the apex what is still ok. There I thought why I am not taking the outside to overtake him – so it worked yet." said Lucian. This change of the positions knew one driver. Carlos Gaitan brought some meters between him and his followers. The future GU-Racing driver for the Formula BMW didn’t let take away the race-win oneself. He saves the start-finish-victory even though he profited from his fighting colleagues. Behind him the group comes in the order Lucian Toth, Otto Birznieks, Pedro Mas Manseras and Joe Schmitz in the finish. All 4 were inside 1.2 seconds. Schmitz saved also the fastest lap and with it one extra-point. Race 3 Carlos Gaitan wished the third race of the weekend like the same. But his situation was not so easy. After his breakdown on Saturday he started only from position 9. Also Pedro Mas Manseras started just from position 8. Indeed Otto Birznieks was on the Pole-Position. But he crabbed his start and Lucian Toth who came from the second position took over the lead. Nor more terrible was the start for Florian Schwarzenbilder. After his best start-position as third the engine stalled at his first meters. After a problem with the clutch he had to stop his race. And what did Gaitan from position 9? He did the best what he could do. Without to much risk he drove to position 5 at the first lap. The order after the first lap: Lucian Toth, Otto Birznieks, Joe Schmitz, Pedro Mas Manseras and Carlos Gaitan. These 5 drivers were able to race away. It was just the race before when Lucian Toth showed how to overtake in style at the outside of the hair-pin. In lap 5 he showed in style how to break too late at the hair-pin. The Rumanian needed to continue as fifth again. Multiple times changed the lead among Otto Birznieks and Pedro Mas Manseras. Finally Otto got problems after he used his tyres to hard and he felt back to place 3. Two laps before the finish the first 5 were in a gap of just 1.4 seconds and the order was surprising: local-hero Pedro Mas Manseras (ESP) leaded before the intelligent driving Carlos Gaitan (COL) and Otto Birznieks (LAT). Joe Schmitz (LUX) was 4. ahead of Lucian Toth (ESP). But it looked like Schmitz didn’t have enough. At first he overtook Birznieks, who fights hard with his tyres, at the chicane - than he raced the fastest lap again in the last lap. With it he saves one extra-point. The result wasn’t to expect for the spectators: Spanish Pedro Mas Manseras won after he came from place 7. Than Carlos Gaitan who actually came from place 9 and Joe Schmitz who finished third. And what happened with the first row? Pole-man Birznieks rescued place 4 to the finish before Lucian Toth, who started next to him as second. After the best races now which were still fair the driver of the Formula Cup Mallorca earned a break. After 6 of 10 races is half-time and Carlos Gaitan (COL) still leads the championship. That the championship-win is hard showed the performance of the other driver. Carlos has a lead of 11 points to Otto and 13 points to Lucian. It shines like these 3 are the favourites for the title – bur it will be exiting to see who surprise the next race-weekend. This will hold at April 13.-15.
Driver of the weekend: Otto Birznieks (LAT) The main-stand of the Circuit-Mallorca which has got space for some thousands people was full of spectators at the weekend. Especially the girls under them were happy about the view to see Otto Birznieks at the top pf the podium – absolutely wet and dashed with champagne. Indeed Otto is really "cool" – so no wonder: who announced "girls and sleeping" as his hobby must be "really cool". At the first race-weekends the 16-years old had to fight more with his nerves, even though he was fast every time. He decided the third race-weekend for himself. Otto took his first race-win, two Pole-Position and the most points out of weekend. Enough arguments to choose him as „Driver of the Weekend": „Now I am second in the championship and I made up points to Carlos. Carlos starts testing Formula BMW now here he steps-up directly to Formula BMW. I will concentrate absolutely to the Formula-Junior and I hope that I could catch Carlos in the championship with good performances."
Formula Cup Mallorca 2007: Result 2.Race (04.03.2007) 1 Carlos Gaitan Quinones COL
Formula Cup Mallorca 2007: Result 3.Race (04.03.2007) 1 Pedro Mas Mansereas ESP Championship after 6 Races: Gaitan (54), Bierznieks (43), Toth (41), Manseras (31), Schmitz (30), Schwarzenbilder (19), Weiss (17), Mayer (6), John(4), Lindner (3), Rookies: Birznieks (43), Schmitz (30), Schwarzenbilder (19), Weiss (16), Mayer (6)
- Jens Höing -
Author: Maggy (admin)
Last modified: Monday, 05.03.2007 - 11:41 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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