Seville and Bourdais net opening Monza race 04.10.2009: Sebastien Bourdais picked up from where he had left off in Estoril by winning the first Superleague Formula by Sonangol race at Monza today after a commanding performance for Spanish side Seville.

 Sebastien Bourdais picked up from where he had left off in Estoril by winning the first Superleague Formula by Sonangol race at Monza today after a commanding performance for Spanish side Seville.

The Frenchman backed up his Shootout win on debut last month by beating fellow Portugal winner Olympiacos’ Esteban Guerrieri down to the first corner before reeling off the 39 minute +1 lap race in relative ease. Series debutant Julien Jousse completed the podium for AS Roma while Liverpool came through from eighth to fourth to increase their lead at the top of the standings from Tottenham, who finished fifth. Fellow title-protagonists FC Basel could only manage ninth.    

The start proved typically chaotic as the field ploughed into the braking zone for the first chicane. Both Bourdais and Wissel reacted quickly at the lights and were three abreast with Guerrieri into the corner. And it was the Frenchman who emerged ahead at the other side with Olympiacos surviving to slot into second. Behind, home side AC Milan were shuffled back with Giorgio Pantano slipping from fourth to ninth by the end of lap one.

The top two then began to stretch their legs, Bourdais maintaining an advantage of just under a second from Guerrieri as Wissel dropped back. Soon, a queue of cars had formed behind the German with Monza’s long straights offering plenty of slipstreaming opportunities.

The action was frenetic as Wissel first lost out to Jousse, then Galatasaray’s Ho Pin Tung, before falling into the clutches of championship rivals Tottenham and Liverpool, who had both made ground at the start. By the beginning of lap five the trio were right together with Adrian Valles deploying his push-to-pass system to first dispatch Tottenham’s Dolby and then Basel around the outside of the first chicane. Spurs soon followed suit before Wissel was also overhauled by Corinthians’ Antonio Pizzonia.

There was just time for Liverpool to nip past Galatasaray before the pit stops at the end of lap eight when Seville led in Roma, Liverpool, Tottenham, Milan and Anderlecht. Olympiacos pitted the following lap and although Guerrieri was unable emerge ahead of Bourdais, the gap was down to just half a second. Tottenham meanwhile picked up a place thanks to smart pit work from his mechanics to jump Tung while Milan’s dismal start continued when Pantano endured a lengthy delay.          

By lap 13 the leaders were right together as they closed on Atletico Madrid who had inherited the lead by delaying its pit stop. Any opportunity appeared to be over for Guerrieri when Bourdais swept around the outside at Parabolica but the Argentine wasn’t finished, picking up Maria de Villota’s slipstream to scythe past along the pit straight before challenging Bourdais down the inside into the chicane. The Frenchman blocked though, slowing his pursuer and allowing Madrid to re-pass. It would be another half a lap before the Argentine could re-take the position, by which time Bourdais had stolen a march.

Back in the pack, Basel had fallen further behind, running as low as 11th before re-passing Rangers’ John Martin after an entertaining battle with the Australian. Ahead, Dolby’s mirrors were full of a charging Corinthians which had allowed Liverpool to eke out a three second cushion. And with less than five minutes remaining Pizzonia was ahead, the Brazilian immediately setting the fastest lap of the race once in clean air.     

His work would go unrewarded however when a fuel surge problem three laps from home condemned him to tenth, still one place ahead of where he’d started.

At the front, Guerrieri’s delay had gifted Seville a two second advantage. Despite the Argentine’s best efforts, he was unable to make up the lost time, taking the chequered flag 0.375 seconds behind race-winner Bourdais.

Julien Jousse offered the Italian fans something to shout about after an excellent run to third on his Superleague debut for AS Roma with league-leaders Liverpool extending their advantage at the top of the standings with fourth. Their closest rivals Tottenham slipped 62 points behind thanks to Dolby’s run to fifth from ninth while Yelmer Buurman put in another solid display for Anderlecht to come home sixth. Tristan Gommendy and FC Porto were seventh ahead of Galatasaray, FC Basal and Corinthians.


.The second race starts at 3.15pm local time

- Andy Wilkinson ,Tom Hornsby- photo Superleague Formula