News

Liverpool fly flag in style for Britain in opening Superleague Races

28/06/2009

he Reds also head the championship standings by two-points courtesy of the Spaniard claiming a victory and sixth place in the opening two 45-minute races of the exciting single-seater series watched by a crowd of 12,000 in hot and humid weather conditions.

The Tottenham Hotspur car of Craig Dolby (21) lies fourth in the standings – 21pts behind Liverpool – after the opening two races in the 12-race championship having claimed third and 10th. Craig, from Melton Mowbray near Leicester, dropped from fifth to 10th on the last lap of race two due to system pressure failure resulting in no gears which also cost the unfortunate Spurs car a place in the Super Final.

Despite the Glasgow Rangers car starting on the third and front row of the 18-car grid for races one and two respectively, Northamptonshire-based Australian John Martin (24) was classified 17th and 16th after two accidents.

Epsom’s Duncan Tappy claimed a fifth and 11th in his Galatasaray machine while Jonathan Kennard, from Tunbridge Wells, was classified 15th and 14th after brake and clutch problems respectively caused his early demise from each race. Kennard driving the AS Roma car had been challenging for fourth place until his retirement three laps from the chequered flag in race two.

Glasgow Rangers: John Martin (AUS)
“My SLF race debut ended before it got going when I was hit on the opening lap of race one causing my retirement. Then in race two, I started from the front row, led for opening nine laps before pitting for the regulation tyre stop but a problem with the wheel jack cost me a lot of time and dropped me from first to 13th. I’d worked my way back into 10th when I went off at Estoril corner on lap 18 – the back end came around and that was the end for me.”

Liverpool FC: Adrian Vallés (SP)
“My opening race win was pretty comfortable. My only problem was that at the start I had to switch the gearbox to manual mode so for the opening laps I was getting used to that. But I got in to a rhythm, caught the Corinthians car and overtook it – it was a great way to start the SLF season.
“I pushed very hard on the opening two laps of the Super Final to make a gap. It was a little strange with just six cars in the race and a race lasting just eight laps. It’s been a very good weekend. I lead the championship and I aim to have extended that lead after the next races and stay on top.”

Tottenham Hotspur: Craig Dolby (GB)
“I didn’t stop correctly in my pit box for the tyre change in the opening race. But on new tyres I was able to push hard and recover the places. I pressed the Anderlecht car hard for second place but came up short. Nevertheless I’m very proud to give Spurs a rostrum finish on my debut for the London club.
“But then in race two, having moved up from 16th place due to the reverse grid formation, I was challenging for fourth place, my car suffered a system pressure failure three laps from home causing me to slip back five places to 10th which was gutting because it not only meant I missed out on the Super Final but cost me some valuable points.”

AS Roma: Jonathan Kennard (GB)
“Race one marked my first-ever rolling start in a race. Brake issues forced my retirement in race one and in race two, when challenging for fourth, my AS Roma car suffered a clutch problem – we’d been dicing so close that I actually touched the Al Ain car at one point.”

Galatasaray (TUR): Duncan Tappy (GB)
“Very happy to finish fifth in the opening race – especially after starting from 12th on the grid – and my only problem was some minor gearbox issues in the closing stages. I Started on used tyres for race two and the car just didn’t like it – lost a lot of places. Once I’d pitted and taken on new tyres, it was okay but I’d lost too much ground. Nevertheless Ultimate Motorsport only got their hands on my car a day before practice began so they’ve done a fantastic job.”