RSS - Rangers FC News

Turn one tussles cost Martin dearly

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:48:21 GMT

Starting from position 13 in Race 1, Martin charged into the first turn desperate to make up spots but was pushed wide in the midfield melee after locking a brake.

“I just tried to go around the outside at Turn One and it is really dirty off line,” explained Martin. “The minute you go wide you can’t stop and then people were going everywhere around me so I had nowhere to go but across the gravel.”

“I ended up dead last (17th as FC Midtylland’s Kasper Andersen was eliminated at the first corner) and just drove around. But then I caught up to PSV Eindhoven after my stop (on lap 12) and thought I might as well push.”

After passing Carlo van Dam down the straight, Martin’s next target was Enrique Bernoldi the Brazilian yielding 12th place.

With the fellow Alan Docking Racing prepared cars of Julien Jousse (AS Roma) and Antonio Pizzonia (Corinthians) tangling late in the 44 minute plus one lap race, Martin’s Rangers FC machine was up to 10th at the chequered flag.

The race was won by Yelmer Buurman (Anderlecht), ahead of Sebastien Bourdais (Sevilla) and Giorgio Pantano (AC Milan).

The reverse grid moved Martin up to 7th for Race 2 but it did him few favours.

“We were right in the middle of the mess again,” he said. “I made a good start and had picked up three places approaching Turn One. I thought even if I let one go that would be a good start. Then as I was about to turn in I saw Olympiacos (Esteban Guerrieri) all locked up and the other car (van Dam).”

“So I turned towards the gravel and booted it to try and get out of there as they were coming straight for me. I think the car may have been hit by van Dam as it was a little bit damaged but I got away with it.”

From there it was all to do once again and the 25-year-old put his head down and got on with it, posting the then fastest lap of the race on lap 6 following the restart, 1m21.845s, the only driver into the 21s at that point of the race.

Lap 13, his first flying lap after the pitstop, saw the 2006 Australian Formula Ford Champion lower the mark to 1m21.213s, the fourth fastest lap of the race behind Tristan Gommendy’s (FC Porto) 1m20.650s.

“The car was really fast after the changes the guys made from qualifying, but there were only one or two laps where I wasn’t in traffic so the lap times don’t really reflect how good the car was,” said Martin. “It is just so hard to pass around here so once you catch up to a slower car you are stuck there unless you take a big risk.”

From position 12 after his stop, Martin benefitted out of the problems that befell Pantano, Pedro Petiz (Sporting Clube de Portugal) and Bernoldi before he dispensed with FC Basel’s Max Wissel to take over 8th place.

However he then found himself held up by Maria de Villota (Atletico Madrid).

“By the time I got to Maria I only had one push to pass left and had used the best of the tyres,” said Martin. “I tried to pass her and got in there but she outbraked herself so I gave her some room and Max (Wissel) got us back.”

With the laps running out Martin was unable to find a way past the second generation Spanish driver and had to settle for 9th place.

“That’s Jarama 2009 and Superleague Formula 2009 finished,” he said. “Not where we hoped but it has been a good first season with the win in the Super Final at Donington, podiums at Zolder and Donington and the front row start at Zolder.”

Victory in Race 2 went to Galatasaray’s Ho-Pin Tung from a hard-charging Craig Dolby (Tottenham Hotspur) and Andersen, while fourth place was enough for Liverpool’s Adrian Valles to secure the championship over Dolby.

The €100,000 to win Super Final was taken out by Buurman, ahead of Bourdais and Valles.

Unlucky 13th for Martin in Jarama

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:30:32 GMT

The 25-year-old Australian had never raced at the twisty, undulating 3.404km circuit before and used the three, 30-minute practice sessions to learn the track, in the process posting the 12th, 12th and 16th best times respectively. Heading into qualifying the lad from Blackwater’s best was 1m22.401s in the third session.

“On my second run in Practice 3 we tried a few changes which didn’t really work,” he said. “I flatspotted the right front into Turn One and that was that.”

With new tyres Martin lowered that mark to 1m20.211s in the 15-minute Group A qualifying session, however his time was still 0.657s adrift of pacesetter Max Wissel (FC Basel), who posted 1m19.544s, and only the 7th fastest in the session.

“I had the same problem (flatspotting) on my fourth flying lap in qualifying,” said Martin. “Admittedly the tyres are past their best then anyway in terms of a one-off quick lap time, but I was pushing hard trying to get into the top four.”

“We came here with quite a different setup to what we have been running and unfortunately it hasn’t really worked for Craig (Dolby, Martin’s Alan Docking Racing teammate) and I. The setup hasn’t helped us the way we expected, but with no testing you don’t find these things out until practice.”

“We will change the car back overnight and see how it goes. “

By virtue of Wissel’s time being quicker than Group B fast man Sebastien Bourdais’s 1m19.734, Martin will line up 13th on the grid, with the other five slowest cars from Group A on the same side of the grid.

Pole position went to Bourdais in the pole shootout of the top eight knockout qualifying phase, while championship rivals Craig Dolby (Tottenham Hotspur) and Liverpool FC’s Adrian Valles will start from 10th and 14th, after qualifying 5th and 7th in Group B.

Sunday sees two races of 44 minutes plus one lap duration, with compulsory pitstops in each. While the top six cars will contest the five lap Super Final where the winner takes home €100,000.

Monster of a weekend for Martin at Monza

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:32:56 GMT

By virtue of limited track time in practice, after mechanical problems, Martin was behind the eight ball heading into qualifying and the lack of setup evaluation time then cost him crucial speed in the races.

From 12th on the grid at Race One’s rolling start he vaulted up to 10th behind Corinthians’ Antonio Pizzonia with Giorgio Pantano (AC Milan) tucked under his rear wing.

As Pizzonia charged up the field, the 25-year-old Australian soon found himself battling with Tristan Gommendy (FC Porto) for 9th place on lap 5. Two laps later and it was job done as Martin zeroed in on 8th place Max Wissel (FC Basel).

Lap 9 saw him displace the German and begin his pursuit of Pizzonia in 7th. The opening flurry of pitstops moved Martin up to 4th on lap 10 behind Esteban Guerrieri (Olympiacos), Ho-Pin Tung (Galatasaray) and Pizzonia, before he too pulled into pitlane on the next tour.

“The pitstop was a nightmare,” admitted Martin. “Because the GT cars are racing here this weekend the pitlane is compressed a bit to fit them and us in. It was hard to get into the box and then I had to make like a three-point turn to get around Pizzonia as I left the box.”

The delay meant Martin found himself in 13th place as the order settled on lap 12, with Gommendy in front and FC Midtjylland’s Kasper Andersen behind. The following lap saw him post his fastest lap of the race, 1m37.277s which would stand as the 8th fastest of the race and 2nd fastest of the Alan Docking Racing engineered entries after Pizzonia set the fastest lap of 1m36.466s late in the event.

“I had a bit of understeer when I put the new tyres on but the car wasn’t too bad,” said Martin. “The biggest challenge was how you used push to pass. I was using it to keep my position down the straight which meant it was across two laps. Whereas Pizzonia used his differently and it gave him a 7/10ths of a second improvement in laptime.”

After Gommendy slipped back, another battle with Wissel ensued, however this time things didn’t quite go to plan and the FC Basel driver took 10th place back on lap 18.

Four laps later and the pair were at it again. “I went around the outside of him at the chicane and he squeezed me,” explained Martin. “So I went straight through but then was told on the radio the move was under investigation so I slowed right down to let him back past to redress it.” With one lap to go the dramas were not over.

“I spun coming out of the Parabolica for no reason at all,” said Martin. “I thought it was the left rear tyre going down. But after the race the tyre was fine so we will be having a good look at the suspension.”

Despite the problem the Rangers entry still managed to cross the line 11th. The race was won by Sebastien Bourdais (Seville FC) from Guerrieri and Julien Jousse (AS Roma). “Early on I had the speed to run in the top five. I was quicker than Craig (Tottenham Hotspur’s Craig Dolby) and he finished fifth so if the pitstop had not of been such a disaster that is where we would have been.” Race Two’s reverse grid failed to bring a reversal of fortunes with a frenetic battle between Martin, Wissel and Pizzonia early in the race for 4th, before it all started to unravel.

“I gained a spot at the chicane but then was told I had to give it back for going over the kerbs and in doing that someone else passed me,” said Martin. Having dropped as low as 9th after unsuccessful scraps with Bourdais and Gommendy amongst others, the Gers driver this time managed to avoid the most of the chaos in pitlane.

“It wasn’t as bad as the first stop but I ran over one of my rear wheels trying to get into the box so the pitstop was slow as the boys had to reset,” said Martin. But out on the track he simply didn’t have the speed to run with the front runners, posting the 9th best laptime of 1m37.800s on lap 13, 1.119s slower than pacesetter Guerrieri.

“I was trying to find a balance on the brakes between locking the fronts up into the chicane or locking the rears and then having the car not want to downshift,” said Martin.

Meanwhile at the front Pedro Petiz (Sporting Clube de Portugal) was virtually unchallenged, leading home Dolby and Bourdais who once again picked up the €100,000 as Weekend Winner.

Martin finished a lap down in 12th after “…the front left tyre just decided to let go into the second chicane. So that was entertaining. I just limped around as slow as I could into the pits.”

As the championship heads to its final round at Jarama in Spain on November 7-8, Liverpool’s Adrian Valles maintains his grip on the pointscore with 350, ahead of Dolby on 301 and Guerrieri 259. Martin and Rangers remain 9th with 203 points.

Martin looking to move up at Monza on Sunday

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:15:54 GMT

A faulty crank angle sensor in Friday’s opening 30 minute practice session, followed by overheating problems in practice two limited the Rangers FC driver’s track time going into the 15 minute Group B qualifying session on Saturday.

Up against the likes of four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais (Sevilla FC) and reigning GP2 Series champion Giorgio Pantano (AC Milan), Martin set the 6th fastest time in Group B. His 1m37.091s effort (an average speed of 214.79km/h) was 0.558s slower than Bourdais’ session topping run, albeit a mere 0.025s off the pace of AS Roma’s Julien Jousse who was the fastest of the Alan Docking Racing engineered quintet with third place in Group A.

“Most of it is as a result of not getting enough laps yesterday,” explained Martin. “We didn’t even get out in the first session on Friday and then in the second session we only did about four proper laps.”

“So we tried to set the car up based on that for qualifying, but we still need better traction.

“On my last flying lap I was a tenth (of a second) up and make a mistake into Ascari, if it wasn’t for that I probably would have been in the top eight and in the qualifying quarter finals.”

“It is just disappointing really. The car wasn’t fast enough, I don’t think there was much left in it.”

The 25-year-old from Blackwater, outback Queensland will start the 39 minute plus one lap Race One from 12th on the grid. Race Two is for the same duration but sees a reverse grid based on the finishing order of the first race. With no Super Final at Monza, overall points will determine which driver is crowned the Weekend Winner and walks away €100,000 richer.

“Tomorrow is another day,” said Martin. “At least if you have a fast car it is possible to pass around here. I have every confidence that when we go through the data tonight we will get the car sorted out.”

Handy points haul for Martin in Portugal

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:55:13 GMT

Lining up fifth for Race One’s rolling start, the 25-year-old Australian was quietly confident of guiding his Rangers FC machine to the podium.

With FC Basel’s Max Wissel unable to start due to a gearbox problem, Martin jumped up to fourth as the 44-minute plus one lap race got underway.

But while Esteban Guerrieri (Olympiacos), Antonio Pizzonia (Corinthians) and championship leader Adrian Valles (Liverpool FC) had elected to start on new tyres, the Australian had it all to do on a mixed and matched set after flat-spotting the left front in qualifying.

“I got a reasonable start, the front three pulled away because they were on new tyres,” said Martin. “Then we went to new tyres at the pitstop, but the pitstop was just slow. Nothing went wrong, it was just slow and I lost a spot.

After pitting from fifth place, Martin rejoined in 12th, behind Olympiacos’ Esteban Guerreri and Anderlecht’s Yelmer Buurman who both also pitted at the end of lap 9.

By lap 12 he was back up to fifth after posting what would be his fastest lap of the race, 1m29.494s and the sixth fastest lap overall. Eventual third placegetter Pizzonia and Buurman (fourth) shared the fastest lap honours with 1m29.162s. Guerrieri went on to win the race from Valles, with Martin finishing fifth, 18.2s behind the race winner.

“I had a little bit more speed than the guy in front of me (Buurman) at certain stages of the race. At the end of the race I had killed the rear tyres with the oversteer so I couldn’t do anything anyway.”

“I also had an intermittent problem with the engine. Some laps it just wouldn’t pull in top gear. It is not a mechanical problem because when it does pull its sweet. It is something in the electrics.”

“We will make a few changes to try and preserve the rear tyres in Race Two because it will be hotter and to try and give us some more traction.”

The reverse grid for Race Two saw Martin occupy 13th at the rolling start

“I got a good start, I then sort of got pushed a little wide at Turn One and a couple of them got back up the inside,” said Martin. “I saw that they were going to run wide at Turn Two so I just waited for that and then about four of them went off in front of me.”

“A couple of laps later I caught up to (Olympique) Lyonnais (Nelson Panciatici) and I got down the inside of him at Turn One. It wasn’t intentional; I just got down and had a bit of a run on him so I pulled to the inside as I had got in there a bit hot.”

“I was hoping he would give me a bit of room, which he did. But we then crossed and he came back at me up the inside into Turn Two and I had to lift. That allowed Craig (Dolby) in the Spurs car to get really close because we had slowed each other up.”

“Going into Turn Three I went quite deep and tried to go back up the inside again but Panciatici covered it a little bit. He slowed up mid-corner a lot more than I thought he was going to.”

“I just nipped the back of him and as he was sliding I had to get out of the brakes a little bit to miss him and then Craig was on the outside and I have put him out, which was unfortunate.”

“From then on I had quite a bit of understeer because I tore a piece off the front wing. It hurt the left front tyre quite a bit too.”

Lap seven saw a charging Pizzonia demote Martin to 8th before series newcomer Carlo Van Dam grabbed the spot for PSV Eindhoven.

Following his pitstop at the end of lap 10, Martin resumed in seventh place. Four laps later he slotted past Anderlecht only for Atletico de Madrid’s Maria de Villota to undo the hardwork and drop him back to ninth.

“She was quite slow and holding us all up, so I wanted to get past quickly,” said Martin. “I showed her that I was going to try and get down the inside and she stayed really wide for a long time.”

“I thought she was going to let me in and then all of a sudden she turned in on me. I couldn’t do anything about it by that stage. As she turned in my left front wheel touched her right rear and we both spun.”

As a result of the incident, Martin found himself behind Galatasaray’s Ho Pin Tung and Wissel in the battle for seventh place. Taking advantage of the extra horsepower provided by the push to pass button, the Gers driver claimed the scalp of Wissel down the pit straight to move into eighth on lap 24.

Despite his best efforts Martin could not find a way past Tung and finished the race eighth, 35.266s behind race winner Alvaro Parente (FC Porto). Sebastien Bourdais, Enrique Bernoldi, Buurman, Pizzonia and Pantano completed the top six.

Having picked up 32 points in Race One and 23 points in Race Two, Martin finished eighth overall for the weekend and narrowly missed out on a berth in the €100,000 to win Super Final. Never the less he has moved up to ninth in the championship standings with 173 points, 112 adrift of championship leader Valles.

Bourdais took victory and the €100,000 in the Super Final, ahead of Guerrieri and Valles.

The next round for Superleague Formula is at Monza, Italy on October 3-4.

Fifth on the grid Martin looks to repeat Donington success

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:21:18 GMT

On his first visit to Estoril, 25-year-old Martin settled in quickly with fifth fastest time in the opening 45-minute practice session. He backed that up with third in the second practice session, before losing his way slightly on setup when the track rubbered up in the third practice to place 12th.

Having drawn Group A the previous evening at the Casino Estoril, the lad from Blackwater, Queensland took to the track in the first qualifying group.

With just 15-minutes to make it count, Martin posted a time of 1m29.417s which was good enough for third, before improving to 1m29.199s to take second place on his fourth lap.

Emphasising just how competitive Superleague Formula is, Argentinean Esteban Guerreri (Olympiacos) pipped the Australian by a mere 0.008s with a time of 1m29.191s, while championship leader Liverpool’s Adrian Valles was 0.022s adrift – 1m29.213s. German ace Max Wissel (FC Basel) rounded out the four drivers who advanced to quarter final qualifying in 1m29.382s, 0.191s behind Guerreri.

“It was okay,” said Martin. “I didn’t really get the best out of the car. It still had a bit of oversteer; we didn’t cure all of it with the changes that we made, but we were still good enough to get P2 and we were only a couple of hundredths of a second off pole.”

“We always knew the second session was going to be faster, but it would have been nice to have topped Group A.”

Group B qualifying saw local driver Alvaro Parente top the timesheets with 1m28.235s for FC Porto, ahead of RSC Anderlecht’s Yelmer Buurman 1m28.419s, Antonio Pizzonia (SC Corinthians) 1m28.541s and Franck Perera (AS Roma) 1m28.557s would also join them in the quarter finals.

Series newcomer, ex-Toro Rosso Formula One driver and four-time Champcar World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais finished the Group B session in eighth place for Seville on 1m29.005s. Fellow ex-Formula One drivers Enrique Bernoldi (ninth) and Giorgio Pantano (fifth) also failed to make the quarter finals.

Qualifying quarter final one saw Wissel defeat last weekend’s GP2 Series race winner at Spa-Francorchamps, Parente, 1m28.800s to 1m29.159s.

Guerreri maintained his good run with 1m29.122s accounting for Perera’s 1m29.601s in quarter final two.

In quarter final three it was Valles, 1m29.176s over Buurman 1m29.548s.

The fourth quarter final saw the Alan Docking Racing prepared cars of Martin and Pizzonia go head to head. Unfortunately an error at Turn One from the Rangers driver put paid to his hopes and resulted in a slow 1m29.762s lap compared to the Brazilian ex-Formula One pilot’s 1m28.390s.

“I just messed it up,” admitted Martin. “We made a few small changes to the rear suspension just to try and improve the traction and entry stability.”

“My out lap was good, I got into Turn One and had a massive lockup of the left front brake and it flat-spotted the hell out of the tyre. It ended up trashed so now we will have to try and find a good one from our practice sets to run tomorrow.”

“From there on in it was a wonder the front suspension didn’t fall out of the car. The vibration from the left front wheel was that bad. The rest of the lap was not good at all after that.”

“It was my mistake; I just got in there too hot. It was locked up for about 30 metres from 230km/h when it started turning again it was doing 140km/h. I couldn’t get off the brakes because I was already in quite hot. I just had to carry on doing what I was doing.”

“Then Pizzonia did the fastest lap of anybody in the whole shootout thing so I was up against the fastest car of all and handicapped myself. He has done a lot of laps around here as well and it is one of his favourite tracks. It is no excuse though.”

In the qualifying semi finals it was Pizzonia (1m29.106s) and Guerreri (1m28.438s) who progressed to the final, while Wissel (1m29.553s) and Valles (1m29.334s) bowed out.

Sunday sees two races at Estoril, both over 44 minutes plus one lap, with rolling starts and a compulsory pitstop in each. The second race is a reverse grid based on drivers’ finishing positions in race one.

A third race, or Super Final (over 9 minutes plus one lap) featuring the top six pointscorers overall from the two races will decide the ‘Weekend Winner’ and which club takes home €100,000 prizemoney.

“Starting from fifth in Race One has sort of been the story of our season,” said Martin. “It is not too bad really. The same position as Donington and when you look back at what happened there; I got a good start, straight into fourth place and we should have won that race from fifth.”

“Anything can happen tomorrow. We can definitely finish on the podium, if not win. We have got a good race car.”

Martin has 100,000 reasons to be happy

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:28:33 GMT

Making the victory even sweeter, the 25-year-old walked away with a cool €100,000 as the Weekend Winner after the top six cars battled it out over five laps.

However it was another mixed weekend for Martin who lined up fifth for Race One’s rolling start. Making the most of the Push to Pass button (which boosts the Superleague Formula V12 engine to 750 horsepower) Martin got the jump on AC Milan’s Giorgio Pantano to slot into fourth place behind Antonio Pizzonia (Corinthians), Max Wissel (FC Basel) and Davide Rigon (Olympiacos).

From there the order remained unchanged, with the intervention of the Safety Car at the end of lap 2.

Martin moved up to third place on lap 4 when Rigon retired with low oil pressure in his 4.2 litre, V12 engine.

Lap 8 saw the Australian fastest on the circuit with a time of 1m21.002s to bring the gap to race leader Pizzonia down to a mere 1.577s. The following lap and Martin was into the pits for his compulsory tyre change. A brilliant pitstop from the Alan Docking Racing (ADR) crew saw Martin rejoin in front of Wissel and the sister ADR machine of Pizzonia, who also both pitted.

Another flying lap, 1m20.551s, as other drivers pitted, had Martin up from position nine to fourth on lap 11. Tragically, with a win in his sights, the complexion of the race changed as he explains.

“I got a good start, the pitstop was perfect and we were effectively leading the race after the stop,” said Martin.

“I caught PSV (Dominick Muermans) to lap him and I went to go up the inside and he just turned in on me and put me up over the grass. Wissel saw what was happening and got past.”

As the German edged away, Martin found himself under increasing pressure from Pizzonia with the gap down to just 1.074s on lap 19. The pair then traded personal fastest laps, with the Gers driver down to 1m20.041s on lap 26, which would stand as his best of the race and third fastest overall. Only race winner Wissel (1m19.662s) and fourth placed Pantano (1m20.013s) were quicker.

“He got close and then I pulled away,” explained Martin. “It just depended who was on Push to Pass when. I think most of the time we were quicker.”

The drama wasn’t over however with Muermans again raising the leading duo’s ire.

“We came up to lap Muermans again and he blocked us,” said Martin. “The blue flags were out and he was a lap down and trying to race people.”

After 31 laps of racing, Martin crossed the line 2.180s behind Wissel for his second race finish in Superleague Formula and yet another second place. By virtue of finishing on the podium in either of the two main races, Martin now had a berth in the 9 minute plus one lap Super Final.

“I was happy with second,” said Martin. “It is alright. We are getting so close to that win.”

The elusive win perhaps felt even further away at the start of the reverse grid Race Two with Martin lining up 17th for the 44 minute plus one lap event.

A collision with Pantano on the opening lap left the ADR crew a lot of work to do before the €100,000 to win Super Final.

“I got a good start into Turn One and there were cars going everywhere; four, five wide,” said Martin. “Then down through the Craner Curves I went down one side of Pizzonia and tried to go inside Liverpool but didn’t quite get him. At the Old Hairpin I just drove right round the outside of him.”

“Up the hill I was fighting again with Pantano and he blocked. I went one way and he went the other and I tried to cross. I nearly got him coming out of Coppice onto the back straight but he had the tow from Midjtylland (Kasper Andersen) and he went to pull out but Midjtylland blocked. I went back to the outside and Pantano was all locked up and Pizzonia was on Push to Pass trying to get around me.”

“So I went in really deep on the brakes to try and stop him. With the concertina effect I just got into the chicane a bit hot and braking way off line because we were three wide I was on oily cement dust. I couldn’t quite pull the car up.”

“Once I knew it wasn’t going to stop I tried to turn early and take as much kerb as I could to try and miss his back tyre and try to hit square wheel to wheel so it wouldn’t do too much damage. But it ended up doing top and bottom pushrods, the whole right corner really and I drove over the front wing.”

“Pantano was unhappy and he had a right to be. It was my fault and I am sorry for destroying his race and mine. We all make mistakes and I am sure he has made a few over the years too.”

In a unique twist the Super Final featured a standing start for the first time in Superleague Formula with Race One’s podium placegetters joined by Race Two winner Tristan Gommendy (FC Porto), Sporting Clube de Portugal’s Pedro Petiz and Craig Dolby (Tottenham Hotspur).

From the second row of the grid, Martin rocketed past Petiz into second place by the first corner.

“I love standing starts; I reckon they all should be standing starts,” exclaimed Martin. “My start was really good. I was alongside Max (Wissel) on the run into Turn One, but I was on the opposite side so I couldn’t really do too much about it.”

“I was on Push to Pass and just ran wide a little bit at the Old Hairpin because he was in front and just took a little bit of air off the front of my car.”

“The last half of that lap I caught back up and then the next lap again I was right there. He did have a bit of an issue with his gearbox but even before that I was right there towards the end of the lap.”

“Plus I was on new tyres that we didn’t get to use in Race Two so I was catching him really quickly. I was definitely going to get past him even if he didn’t have problems.”

“It is credit to the ADR boys after I had the incident in the second race with Pantano. They did an awesome job to get the car back; two hours worth of work in 40 minutes. It is down to them that I won the last one.”

“The car wasn’t perfect because they never got time to flat patch it, they only toed it up. But they know what they are doing and got it close enough. The steering was a little bit out but the car was still good enough to win. Under the circumstances they did an unbelievable job.”

“The front wing end plate collapsed a little bit because I think I clipped Max down through the Craner Curves. When he had a bit of a gearbox issue he was still trying to fight and I was half on the grass but I had such a run on him there was no way I was going to lift.”

“We got the win so happy days! Life is so much easier at the front.”

“This win is for everyone that has helped me and supported me over the years; from karts, to Formula Ford, Formula 3, A1GP. I’d also like to say hello to all the knockers out there. This one is for you and I am sure it will not be the last.”

For the record Martin finished 3.750s in front of the sister ADR car of Dolby with Wissel third. Rangers FC now sit 10th in the championship on 118 points, with Liverpool’s Adrian Valles leading the way on 217.

The next round of Superleague Formula is at Estoril in Portugal on September 5-6.

John Martin to start fifth at Donington after rain cuts qualifying short

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:01:58 GMT

On a day when the English weather caused the cancellation of the qualifying quarter, semi and pole position finals, the 25-year-old Australian’s third fastest time in Group A Qualifying ended up determining his grid spot.

The first qualifying group took to a damp track with the possibility of further rain and so it proved. Ex-Formula One driver Antonio Pizzonia (Corinthians) posted the fastest lap early in the session, 1m22.868s, with FC Basel’s Max Wissel only getting close to the mark near the end with 1m22.907s. Likewise Martin on 1m22.948s and Jonathan Kennard (AS Roma) 1m22.953s also set their times late in the session to make it 0.085s covering the top four cars.

“It was only just dry enough for slicks and whoever made the least mistakes was going to be fastest,” said Martin. “It was so slippery.”

“Really my second flying lap should have been the lap, but I made a bit of a mistake down at the old hairpin and ran wide so that messed the whole lap up really as I lost too much time. The rest of the lap was quite nice.”

“Lap three was a lot better but it had already started raining in the last sector so I lost a lot of time in the last two corners.”

“But it was so close at the end of the session; I was 0.080s behind Pizzonia, so less than a tenth of a second!”

The Group B Qualifying session saw the rain set in. Olympiacos’ Davide Rigon slithered around in 1m32.414s, ahead of Giorgio Pantano (AC Milan) 1m33.110s, Tottenham Hotspur’s Craig Dolby 1m33.660s and Yelmer Buurman (Anderlecht) 1m33.923s.

By the time the first qualifying quarter final, between Pizzonia and Buurman, rolled around the track was awash with a heavy downpour.

“Pizzonia was saying it was ridiculous, just so dangerous,” revealed Martin. “He said he never got full throttle on any straight in any gear. You could hear him coming along the front straight aquaplaning and wheel spinning in top gear. It was just crazy.”

“There was so much water. Anderlecht went off twice on his in lap going slow! It was just dangerous more than anything. I think the organisers made the right decision in the long run because otherwise they might have lost a few cars.”

Regardless of the weather conditions on Sunday, Martin is confident he has the equipment to fight for the win with his Alan Docking Racing crew providing both strong dry and wet setups.

“The car was quick here when we tested in the dry before Zolder,” said Martin. “When we went to a wet setup in Practice 2 today I was third and we didn’t change a lot as the session went on, but I was right up there with Pizzonia and (Esteban) Guerrieri (Sevilla FC) with a bit of a gap to everyone else.”

“In Practice 3 I was second to Guerrieri and there was quite a gap to third. So in the wet we have definitely got a good car too.”

Sunday sees two races at Donington, both over 44 minutes plus one lap, with a compulsory pitstop in each. The second race is a reverse grid based on drivers’ finishing positions in race one.

A third race, or Super Final (over 9 minutes plus one lap) featuring the top three finishers from both races will decide the overall ‘Weekend Winner’ and which club takes home €100,000 prizemoney.

Life in the fast lane

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:58:52 GMT

It’s fair to say that when ex-Diamond Martin’s Australian namesake was chosen to represent the Ibrox outfit this year in the motorsport series, few knew who he was.

The feeling was mutual, with the 25-year-old’s awareness of Gers and their long, illustrious history minimal to say the least. Martin was given the opportunity to race for the SPL champions by Alan Docking Racing, the Silverstone-based team which runs the club’s car.

He replaced Glasgow-born Ryan Dalziel – an arguably more logical choice given he was raised as a fan of Walter Smith’s men - in the seat for the 2009 campaign.

Martin’s chance came by virtue of the fact he also represents Docking’s Team Australia in the A1 Grand Prix competition.

Now he’s aiming to enjoy the same sort of success which has become synonymous with those connected to Rangers in the months to come.

The Queenslander said: “To be honest, I didn’t know a lot about the club at all before I became involved with Superleague Formula.

“Coming from Australia, we don’t hear too much about Scottish football and information back home about it is a bit thin on the ground.

“But since signing up I’ve been reading the Rangers website a lot and I managed to watch a couple of games towards the end of last season.

“It was great to see the team win the SPL and I’d love it if I was able to get along to see a match in person at some point.

“I’ve never been to a live game and it would be really cool to come to Ibrox at some point later in the year if it was possible.

“I’m trying to find out more about the club and it would be good if the fans learned a lot more about me in the next few months too because I have a good season myself.

“I think Superleague Formula is a great concept because it brings together two sports that didn’t have an association with each other before.

“A lot of people in motorsport love football and the guys in our garage know as much about that as they do about my car.

“It would be great if the two could keep growing in tandem through Superleague and if I’m successful in it too for Rangers then all the better.”

Martin came into Superleague this year with a fair amount of pedigree, despite his relative youth. A winner of the Formula Ford Victoria competition in his homeland four years ago, he then claimed the equivalent national title 12 months later. Success Down Under was the platform for a move to the Northern Hemisphere and an introduction to the British Formula Three championship.

Although he is without any more individual wins since leaving Australia, Martin is seen by officials as one of the big prospects on the 2009 Superleague Formula roster. It probably says something about the rise in stature the racing project has had over the last year or so that a driver of Martin’s potential has been recruited. Launched in early 2008 as ‘The Beautiful Race,’ Superleague Formula aims to fuse the thrills of motorsport with the passion of football together. A total of 18 cars compete with each one representative of a leading world soccer club and AC Milan, Liverpool, Lyon and Atletico Madrid are amongst the others involved.

It would be naïve to claim the concept was welcomed with open arms by all and sundry and there were some who dismissed it as gimmicky and a non-starter. Yet over time it has grown and more than 100,000 fans attended the six weekend-long meets last season, with high hopes that figure will be eclipsed this time around.

Now broadcast in most major European countries – as well as in the USA, Canada, the Middle East, Australia and Africa – more commitment is being shown to Superleague. Former French Grand Prix venue Magny Cours, for example, gave it the same weekend slot it used to allow Formula 1 organisers to host races on at the end of last month.

And while the season format hasn’t yet been expanded the way it was hoped it might be initially, that’s due mainly to the current economic situation around the world. Once the financial climate allows, organisers plan to start events in locations such as South America and Asia in addition to the current schedule. Indeed, it’s their intention to have a nine-race itinerary replacing the current six-race one next season – including one non-European event – but only if it’s affordable.

The fact they have stressed they’ll hold off making such moves until the time is right is to be applauded. Rather than speculating to accumulate, their more cautious approach should ensure Superleague continues to run beyond the second and third seasons that are already secure. President Alex Andreu and those around him are displaying common sense aplenty and thanks to their prudent business model, attitudes towards their objectives are changing.

Martin added: “People are definitely taking Superleague Formula more seriously than they did when they first heard about it 18 months ago. “The first time I was told about it, it was a bit of an unknown quantity and I wasn’t sure how it would go. “But it has really taken off and I think it is something which can get stronger and continue to do better and better as time goes on.

“You could see that was the case last season as the number of fans at races got bigger each time. “I was at the first round at Donington Park in August last year and there were a few people there but nobody really knew what was going on.

“It has come on leaps and bounds since then. There are a lot more people coming along and it has had a season to bed in and establish itself. “Now everyone understands what it is all about and they seem to be buying into it which is a really good thing.

“There were 12,000 people at the first race this season in France which was great. If that’s a sign of things to come, the future looks bright.” For all the high expectations of him, Martin had a disappointing first round at Magny Cours on June 28/29. After a bright start and a good qualifying campaign, he crashed out on the first lap of his first race then lost more time than he’d have liked during a pit stop in the second contest. There are five more meetings between now and the end of the season in which he’ll look to make amends, starting this weekend at Belgian circuit Zolder.

From there, Superleague will roll into Donington Park (August 1/2), Estoril in Portugal (September 5/6), Italian venue Monza (October 3/4) and Jamara, Spain (November 7/8).

This season’s format has changed slightly, with each 45-minute race followed by a third 10-minute version between the top six performers to decide an overall weekend winner.

Rangers are currently last in the standings after Martin was placed 17th and 16th in France but there are still plenty of points to be won.

And having tested at Zolder prior to the opening weekend of the campaign, Martin is confident he can come back from his early setback strongly.

He said: “We started off very well at Magny Cours and I was second in the first practice session. “I was quite quick in the second one too. We only did two laps as we were trying to save our tyres but I still did two fastest sectors. “I was then third in my qualifying group and fifth overall which I was happy with but from there it went downhill.

“I had gone into the first race feeling confident but I got caught up in an accident at turn three and that put me out. “In the second race, the grid is a reverse of the finishing positions in the first race and I was on the front row as a result. “I built a good lead over the first nine laps and was pulling away but then we had an issue when I came in to make my pit stop.

“The car fell off the front jack and that cost us a lot of time so I came out in 13th when I might still have been leading otherwise. “We knew in France that we had a fast car and we could definitely have got up to the front end of the race, if not actually win it.

“From that point of view, there’s still plenty to be optimistic about going into the next round in Zolder and I’m sure we’ll be quick there. “I went around the track there a few times in testing a couple of weeks ago and I’ve raced there in the Formula Three competition over the last two years.

“I know the circuit well and I’m getting more used to my car as well so it all bodes well for a good weekend.”

Martin knows how costly his final results at Magny Cours could prove to be to his championship hopes in the long run.

With 50 points available to the winner of each individual race, Rangers are already 66 behind leading team Liverpool at this stage and that gap must be closed quickly.

From a financial point of view, success for the Aussie on the track could turn out to be highly profitable off it for the Light Blues.

A maximum of €111,000 can be collected in prize money by a club in a single weekend if it wins every race and secures pole position ahead of the first one.

With no costs incurred by Gers due to the fact Superleague Formula and its racing teams fund everything, it’s a win-win situation for the Ibrox outfit and its fellow competitors.

It goes without saying that it pays to be placed as high up the standings as possible and for Martin, his professional pride means he’s determined to reach the very top.

He added: “I want to win the championship and at the moment, the odds are stacked against me because we had a bad first round.

“But that was due to bad luck and we can still come back from it. Who is to say the other teams won’t suffer similar problems at some point further down the line?

“Unfortunately, we’re in a poor position at the moment and I’m not going to lie. That has definitely hurt our ambitions.

“It’s going to be hard to come back from that because there are only six meetings in the Superleague Formula season.

“But anything can happen and I’m just aiming to win every race I possibly can. If that’s good enough at the end of the year, I’ll be delighted with that.

“We need to minimise the mistakes we make for the rest of the year and if we do that, I think we’ll be there or thereabouts.

“I’m certainly not going to drive conservatively, especially after the weekend we had at the end of last month, and coming out on top remains my goal.”

To find out more about Rangers’ rookie driver John Martin, see his newly re-launched website at www.johnmartinracing.com.

Martin on the podium at Zolder

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:35:16 GMT

The 25-year-old from Blackwater, Queensland finished a close second in Race One for Rangers FC, but was struck down by a gearbox problem in Race Two.Martin had missed out on pole position by a mere 0.078s in the Qualifying Final on Saturday and at the rolling start for Race One it was polesitter Kasper Andersen (FC Midtjylland) who got the jump and led him into the first corner.

As he settled into second place all hell broke loose behind Martin with the cars of Sporting Clube de Portugal (Pedro Petiz), SC Corinthians (Antonio Pizzonia) and Atlético de Madrid (Ho-Pin Tung) tangling and necessitating a Safety Car period.At the restart the gap from Martin in second to race leader Andersen stood at 0.749s. By lap 7 the Australian had brought it down to 0.653s before a minor error cost him time.

“I made a little bit of a mistake before the pitstop and (Adrian) Valles got me,” admitted Martin. “Fortunately I was pitting that lap anyway.” “But then we lost a little bit of time in the pits. I hit the front jack a bit hard; it was probably only half a wheel out. The car dropped down on the jack, just like it did at Magny Cours, this time though it was when the crew almost had the front wheels on and to make it worse we lost a wheel nut.”

Despite the slow stop, Martin was still looking a potential race winner and resumed in 8th place, albeit 44.694s behind after being one of the first cars to pit.With new tyres on the Alan Docking Racing (ADR) engineered Rangers FC machine, Martin was fourth and the fastest car on the track on lap 16. A lap later and it was third, while on lap 18 it became second place with a gap of 2.334s to race leader Craig Dolby in the sister ADR car for Tottenham Hotspur.

“I was struggling a lot with mid-corner understeer, as soon as I got close to anyone the car would just start to understeer,” said Martin.

Lap 19 saw the deficit down to 1.941s thanks to Martin’s fastest lap of the race, 1m19.838s which would ultimately stand as the fourth fastest lap of the race.The Safety Car then made its second appearance after Andersen spun across the track and into the wall.

“On the restart (lap 25) I couldn’t get enough heat in the tyres,” explained Martin. “Then once the tyres started to come up to temp I closed in on Dolby but it was too late, we were there, the win was so close.”

Dolby won the 44 minute plus 1 lap race by 2.075s, with championship leader Valles (Liverpool FC) finishing third 1.337s behind Martin.The reverse grid for Race Two was never going to do the Australian any favours, particularly with the 3.977km Flemmish venue notoriously hard to overtake on.

A rain shower before the start boosted Martin’s hopes of moving forward from the ninth row of the grid by virtue of his penchant for racing in the wet and canny strategy from the ADR crew. However a gearbox problem meant his race was virtually over before it had begun.

“It just lost system pressure,” said a glum Martin. “It started to play up on the second green flag lap before the start. It wouldn’t shift and I couldn’t go to manual mode (from semi-automatic) because there wasn’t enough pressure. So I was stuck in fourth gear.”

“I pitted and the team tried to fix it, but it was going to take 30 minutes to fix. It is disappointing because the car was quick. It was a proper wet race at the start, which I love, then it was going to dry.”

“I think if the car had of been okay and if we had of made a pitstop to go to slicks at the right time, there is no reason why we couldn’t have been up there with Valles.”

Series newcomer Esteban Guerrieri took the victory in Race Two for Al-Ain FC, followed by Atletico Madrid’s Ho-Pin Tung and Valles. John Martin was classified 15th, 25 laps behind the race winner. Round winner Valles further increased his lead in the championship with a total of 159 points, while Martin has moved up to 14th on 66 points. A maximum of 100 points is on offer at each round with 50 points per race win.

Superleague Formula now heads to Donington Park on August 1-2 and Martin is adamant his strong form will continue following a test at the East Midlands venue on July 14.

Front row of the grid for Martin at Zolder

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:28:49 GMT

“That was so close,” said Martin. “I am a little bit disappointed not to have taken pole position. I made a mistake in the first sector and lost a couple of tenths (of a second). Then I made up some time in the last two sectors. If I didn’t make the mistake we would have been on pole.”

“It is looking good for tomorrow though. Front row of the grid and a new set of tyres to go on in each race so giddy up. I know some of the other teams only have one new set of tyres after qualifying so we are in good shape.”

A card draw on Saturday had determined the even split for the two initial qualifying groups, with Martin drawing Group B.

While the 2006 Australian Formula Ford Champion sat in his car for 15-minutes, it was Andersen who emerged on top of Group A with a time of 1m19.254s. Second fastest in the session went to FC Porto’s Tristan Gommendy in 1m19.548s, while Max Wissel (FC Basel) and Sporting Clube de Portugal’s Pedro Petiz also advanced to the Quarter-finals with times of 1m19.685s and 1m19.934s respectively.

On his first flying lap in Group B, Martin slotted into fourth with a time of 1m20.121s. He then improved to 1m19.253s to take second behind the sister Alan Docking Racing engineered Tottenham Hotspur machine of Craig Dolby (1m19.185s) on his next run, before both were demoted by Liverpool FC’s Adrian Valles who topped the session with 1m19.123s. Series newcomer Esteban Guerreri rounded out the cars advancing to the Quarter-finals with a time of 1m19.619s for Al-Ain FC.

“That was quite close; there was only a tenth between the three of us,” said Martin. “I didn’t quite get the best out of the new tyres.”

Quarter-final 4 saw Martin up against teammate Gommendy with just one flying lap to set a time. The winner would advance to the Semi-finals, while the loser would start from position five on the grid.

A high pressure situation, but the pressure was eased when the Frenchman made an error at Turn Two and parked the FC Porto entry in the gravel.

“That was easy then,” said Martin who took the win with a time of 1m21.523s. “I just cruised around after that.”

Few would have predicted the outcome of Semi-final 1, up against Valles the round winner at Magny Cours, Martin held his nerve and posted 1m19.829s to hand Rangers the win over Liverpool by 1.018s. That put Martin into the Qualifying Final against Andersen.

Sunday sees two races at Zolder, both over 44 minutes plus one lap, with a compulsory pitstop in each. The second race is a reverse grid based on drivers’ finishing positions in race one.

Win slips through Martin’s fingers

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:33:58 GMT

By virtue of the reverse grid format for Race 2, Martin had started his Rangers FC machine from the front row of the grid after being eliminated in a crash on the opening lap of Race 1.

As the field crossed the line at the rolling start, the 24-year-old Australian timed his run to perfection on the pole sitter Olympiacos’ Davide Rigon.

“I hung back a little bit, because obviously you are not allowed to overtake before the start line,” explained Martin. “I got off the throttle just a little bit before the line when I was almost alongside him and then got back on it at the right moment. By Turn One I was clear in front of him and pulled away.”

A sensational first lap saw the gap at 1.222s. By lap 3 it was out to 1.621s with Martin settling into a rhythm, but looming large in his mirrors was ex-Formula One driver Giorgio Pantano for AC Milan. The Italian ace moved into 2nd place behind Martin on lap 5 and took over the lead on lap 9 when Martin pitted from the lead for the compulsory pitstop.

It was there that the 2006 Australian Formula Ford Champion’s race began to unravel.

“I could see Pantano coming,” said Martin. “He was catching me under brakes mostly so he might have been running more downforce than I was. But he wasn’t that much quicker. I don’t know that he would have been able to get past.”

Tragically for Martin the car fell off the front jack at the pitstop and while the Alan Docking Racing crew lifted the car back up 35 seconds was lost.

“That was that really,” said Martin. “I think if we had of had a good pitstop we could have got out in front of Pantano and won the race. Instead I came out 13th.”

Not having had the opportunity to evaluate the car over the 44 minute plus 1 lap race duration due to the accident in Race 1, Martin found the balance changed after the pitstop. Determined to make up as much ground as possible after the slow stop he spun in the Grande Courbe.

“It was just a small mistake,” admitted Martin. “I ran wide and stalled on the exit road. I didn’t hit anything. Unfortunately with these cars when you stall its all over as they need a starter put into them.”

Ruing a missed opportunity, Martin wasn’t taking any solace in having set the second fastest lap of the race, 1m28.290s which was only eclipsed by ex-Formula One driver Antonio Pizzonia’s 1m28.120s effort for Corinthians. With Pizzonia finishing ninth, Martin was quicker than the top eight finishers including Pantano (1m28.486s) who went onto win the race and fellow ex-Formula One driver Enrique Bernoldi who finished eighth.

“It is not much of a consolation really,” said Martin. “I’m so disappointed. I had the pace to win and it didn’t come to anything.”

Race One also left Martin thinking what might have been. From fifth on the grid he got off to a good start but found himself being dive-bombed at the Adelaide Hairpin on the opening lap by last year’s series champion Rigon.

The Italian collected Yelmer Buurman's Anderlecht car and spun, while FC Porto’s Tristan Gommendy (who Rigon had been trying to pass) also rotated, as did Martin who then found himself driven into. Behind a host of cars took to the gravel trap to avoid the chaos.

"Some guy behind me thought he could brake 50 metres later than everyone else into the Adelaide Hairpin,” said Martin. “That caused everyone to stop in the middle of the corner because he was spinning and I was in the middle and had nowhere to go. I touched Porto then I was stopped and someone ran over my left front wheel and the front wing.”

Liverpool FC’s Adrian Valles steered clear of the melee to take victory in Race 1 and also picked up the €100,000 awarded to the winner in the six-car Super Final.

Martin is hoping for a change of luck when he makes his third and final outting in the World Series by Renault with Comtec Racing in Formula Renault 3.5 this coming weekend, July 4-5 at Silverstone.

The second round of Superleague Formula is at Zolder, Belgium on July 18-19.

Superleague Formula gets thumbs-up from Teams, Clubs and Drivers after the inaugural season

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:44:43 GMT

Superleague Formula’s first season main figures from motorsport and football give their evaluation on 2008 inaugural championship.

Daily quotes will be available on SF website!

Superleague Formula gets thumbs-up from Teams, Clubs and Drivers after the inaugural season

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:26:59 GMT

Superleague Formula’s first season main figures from motorsport and football give their evaluation on 2008 inaugural championship.

Daily quotes will be available on SF website!

Liverpool fights back with top four finish at Vallelunga

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:11:38 GMT

Valles had qualified on pole for the opening race but a poor pit stop followed by a fuel pressure problem ruined his chance of success. The Spaniard started 10th in the second race and drove a clean event despite major engine concerns in a crash-strewn race that eliminated many of the leading contenders.

Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Corinthians plus AC Milan were all eliminated in an opening lap 300km/h major collision and Borussia Dortmund later crashed heavily at the same location after touching wheels with AS Roma.

Liverpool was lucky to escape late in the race when Olympiacos rookie Stamatis Katsimis spun and was collected by Tottenham Hotspur's Duncan Tappy and Galatasaray's Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Valles was able to "thread the needle" through the spinning cars to emerge in fourth place.

Tappy's impact with the Greek car was slight but the resulting spin and flat tyre forced him out the race.
British driver Craig Dolby finished sixth for Belgian club RSC Anderlecht while Rangers' home-grown Scottish ace Ryan Dalziel completed his club's best Superleague Formula points scoring weekend – adding a seventh place finish to his fifth position in the opening race.

Liverpool remains the top scoring UK Superleague Formula club in third position ahead of Tottenham in 10th and Rangers 13th. Dolby's Anderlecht squad is now in fifth position with one race weekend to go.

FC Porto driver Tristan Gommendy broke the hearts of local AC Roma fans when he pulled off a last lap pass on Franck Perera. PSV Eindhoven driver Yelmer Buurman finished third.

The final round of the 2008 Superleague Formula championship will be staged at Jerez in Spain on November 22-23.

Adrian Valles (Liverpool FC)
“For me it was a really disappointing weekend because we started the weekend on pole and we thought that we could win it and then we had loads of problems.
“We also had engine problems in the second race which is why our pace was not very good. We were really worried, I was always on the radio and the water temperature was really high.
“We were hoping for fourth which would give us some options for the championship but now it is really hard as Beijing has almost done it.
“Anything can happen, he could not finish both races in Jerez like me in Germany.”

Duncan Tappy (Tottenham Hotspur)
“I suppose if we are to take any positives out of the weekend it’s the fact that we have made progress.
“The first race was disappointing but in the second race my team told me that I was quicker than the car in front.
“The incident was bloody frustrating but it is one of those things, you want to go and have a word with him and say “how did you spin there!”
“But I did everything I could to get out of the way but it was a matter of inches and I clipped my rear wheel and it gave me a puncture and then game over.
“I think we have to finish the season with a podium I think.”

Craig Dolby (RSC Anderlecht)
“We got more points than most people and I have just been told we have moved back up to fifth in the championship, so that’s good.
“Its difficult at the moment as there is something not quite right with the car.
“Every time I want to turn in slow corners the car wants to spin, like rear wheel turning, the back wants to come round.
“We have three weeks until Jerez and we are going to work really hard now and I hope we can come back strong there.
“I am going to Belgium on Tuesday or Wednesday and am going to spend a week or two with the team.
“In three weeks time, Jerez is a new race and its my first time there as well, so it will be a learning curve but we can hopefully try and squeeze in a top three in the championship for Anderlect.

Ryan Dalziel (Rangers)
“It was another good race for us. We were involved in the incident at the start and it may have done a bit of damage to the tyres so we had to drop back at the start.
“We had a good pit stop again and our race pace was pretty good.
“The second race is generally trouble and we managed to stay out of trouble and had a sold result.
“The car is a lot better and it has definitely been one of the faster cars in both races.
“Track position is everything in the first race and this is important to see how you are pace wise.
“We were third fastest in the first race, so we are looking forward to Jerez.”

Full results can be download by clicking on this link.

Rangers score best Superleague result as Liverpool falters at Vallelunga

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:39:40 GMT

Fresh from a last minute loss on the football pitch to Tottenham Hotspur last night, Liverpool's racing team suffered similar misfortune. Adrian Valles led form pole position but a problem with a wheel change during the pit stops dropped him behind AC Milan's Robert Doornbos and Beijing Guoan's Davide Rigon.

Valles eventually settled into fourth place behind Galatasaray's Alessandro Pier Guidi but a late fuel pressure problem hindered his progress, dropping him to a ninth place finish.

While Spurs may have been celebrating after last night's late victory over the Reds, the club's Superleague Formula entry didn't enjoy as successful a day.

Starting 13th, Duncan Tappy was unable to make much progress through the pack – eventually finishing in 11th place.

British driver Craig Dolby made a horror start aboard his RSC Anderlecht machine but the Melton Mobray-based racer made strong progress for his Belgian club, eventually finishing in 7th place.

Championship leader Beijing Guoan extended its lead thanks to the third victory of the season for Davide Rigon. For the third race in a row, AC Milan's Robert Doornbos finished second ahead of Galatasaray's Alessandro Pier Guidi.

For this afternoon's second race, the UK clubs will start eighth (Spurs), 10th (Liverpool), and 14th (Rangers). Dolby will start 12th in the Anderlecht machine.

Liverpool remains the best placed UK club in third place in the championship behind AC Milan and Beijing

Driver Quotes

RYAN DALZIEL (Rangers)
“It is by far the strongest car we have had all season. We were all slightly disappointed with how qualifying went because we knew we had the pace and it showed.
“We are happy, its by far the best result we have had and it’s a little unfortunate we only have one race left but at least we are going to finish on a high here.
“I think we are going to have a better car and hopefully we can pick up from other peoples mistakes and move forward."

ADRIAN VALLES (Liverpool FC)
“We had a car problem on the last lap and the car finished 9th.
“Starting on pole was ok and we had no problems and we had a good start and I was controlling the pace.
“The pit stop was not very good as we had a problem with the front left wheel so we had to pull the car up again and Beijing, Milan and Galatasaray got in front so I had to go back out forth.
“The last couple of laps I was chasing Galatasaray and then on the last lap I got a fuel pressure problem and finshed 9th.”

DUNCAN TAPPY (Tottenham Hotspur)
"We were quite looking forward to the race as we made some big changes to the car and on the first two laps before the grid I could feel a difference and thought this is going to be good.
“Then two or three laps in the traction started to go and I could never get the power down. That is the main problem at the moment.
“Traction is the issue and we need to get on top of that otherwise we are not going to be able to go anywhere.”

Craig Dolby (RSC Aderlecht)
“The engine over heated on the start and went in safe mode, so everyone else accelerated and I was on the limiters.
“I lost a lot of time on the first straight and tried to keep my position round turn two but was pushed wide. I went through the gravel and went right to the back. We did a good race though.
“I think we did the second fastest lap time so its proved we can be up near the front and it was a shame it went into safe mode.
“It was fun to fight back and overtake and I’m sure it looked good on TV from the onboard footage."

Full results can be download by clicking on this link.

Walker on loan to Rangers for German Superleague fixture

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:37:59 GMT

Walker previously shook down the #21 "Reds" machine at Donington Park for Liverpool FC Racing but will now suit up for the "Gers" for the second round of the championship on September 20-21.

Glasgow-born and US-based regular Rangers driver Ryan Dalziel has an existing commitment in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in the US and is unable to compete over the Nurburgring weekend.

The 2008 Grand-Am race winner will be back aboard the Rangers machine for the following Superleague Formula round at Zolder in Belgium – the track where the Scot competed in Champ Car last year.

For Walker, the German weekend will be his first view of Superleague Formula race action – he missed the Donington Park weekend while competing in World Series by Renault at the Nurburgring.

"My first impressions of the Superleague Formula car were really good," Walker said.

"When I tested for Liverpool, I was really happy with the car even though I only did about 25 laps on old tyres.

"It has a lot of power and it looked and felt fantastic – I can't wait for the opportunity to try the car on fresh tyres and represent Rangers next week."

The Nurburgring has been a happy hunting ground for the 24-year-old, Jersey-born Walker. He won the Nurburgring-round of the British Formula 3 Championship at the German Formula 1 circuit in 2005.

"I was out of luck in the race at the 'Ring in World Series by Renault because I picked up a puncture. Hopefully our luck will be a bit better in the Rangers car," Walker said.

"I was third fastest in the World Series test prior to the weekend so I am confident we will be quick in the Superleague Formula car.

"The Nuburgring was the scene of my first major international win in Formula 3 so I have fond memories of the place. Having just raced there a couple of weeks ago should give me and Rangers a great advantage."

Rangers will be looking to bounce back after a tough debut at Donington Park. The Scottish club was one of several cars to slide off the road in the treacherous wet conditions in the second race. To make matters worse, the red, white and blue Rangers machine was further damage when Galatasaray suffered the same fate, sliding off the track and slamming into the already stricken Scottish car.

"There will be a lot of pressure on me because the Rangers car has great support from the Scottish fans, but I am really looking forward to it," Walker said.

"My aim will be to do a great job and hopefully give the Rangers fans something to be proud of."

Rangers pick local Glasgow driver for Superleague Formula

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:53:14 GMT

The 26-year-old Lanarkshire age will debut the Rangers-liveried Superleague Formula car at the opening round of the season at England’s Donington Park Circuit, Saturday 30th – Sunday 31st August.

Rangers were the first British-based football club to commit to the new series that aims to fuse the passion of football with the thrill and excitement of top-flight motor racing utilizing V12-powered 750bhp single-seater race cars in each clubs colours.

20 clubs are lining up for the 6-round inaugural season, set to run from August to November 2008, with Rangers joined on the grid by the likes of AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, FC Porto, Olympiacos and Tottenham Hotspur.

Dalziel’s confirmation marks the first time the Scotsman will contest a full European-based season since he competed in the 2001 British Formula Three Championship.

Since then, Ryan’s talents have been showcased predominantly in North America, notably in the Champ Car World Series and the likes of the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

“I’m absolutely delighted to have been selected to represent Rangers in the Superleague Formula. I’m excited to be returning to Donington Park for the inaugural race even though it’s been seven years since I last raced there which seems hard to believe,” Dalziel said.

“This is a great new series, one that both football fans and race fans can really get behind. I’m obviously thrilled to be driving for Rangers having grown up in and around Glasgow. Coincidently, my race helmet’s colours are almost identical to those of Rangers so in many ways this is a perfect fit.

"I’m just excited to be a Scottish driver racing for a Scottish club, it means a lot and I hope the fans really get behind our efforts starting at Donington Park.”

Making his full-time debut in the Champ Car World Series last season, Dalziel scored six top-ten finishes and led laps at the Toronto Grand Prix despite racing for a rookie team.

In addition to his accomplishments in Champ Car, he kicked off 2007 with a second-place podium finish racing a Daytona Prototype in the ‘Rolex 24 at Daytona’, the opening round of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and America’s leading twice-around the clock endurance event. This year Dalziel went one better in round five of the championship when he won at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The Rangers’ Superleague Formula car was launched earlier this year at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow.

“We are thrilled to have Ryan represent the club in Superleague Formula. He has great international experience, he comes from Glasgow and he is a Rangers fan – it really is a perfect combination,” Rangers Commercial Manager, Stuart Cain said.

“I am sure our fans are going to be very excited at this news and we will all be looking forward to seeing him in action at Donington Park.” Dalziel drove the Rangers car for the first time at the Superleague Formula test at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome. He was joined joined on track by a number of other leading young stars including Robert Doornbos (AC Milan), Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven), and Daniel la Rosa (Olympiacos).

The 2008 Superleague Formula schedule kicks off at Donington Park (30-31 August) before moving on to venues in Germany (Nurburgring, 20-21 September), Belgium (Zolder, 4-5 October), Portugal (Estoril, 18-19 October), Italy (Vallelunga, 1-2 November) and the season finale in Spain (Jerez, 22-23 November).

Final Rangers FC car livery

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:56:41 GMT

Exclusive News: Rangers Joins Superleague Formula

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:56:28 GMT

Rangers have won more major trophies than any football club in the world… and now the first UK-based club to join ‘the beautiful race’ have their sights set on success on the race track!

The Glasgow-based club are set for a UEFA Cup quarter final clash against Sporting Lisbon on Thursday 3 April, and will also be the sole Scottish representative on the Superleague Formula grid.

On the domestic front, SPL leaders Rangers are currently riding the crest of a wave following their victory against Dundee United in the CIS Insurance Cup Final on Sunday, and their Scottish Cup quarter-final draw against Partick at Ibrox Stadium last night.

“We are very honored to be offered the chance to join these great clubs in a totally new sporting endeavour – a project which will not only promote Rangers further across the world but also provide an income stream for the club,” said said Rangers Chief Executive, Martin Bain.

“The club will benefit greatly from its involvement through sponsorship, television and spectator revenues. It is a win-win situation for us – it introduces the passion of the Rangers brand to a whole new range of fans, our current fans can follow our colours with pride in an entirely different sport and we can introduce new corporate support for the club.

“The club is proud to represent Scotland in European football, and we will be looking forward to doing the same against some of the biggest names in world football in an entirely new sport.”

We’ll have more on this breaking news in the next few hours but, for now, a warm SF welcome to all Rangers fans!