Formula
X - Nurburgring
The Nürburgring LMES meeting saw the third and fourth rounds
of the Formula X Sport Championship. The organisers of this new
series were hoping to have 24 cars on the grid at Silverstone, 16
were brought to the ‘Ring.
The
Formula X organisation is looking to establish its concept in markets
that presently do not have a strong motorsport tradition, and provide
national federations with a professionally presented, yet cost-effective
single seater series. “The LMES package is a good way of presenting
our concept in Europe,” says Formula X press officer, Serge
van Bockryck. The Van Diemen-built single seaters are prepared and
serviced at the Formula X home base in Belgium. Formula X provides
the whole technical package, and also the personnel. Every race
engineer works with four drivers during the weekend. Working out
of a common facility in the paddock, the drivers are encouraged
to share information.
Performance-wise,
there is hardly any difference between the single seater and “sport”
trim, which apart from the bodywork are technically identical. Equipped
with a 4cyl. Ford/Mazda-based engine that produces 190bhp, and running
on standard Dunlop tyres, the cars’ performance is on the
same level as Formula 3 – at a fraction of the cost of Formula
3, as the Formula X organisers are quick to point out.

Within the LMES
package, Formula X is intended as a series for young talent. But
the new concept also appeals to veteran sportscar racers: Fulvio
Ballabio took part in the inaugural Formula X race at Monza; Hervé
Regout, regular competitor at Le Mans and in the World Championship
of the '80s and '90s, is making an appearance at the Nürburgring.
He made it to the podium in race 1, but his second race ended early.
One of the drivers
who has committed to the new series for the whole season is Dieter
Huber. The car itself, and the concept behind the series convinced
him to join Formula X for the 2004 season. “Robert Lechner
is a friend of mine, he pointed the series out to me, and in terms
of value for money, this series is the best - the car is state-of-the-art
technology, with a sequential gearbox, and the technical side of
the campaign is very professional. The tyres tend to fade fairly
quickly, and we could always use more power; but other than that,
this series has the ingredients of a success.”
When the racing
commenced on Saturday, young Frenchman Benjamin Poron made an early
get-away ahead of Kasuyuki Nishizawa and the surprising Jean-Yves
Mallat, who had started ninth. Also making up places on that first
lap was Austrian driver Dieter Huber, running sixth after having
started 11th.
Poron proved
to have some difficulty in keeping Nishizawa at bay, and on lap
three the veteran Japanese driver passed the young Frenchman, with
Marco Panzavuota now in third. Despite some physical inconvenience
– he had changed seats between the qualifying sessions, and
now found his arms were going numb - Poron kept Nishizawa in sight,
while Huber claimed back third place. Lap after lap Nishizawa kept
bettering the fastest race lap, but on lap seven he overshot his
braking point and spun, giving Poron the chance to claim back first
place.
With a solid
background in Formula 3, Poron controlled the race till the end,
scoring his second win of the season. “By the end of the race
I could barely move my head and arm,” Poron said before he
went off to seek medical help and get back in shape for round 4.
Third place went to sportscar veteran Hervé Regout (third
in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1987), followed by most of the rest of
the field, fourth to ninth all trailing the car in front by a few
tenths of a second, which proves the competitiveness of the series.
The second race
of the day proved to be an even closer affair, especially the battle
for third. Up front Poron and Yamazaki battled for the lead, with
the Japanese driver seeking revenge for his DNS in round 3. Poron,
still hampered by his back and shoulder, had to let Yamazaki go,
as well as fellow Team Goh driver Nishizawa (on lap 2) and Italian
Enea Casoni (on lap 3). But a lap later Casoni spun and dropped
back to sixth, finding himself locked in a serious battle for position
with German driver René Wolff and Belgian lady driver Sylvie
Delcour, replacing Vanina Ickx for this race.
On lap 9, Nishizawa
decided to call it a day after the gear linkage broke, meaning Poron
could move up to second, and meaning Wolff, Delcour and Casoni were
now in fact battling for the final step on the podium. A few laps
later, Delcour’s life was made easier by Casoni’s car
developing a problem and René Wolff running out of steam.
For the third time in four races, a lady made it to the podium,
after the two podium finishes of Vanina Ickx in Monza.
In the Formula
X Championship standings, Poron now has a 22-point lead over Yamazaki,
with Ickx and Panzavuota in third and fourth.
Johannes Gauglica
Result
Round 3
1.
Benjamin Poron (F) 15 laps (77.055 kms) in 31m58s463
2. Kasuyuki Nishizawa (J) + 0m05s528
3. Hervé Regout (B) + 0m25s026
4. Marco Panzavuota (I) + 0m30s660
5. René Wolff (D) + 0m30s769
6. David Hauser (L) + 0m31s443
7. Dieter Huber (A) + 0m32s153
8. Pierre Merche (B) + 0m32s705
9. Sylvie Delcour (B) + 0m32s956
10. Julien Gerbi (F) + 0m57s157
11. Jean-Yves Mallat (USA) + 0m57s363
12. Christophe d’Ansembourg (B) + 1m01s284
13. Alain Van den Hove (B) + 1m29s488
14. Charles Depauw (B) + 2m02s323
15. Enea Casoni (I) + 8 laps
DNS Shinsuke Yamazaki (J)
Result
Round 4
1. Shinsuke
Yamazaki (J) 15 laps (77.055 kms) in 31m41s942
2. Benjamin Poron (F) + 0m25s765
3. Sylvie Delcour (B) + 0m43s037
4. David Hauser (L) + 0m46s226
5. Marco Panzavuota (I) + 0m51s885
6. René Wolff (D) + 0m54s602
7. Jean-Yves Mallat (USA) + 1m02s145
8. Christophe d’Ansembourg (B) + 1m32s470
9. Alain Van den Hove (B) + 1m35s620
10. Charles Depauw (B) + 1m55s743
11. Dieter Huber (A) + 3 laps
12. Enea Casoni (I) + 5 laps
13. Pierre Merche (B) + 5 laps
14. Kasuyuki Nishizawa (J) + 6 laps
15. Julien Gerbi (F) + 6 laps
DNF Hervé Regout (B) accident.
Points
Standings
1 Poron F 15 20 20 15 70
2 Yamazaki J 20 8 0 20 48
3 Ickx B 12 15 DNP DNP 27
4 Panzavuota I 6 0 10 8 24
5 Huber A 8 10 4 0 22
6 Hauser L DNP DNP 6 10 16
7 Nishizawa J 0 0 15 0 15
8 Gerbi F 1 12 1 0 14
9 Delcour B DNP DNP 2 12 14
10 Wolff D DNP DNP 8 6 14
11 Mallat USA 3 6 0 4 13
12 Regout B DNP DNP 12 0 12
13 Casoni I 10 0 0 0 10
14 Sommereau F 2 4 DNP DNP 6
15 Pappolla F 4 0 DNP DNP 4
16 Ballabio I 0 3 DNP DNP 3
17 Merche B DNP DNP 3 0 3
18 d’Ansembourg B DNP DNP 0 3 3
19 Van den Hove B DNP DNP 0 2 2
20 Depauw B DNP DNP 0 1 1.
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