NURBURGRING RACE 2, August 17

17-08-2008

A VERY DIFFERENT SORT OF SCENARIO 

The few words of advice on handed out by Peugeot Sport about driving behaviour prior to the start of the second Nürburgring race were applied to the letter by the 23-strong field. After failing to come out of yesterday’s dramatic clash well, the front-row runners Simon Moulton - again on pole following Grégory Guilvert’s disqualification from the qualifying results - and Julien Briché were able to enjoy a straight fight all the way to the finish. Briché, who was looking for revenge, got away to a clean start to pull out an early gap, while the Briton’s mind was focused on warding off a virile attack from Michäel Rossi. The newcomer was perhaps a little optimistic under braking on Lap 2, however, and he fell down the order before a consistent run enabled him to move back up the field to finish fifth after some particularly close scraps with Marcel Sciabbarrasi and David Pouget. The latter was forced out two laps from home, however.

At the sharp end, Julien Briché put all his energy into building up a cushion over Moulton. The two drivers were never split by more than five seconds, but Briché managed to control his advantage from in front and go on to claim his third win of the year. Moulton followed the Frenchman across the line and is now second in the provisional points table behind Grégory Guilvert who was in splendid form. Once again, the Frenchman was forced to start from the back of the grid following his disqualification from qualifying because of an illegal ride-height. A spirited drive over the 12-lap race enabled him to overcome this handicap to a certain extent. He profited from the chances he was given to gain a few places, such as on Lap 7 when the duel between Gaël Castelli and Peter Scharmach ended as the German made two mistakes that relegated him to 10th, just ahead of his compatriot Oliver Freymuth. Castelli appeared to be heading for another podium finish but his engine suddenly began to lose power and he was ultimately forced to retire. Guilvert seized his chance and, after passing Benoît Lison who tucked in behind in his wake, Guilvert was able to clinch a surprise top-three finish.

Julien Briché: "I have contested three rounds this year and my score is three podium finishes, all on the highest step! I am the driver who has scored the highest number of first places so far, but I’m still paying the price for retirements that weren’t my doing! I’m delighted with today’s result, although I nearly made a couple of mistakes during the early part of the race while I was pushing particularly hard."

Simon Moulton: "That’s more like it! I got away well but my task wasn’t made easy when Rossi challenged me through the first turn. That lost me a little time and there was nothing I could do to catch Briché afterwards. It would be nice if I could score my first win of the year at the next round which takes place on home soil for me. The championship is very close and there are still six more races to come..."

Grégory Guilvert: "I would obviously have preferred to come away with two wins, but when you start from the back of the grid, the only thing you can do is give your best and see how things fan out up front, and perhaps bag a good result. Finishing on the podium was hard work..."

Nürburgring - THP Spider Cup - final positions (Race 2): 1, J. Briché, 12 laps in 26m 23.575s. 2, S. Moulton, +3.024s. 3, G. Guilvert, +3.386s. 4, B. Lison, +4.360s. 5, M. Rossi, +11.621s. 6, M. Sciabbarrasi, +16.006s. 7, A. Rambure, +28.970s. 8, F. Bry, +33.675s. 9, J.C. Lompech, +34.087s. 10, P. Scharmach, +34.820. Etc. Fastest race lap: J. Briché (2m 10.127s). Pole position: S. Moulton (2m 9.305s).

Championship standings: 1, G. Guilvert (153 points). 2, S. Moulton (142). 3, J. Briché (111). 4, J. Beltoise (106). 5, M. Sciabbarrasi (86). 6, A. Rambure (85). 7, G. Castelli (74). 8, F. Bry (43). 9, M. Broggi (38). 10, A. Albouy (36). Etc.

Next meeting: Silverstone (Le Mans Series), September 13-14