SCORES TO SETTLE IN MONZA
Formula Master’s (FM) inaugural champion may be settled, with Jérôme D'Ambrosio taking the honours at Brands Hatch, but there is still plenty to fight for as the Series enters its final 2007 rounds next weekend at Monza, Italy.
The battle for top team is wide open with three outfits in close contention. Current leaders Cram Competition are favourites with 114 points whilst second (J.D. Motorsport) and third (Alan Racing) place are closely matched with 89 and 83 points respectively.
All three teams have FM race winners in their ranks and, with a maximum 40 points still available, the title chase could swing in anyone’s favour.
“Being in the lead for the team title is a great reflection on how hard everyone works here,” said D’Ambrosio who drives for Cram Competition. “All year, we have been relentless on improving our performance even though we were finishing on the podium each weekend.
“The entire team works very well together. We all compare notes and help each other so if one driver is better into a corner we all learn. Obviously, we’re still racing each other but there’s a real team spirit here!” van der Drift is looking good for second in the driver's standings and is out for maximum points for his team next weekendMonza will see the Series come full circle, after the first-ever official test was held there just five month ago. Since then the drivers have had another chance to get to know the historic circuit’s high-speed turns after an additional test day earlier this month.
That knowledge will be vital for J.D. Motorsport’s Chris van der Drift who aims to secure his runner-up position in the driver classification from fellow contenders Salvatore Gatto, Pablo Sanchez Lopez and Norbert Siedler.
“By the end of qualifying you can normally see how the weekend is going to pan out,” said van der Drift. “We’ve already tested in Monza and my team-mate Kasper (Andersen) was fastest so I think we’ll do pretty well here.
“I’d hoped the driver’s title wouldn’t be decided until the last rounds but the team’s is still up for grabs so we can definitely work towards that. Siedler is the one I’ll be watching out for. He’s definitely shown that he’s fast so I’ll be keeping an eye out for him.”The team's title is a three-way battle between J.D. Motorsport (#7 van der Drift), Alan Racing (#12 Sanchez Lopez) and leaders Cram Competition (#24 Llobell), seen here at Brands HatchTwo new drivers will feature in the ranks at Monza: Italy’s Marco Mapelli (Bicar Racing) and Japan’s Hajime Sugino (Euronova Racing). Both drove at the Monza test earlier this month so should hit the ground running in the Formula S2000.
Eurosport’s coverage of IFM’s final 2007 race weekend will begin Saturday 6 October with race one shown live at 12.00 (CET) on Eurosport. Race two on Sunday will be broadcasted live from 14:00 (CET) on Eurosport 2.
Live streaming will be available on eurosport.com and formulamaster.net.
