IFM: Series Brno race two report

ROSSI RACES TO HISTORIC FIRST WIN

ISR's Alexander Rossi claimed an historic first win today in round six of the International Formula Master Series at the Automotodrom Brno in the Czech Republic.

Taking the lead on lap one from Jenzer Motorsport's Nicolas Maulini, Rossi raced to the chequered flag unchallenged to secure the first ever American win in International Formula Master, as well as the first ever ISR victory in the Series.

Running second for the majority of the race, JD Motorsport's Josef Kral received a black flag for failing to pit with a broken front wing, promoting team-mates Vladimir Arabadzhiev and Sergey Afanasiev to second and third place respectively.

ISR's Erik Janis finished in fourth place, despite dropping down to sixth at the start, ahead of Hitech Junior's Kasper Andersen. Starting ninth, Andersen overtook Jenzer Motorsport's Fabio Leimer at the start of the race and claimed fifth place, whilst Leimer took the last point-scoring position with sixth place.

Leimer is now nine points ahead of team-mate Pål Varhaug in the drivers' classification with 38 and 29 points respectively, whilst Varhaug still leads the rookies' standings ahead of today's race winner Alexander Rossi.

IFM's 2009 season resumes in four weeks' time at the Brands Hatch circuit in the United Kingdom for rounds seven and eight. Both races will be broadcasted live on the pan-European channel Eurosport.

Alexander Rossi, ISR

"We had a good result yesterday and were confident with our dry set-up so it really was my race to lose. I had a good start, my best of the season so far, and the opening laps were pretty close but after that nothing happened.

"We still have a lot of work to do to be consistently at the top but this has definitely broken a barrier. Fabio [Leimer] and Jenzer Motorsport have done very well up until now but we will go to Brands Hatch looking for more strong results."

Vladimir Arabadzhiev, JD Motorsport

"The weekend didn't start very well for every driver and team because of the heavy rain and that meant it was hard to find a good set up for dry conditions. Yesterday wasn't very good for me, it was hard to put good laps together but the car felt a lot better today.

"The goal was to make a good start and that didn't happen but I kept my position at least. I tried to overtake Nicolas [Maulini] in the first lap but couldn't find a way past him and then Kral overtook me, but neither finished the race... And that was my race!"

Sergey Afanasiev, JD Motorsport

"I had a good start but made a mistake by trying to keep on the outside line for the first corner. I tried to collect as many points as possible to make up for my first few races of the season and I'd like to thank the team though as the car was perfect for me."

Lap-by-lap analysis
Lap 1:Varhaug left on the grid / Rossi passes Maulini for the lead / Kral overtakes Janis & Afanasiev for fourth place / Andersen passes Leimer for seventh position / Maulini in gravel at Turn 5 / Kral up to second place
Lap 2: Varhaug in the pits - OUT
Lap 4: Andersen under pressure from Leimer for sixth place / Reiterer overtakes Trummer for 11th
Lap 8: Black/orange flag for Kral - broken front wing
Lap 11: Black flag for Kral for failing to pit - OUT
Lap 14: Final lap / Rossi wins round six
Chequered flag: 11.39

-credit: ifm