Portimao: Robert Doornbos event report

PODIUM PLACE FOR ROBERT DOORNBOS IN PORTIMAO

Only 2 weeks after the race in Italy, the teams competing in the Superleague Formula arrived in sunny Portugal for the next round of the championship. The races were held on a brand new circuit near Portimao.

The free practice on Friday went well for Robert Doornbos, setting the 6th time in both sessions in the car of Brazilian football club Corinthians.

During qualifying Doornbos only had to allow FC Basel ahead of him in the group stages. Because he was second in group B he had to compete against the third fastest in group A, being Andy Soucek in the car of Galatasaray. The latter was just a touch quicker, but Corinthians still got the 5th spot on the grid for race 1.

During the biggest part of the race Doornbos had to defend his 5th place against home driver Parente in the FC Porto car. Near the end however, the balance problems emerged again and this resulted in a 6th place at the finish.

As always the starting grid of the 2nd race is determined by reversing the result of race 1. From the 13th spot Doornbos takes a superb start and passes several competitors. The pitstop by the Azerti crew is also quick and all of this results in a podium spot (3rd).

Robert Doornbos: "I really enjoy this kind of moments, the pace of the car was very good, the changes that the team made just worked out well for me. It's fantastic to go from 13th to the third place on the podium. Afterwards I heard I had scored the most points of all clubs during the weekend, which meant I had pole position for the super final. Unfortunately not everyone immediately followed me out of the pitlane, so I had to wait for about 20 seconds on the starting grid, causing my tyre temperatures to drop down quite fast. The consequence was a bad start and then I got hit in the first corner and had to retire. So a disappointing end to a good weekend. Next up: China!"

-source: bobbydracing.com