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Saturday 31st July 2010
2008 - Superleague Formula - Belgium (Round 3)


2008 - Superleague Formula - Belgium (Round 3)
5th October, 2008
The third round of the inaugural Superleague Formula season saw the famous Belgian track of Zolder play host. With the first season of the championship only featuring some 6 meetings with 12 races, collecting wins is vitally important for success, and the championship leaders were vying for top spot again.

Borussia Dortmund driver Paul Meijer claimed pole position in the unique qualifying procedure, but was passed early on in the first race by Briton Craig Dolby in the RSC Anderlecht car. Championship leader Davide Rigon in the Beijing Gu'aon car suffered early into the race following contact with AC Milan's Robert Doornbos. AC Milan retied with damaged suspension, and Beijing dropped out with damage to the rear wing. Dortmund fell back through the early part of the race, allowing Anderlecht and Liverpool to stretch their legs at the front. As the front runners made their compulsory pit stops, Liverpool's Adrian Valles set some fantastic times which allowed him to leapfrog Dolby in the Anderlecht car during his pit stop. This was how the positions remained until the flag, Valles crossed to take the win, followed by another great drive from Craig Dolby who was, in turn, followed by Paul Meijer.

The saving grace for Beijing was that by retiring early on in the first race, they started from the front row for the second race, thanks to the full reverse grid system employed by Superleague Formula. He outpaced pole sitter Robert Doornbos in the AC Milan car through the first lap, and from thereon he didn't put a foot wrong, to further bolster Beijing's championship push. Former Formula 1 driver Antonio Pizzonia spun out early into the race, causing a safety car to be deployed, but Davide Rigon in the Beijing car dealt with the restart well and again stretched out a lead. AS Roma driver Enrico Toccacelo suffered through he latter part of the race and dropped back to seventh from a highly promising second place. Tottenham Hotspur claimed second behind Beijing, as Duncan Tappy drove perfectly. The final podium step was taken by PSV Eindhoven's Yelmer Buurman.

The next round of the Superleague Formula season is from Estoril, Portugal, on the 18th and 19th of October 2008. It is expected that the FC Porto fans will turn out in big numbers to spur their team on.

Final Race 1 Standings (Top 10):
    1.  Liverpool FC (A. Valles)
    2.  RSC Anderlecht (C. Dolby)
    3.  BVB Borussia Dortmund (P. Meijer)
    4.  FC Basel (M. Wissel)
    5.  Atletico de Madrid (A. Soucek)
    6.  FC Porto (T. Gommendy)
    7.  PSV Eindhoven (Y. Buurman)
    8.  Rangers FC (R. Dalziel)
    9.  Flamengo (T. Rocha)
   10.  Corinthians (A. Pizzonia)

Final Race 2 Standings (Top 10):
    1.  Beijing Gu'aon (D. Rigon)
    2.  Tottenham Hotspur (D. Tappy)
    3.  PSV Eindhoven (Y. Buurman)
    4.  AC Milan (R. Doornbos)
    5.  FC Basel (M. Wissel)
    6.  Liverpooll FC FC (A. Valles)
    7.  AS Roma (E. Toccacelo)
    8.  Sevilla FC (B. Garcia)
    9.  Olympiacos (K. Andersen)
   10.  Al-Ain (B. Baguette)

Driver's Championship Standings (Top 10): 
    1.  Beijing Gu'aon       207 Pts
    2.  PSV Eindhoven        193 Pts
    3.  Liverpool FC         171 Pts
    4.  RSC Anderlecht       159 Pts
    5.  Sevilla FC           150 Pts
    6.  Tottenham Hotspur    149 Pts
    7.  FC Basel             146 Pts
    8.  AS Roma              143 Pts
    9.  FC Porto             138 Pts
   10.  AC Milan             126 Pts