Sandro Zeller (Jo Zeller Racing) prematurely selects himself as champion

Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup - Automotodrom Brno (CZE)

Sandro Zeller won the championship in the 6th round of the Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup prematurely and will not be able to catch up at the Hungaroring final. Victory on Sunday and third place three days earlier were enough for the Swiss Formula 3 veteran to extend his points cushion beyond his ability to catch up. At the Masaryk Racing Days in Brno, Tom Beckhäuser had initially shown his great talent in the first race. On the 5,403 km long Grand Prix circuit the Czech managed the 2nd victory of the season. After the pole position (1:53,860 min) Beckhäuser was able to convince also in the rain on Saturday morning.

At first the Formula field started behind the safety car. After the flying start Beckhäuser took the lead ahead of Paolo Brajnik, who hit the crash barriers in lap three. The external conditions on the track, in particular the restricted view to the car in front, and the vehicles next to the track once again made the safety car mandatory. Meanwhile, rain specialist Kurt Böhlen (Franz Wöss Racing) had worked his way up from sixth on the grid to second before the safety car phase. In the 6th lap the race control decided to abort the race with the red flag. The winner was Tom Beckhäuser ahead of Kurt Böhlen and Sandro Zeller (Jo Zeller Racing). Antonie Bottiroli (GFORCE Racing) finished fourth ahead of Marcel Tobler (Jo Zeller Racing), who was able to relegate Andrea Cola (Monolite Racing) to sixth place. In Formula Renault the victory went to title aspirant Nico Gruber (Team Hoffmann). Robert Hefler (F-Racing 2000 KFT.) finished second ahead of Dr.Norbert Groer (Team Hoffmann Racing).

After a rainy second qualifying on Sunday morning Tom Beckhäuser put his Dallara F308 Opel on pole position. With a lead of 0.676 seconds the Czech relegated his team mate Kurt Böhlen to second place. Sandro Zeller had unexpected problems and could not get past grid position eight. At noon the sky was clear and the track dried up more and more. Beckhäuser won the start of the 2nd race against Böhlen, who lost some places and put Marcel Tobler in the chasing position. Sandro Zeller got a dream start and made a lot of ground in the first two laps. First Zeller had overtaken his rivals Andrea Cola and Antonie Bottiroli. Then his compatriot Marcel Tobler also had to believe in it. While Tom Beckhäuser was still in front, Zeller drove closer and closer to the driver of Franz Wöss Racing to overtake him in the last third of the race. Beckhäuser didn't put up any resistance and had to admit defeat by 1.454 seconds at the finish line with tire wear. Marcel Tobler defended third place and defeated Antonie Bottiroli and Andrea Cola. As in the 1st race, Nico Gruber determined the Formula Renault category and won again against Robert Hefler and Dr.Norbert Groer. In the Formula 3 Trophy classification Manfred Lang (LS Performance) won the first race ahead of Urs Rüttimann (Jo Zeller Racing) and Dr.Ralf Pütz (Franz Wöss Racing). Rüttimann turned the tables in the 2nd run and won against Manfred Lang and Florian Münger. Both races in the Formula 4 category were decided by Stefan Fürtbauer (Franz Wöss Racing) ahead of Patrick Schober (PROCAR Motorsport), while Dr. Ralf Pütz (Franz Wöss Racing) was able to celebrate a double victory in the Ravenol Formula 3 Cup classification.

RS.09.09.2019
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