It was time again for one of the season's highlights of the year. BOSS GP was a guest at the legendary Autodromo di Monza in Italy.
Bright sunshine with temperatures beyond 30°, a record starting field with over 30 vehicles. So, nothing stood in the way of a perfect race weekend? ... apparently not. The entire weekend was plagued by problems, and so we couldn't bring the desired speed onto the track.
Since Wolfgang Jaksch's Super Aguri SA06 was not ready for the race in time, Bernd initially refrained from participating this weekend and left his Benetton to Wolfgang.
In the free practice, our guest driver Lance David Arnold and our newest team member Wolfgang Jaksch celebrated their debut in the Benetton B197. In the entire free practice, Lance still cut the best figure with lap times of 1:39.358.
Qualifying was also rather sobering, with Wolfgang Jordan in 8th place (1:37.921), Wolfgang Jaksch P13 (1:39.950) and Veronika in P24.
The first race, if you can call it that, began with a crash for Veronika in the first chicane, the notorious "Prima Variante", followed by a long safety car phase, and was finally abandoned after a sudden downpour with heavy rain. Wolfgang Jordan and Wolfgang Jaksch were able to benefit from the chaos on the track and finished the race in 6th and 10th place.
However, the upward trend should not continue in the second race on Sunday. This time, Wolfgang Jaksch left the steering wheel to Bernd, who consequently had to start from the last row together with Veronika.
In the first lap, however, Wolfgang Jordan collided with Peter Milavec during an overtaking attempt and put his Benetton into the guardrail at a speed of 280 km/h. Bernd, whose vision was obstructed, could not brake in time and ended up in Klaas Zwart's rear, and so the race was over for these two as well. Fortunately, all drivers remained unharmed in this horror crash.
For Veronika, the race ended only 2 laps later due to a technical defect.
But you also have to see the positive side. It can only get better in Assen on August 6th!"
Positively Formulated Version:
"The BOSS GP season highlight at the legendary Autodromo di Monza in Italy presented a weekend of learning and growth for our team.
Despite the challenges faced, the event provided valuable track time and opportunities for development. A record-breaking field of over 30 vehicles and bright sunshine set the stage for an action-packed weekend.
Wolfgang Jaksch's Super Aguri SA06 was not quite ready, allowing Bernd to offer Wolfgang his Benetton for the event. Free practice saw exciting debuts for guest driver Lance David Arnold and our new team member Wolfgang Jaksch in the Benetton B197, with Lance demonstrating promising pace.
Qualifying presented a learning curve for our drivers, with Wolfgang Jordan securing a solid position, and valuable experience gained by Wolfgang Jaksch and Veronika.
The first race was a dramatic affair, with Veronika involved in an incident at the start, followed by a safety car period and an eventual race cancellation due to adverse weather. Wolfgang Jordan and Wolfgang Jaksch capitalized on the challenging conditions to achieve commendable finishes.
The second race, while bringing further challenges, demonstrated the team's resilience. An unfortunate incident involving Wolfgang Jordan, Bernd, and Klaas Zwart led to their early retirement, with all drivers fortunately escaping injury. Veronika also faced a technical issue, leading to an early exit.
Despite the setbacks, the team remains focused on the positive takeaways and looks forward to a stronger performance at Assen on August 6th. The weekend provided important data and insights for future improvement.
