Uwe Alzen made amends for his exclusion from Saturday's Speedcar race in Bahrain by winning the Sunday event. The German had won the first race on the road, but was later excluded for not wearing his HANS device, which is mandated by the rules. Helped by a high rate of attrition, he was able to win the second race from the back of the grid.
"The race was absolutely fantastic. The car was so strong and so unbelievably fast. It was absolutely okay until the end when I had a problem with the engine, one cylinder was gone but I was far enough to finish," said Alzen.
With the top eight finishers from Saturday lining up in reverse order, pole went to Ukyo Katayama, ahead of Hasher Al Maktoum, Jacques Villeneuve and Johnny Herbert. However, Al Maktoum experienced ECU problems on the warm-up lap, and came straight into the pits.
Herbert was in a determined mood, and he immediately passed Villeneuve to claim second, and within a few corners he relieved Katayama of the lead. Katayama and Villeneuve made side-to-side contact, but by co-incidence both drivers also had engine problems. As the rest of the field streamed past, both men headed to the pits.
That left Herbert out front ahead of Nicolas Navarro, Gianni Morbidelli, Stefan Johansson and Alzen. From the back Alzen had managed to scramble all the way up to fifth on a fraught first lap. He soon passed Johansson for fourth, and then began closing in on Morbidelli. Meanwhile on lap 6 Jean Alesi demoted Johansson another place.
Herbert opened up a lead of over 4 seconds and looked secure out front when he began to suffer gearbox problems on lap 9. Unable to get out of third gear, he had no choice but to head to the pits and retire.
"I was able to get the jump on Jacques at the start and then I passed Ukyo," said Herbert. "I was in the lead and I was able to get a gap I was comfortable with, and stay consistent. As I was settling, it all went wrong!"
That left Navarro in the lead ahead of Morbidelli and Alzen, but then the German gained another spot when he passed Gianni on lap 11. Also on the move was Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who barged Johansson out of the way to claim fifth. Stefan had to pit for attention, but later resumed at the tail of the field.
"I turned in and bang, and next thing I know I get a puncture," said Johansson. "And my race was ruined."
Navarro was Alzen's next target, but his job was made easier when the Frenchman began suffering from a mechanical problem and dropped off the pace. For the rest of terrace he crawled round to ensure that he finished and scored some points. After that it was an easy run to the flag for Alzen, who finished well clear of Morbidelli and Alesi.
"It was not a bad day," said Morbidelli. "I finished on the podium again. Honestly today more than second was impossible, because Alzen was really fast. I made a very good start and gained a lot of positions in the first lap. I had a good rhythm in the beginning, but after half the race I started to have a brake problem and I started to lose rear grip."
"It was good points for the championship," said Alesi, who now has 40 points to the 39 of Alzen. "The car was very good today and I had no problems."
Frentzen should have been next, but having followed the delayed Johansson he tried to lap him on the last lap. The two men made contact for a second time in the race, and Frentzen spun. That allowed Fabien Giroix and Ananda Mikola through, and left Frentzen in a frustrated sixth. Klaus Ludwig took seventh, ahead of the slow Navarro and Johansson.
JJ Lehto was an early retirement with a fuel pump problem, while others who failed to make the flag included Herbert, Marchy Lee, Katayama, Villeneuve, Terrien and Al Maktoum.
Classification Race 2
1 Uwe Alzen 19 41:09.932
2 Gianni Morbidelli 19 8.489
3 Jean Alesi 19 18.742
4 Fabien Giroix 19 42.152
5 Ananda Mikola 19 44.905
6 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 19 47.176
7 Klaus Ludwig 19 62.845
8 Nicolas Navarro 19 1 LAP
9 Stefan Johansson 16 1 LAP
Not Classified
Johnny Herbert 9 DNF
Marchy Lee 8 DNF
JJ Lehto 5 DNF
Ukyo Katayama 3 DNF
Jacques Villeneuve 1 DNF
David Terrien 1 DNF
Hasher Al Maktoum 1 DNF
Fastest Lap Uwe Alzen 2:08.161 on lap 4
Speedcar Series positions after Race 6
1 Jean Alesi 10 8 10 6 - 6 40
2 Uwe Alzen 4 10 5 10 - 10 39
3 David Terrrien 5 5 1 8 10 - 29
4 Johnny Herbert 6 2 8 5 4 - 25
5 Gianni Morbidelli - - - 4 8 8 20
6 Mathias Lauda 8 4 6 - - - 18
7 Ananda Mikola 1 6 4 - - 4 15
8 Nicolas Navarro 3 - 2 2 6 1 14
9 Klaus Ludwig 2 3 - - - 2 7
10 Stefan Johansson - - 3 3 - - 6
11 Fabien Giroix - - - - - 5 5
Marchy Lee - - - - 5 - 5
13 Heinz-Harald Frentzen - - - - - 3 3
Jacques Villeneuve - - - - 3 - 3
Hasher Al Maktoum - - - 1 2 - 3
16 Ukyo Katayama - 1 - - 1 - 2
R1 = Sentul (Indonesia) - February 16
R2 = Sentul (Indonesia) - February 17
R3 = Sepang (Malaysia) - March 22
R4 = Sepang (Malaysia) - March 23
R5 = Sakhir (Bahrain) - April 5
R6 = Sakhir (Bahrain) - April 6
The final 2 races will take place in Dubai on April 11 and 12.
About Speedcar Series
The Speedcar Series is a one-make stockcar-style competition featuring identical 620bhp cars. The series is based in Dubai, and is taking place across Asia and the Middle East. The series features a mix of ex-Formula One and international drivers. A prize-fund of USD 3 million will be distributed to drivers at the end of the season, with the eventual champion receiving USD 600,000.
About Grand Racing
Beginning 2008, with strong partnerships in promoting the events, Speedcar Series jointly collaborates with GP2 Asia in 5 races as 'Grand Racing' event. Two of which will be coinciding with F1 in Malaysia and Bahrain.
TV Rights Speedcar Series TV rights are distributed by One-o-one UK Ltd
- Speedcar Series -
