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Formula Sprint 2
Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka International Racing Course
Tuesday 2nd of April 2024 19:00:00
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July 13, 2011
Published on tags: Supercup
With another Malta Force 1-2 in the bag after the previous race in San Marino, all signs pointed towards another titanic battle in Turkey between Lewis Redshaw and Bart De Vos. At the famous Imola circuit, it was the English driver of the Malta Force team that took the win, ahead of championship leader De Vos who took 2nd place.


Malta Force didn't disappoint in qualifying at Round 12 in Istanbul, with Redshaw taking pole position, but with the 'other' championship contender Pavel Loknovski in 2nd place, the front row positions being seperated by just 0.022 seconds. Bart De Vos took 3rd place, with Tom Parker 4th, and David Jundt 5th. Round 12 saw four new faces appearing on the grid in the 2011 Supercup. Ben Warren making his Supercup debut for Nordsjoen Racing, Ric Scott for Draig Racing, Roy Schroten for Triple-Double Racing, with his brother Mike Schroten driving for Synergetic Motorsport. It was Warren who qualified highest of the new faces, taking 8th on the grid. Ric Scott was a solid 12th, while the Schroten brothers had less success, with Roy and Mike qualifying 20th and 23rd respectively.


At the start of the race, the top 3 held position, until De Vos found his way past Loknovski on Lap 1 after the Triple-Double Racing driver ran slightly wide at Turn 7. Further down the grid, there were a few incidents, firstly with Tom Parker being tagged into a spin by Kenney Lybeer at Turn 4, with the same type of incident being replicated by Roy Schroten, plowing into the back of Teemu Toikka. Both Parker and Toikka rejoined almost at the back of the field. Woods driver Gregg Lawson only managed to get to the high speed Turn 8 before his engine cried enough, and he was the first of seven eventual retirements in the race. When the field had stabilised after a few laps, it was clear De Vos was the slightly faster of the two Malta Force drivers.


On lap 6, after a small error for Redshaw on the exit of Turn 7, De Vos pounced, and took over the lead. Meanwhile, Loknovski kept a watching eye on the squabbling pair in front of him, albeit a few seconds back. Now with some clear track, and with Redshaw and Loknovski now fighting over 2nd place, the young Belgian driver began to stretch out his lead, and looked comfortable and looked to have the pace over his two championship rivals. Meanwhile, further down the order, after his first lap incident, Parker was working his way through the field, and after the scheduled pitstops found himself up to 9th place.


Parker's 9th place would become 8th on Lap 27, as absolute heartbreak would strike for the leader De Vos, as he suffered a disconnection from the race, and ultimately retirement, moving his teammate and main championship rival Redshaw into the lead, with Loknovski still chasing him, but now up to 2nd place. Redshaw would eventually take the race win, 6.4 seconds ahead of Loknovski. Nijo Racing driver David Jundt had a relatively lonely race, but took 3rd place, while Kenney Lybeer and Ryan Walker rounded out the top 5. Phil Perkins took 6th for Draig Racing, whilst debutants Ben Warren and Ric Scott finished 7th and 8th respectively. Ihab Abbas recovered to 9th place after an earlier spin, and Tom Parker took the final point in 10th place, losing 8th after blowing his engine, but was able to just cross the finish line to stay classified, albeit a lap down.


With De Vos retiring and Redshaw winning, the Englishman has more than halved the points gap between himself and the Belgian driver, with just 9 points between them. Loknovski's 2nd place means he is now just 15 points behind championship leader De Vos. Quietly, David Jundt has put himself back into championship contention after his Istanbul podium, and is just 18 points behind De Vos. Gregg Lawson rounds out the top 5 of the Driver's championship, albeit 37 points behind the championship leader. Despite De Vos not finishing, Malta Force are able to extend their already mighty Constructors championship lead over their nearest rivals Nijo Racing, with 58 points separating the two teams. With Nordsjoen Racing now fielding a full team again, they have set their sights on catching Nijo for 2nd place, and lie 12 points behind them. Triple-Double Racing, and Woods Racing round out the top 5.