Difference between revisions of "2009 Dutch Grand Prix"

Latest revision as of 09:53, 2 June 2011

Consiglio reaches the Promised Land

Joe Consiglio earned himself a place in the history books as the 2009 GPVWC World Champion after a confident drive saw him finish second in the Dutch Grand Prix last night, the Maltese ace thus scoring the 8 points that put him out of reach of his main rival Janne Tanskanen with one race to spare.

On a race won by Lee Morris, now on his 4th win on 4 races, Consiglio made sure the excellent performances of Mark Wicks (3rd) and Adam Rouse (4th) didn't get in the way of his finest day of simracing since his debut in the GPVWC 2002 season and celebrated wildly after crossing the finish line. "I still can't believe it" were Joe's first words out of the car "I am World Champion, baby!"

The race itself saw very good battles on the spectacular, old-style track in the dunes of the Netherlands. The much-feared turn 1 didn't produce any casualties, and as the leaders took flight, some fierce battles ensued in mid-pack. Kieran Ryan, Nick Rowland and Chris Allen were just some of the names tangled in some tough fights for points, occasionally joined by the likes of Wayne Mullins, Jason Muscat and William Ponissi.

Returning Mark Stanton was the victim of a high-speed crash as he spun in the fast right hander past the hill, and a spectacular crash was the conclusion of Dan Rusu's race as well: neither of the drivers reported any injuries as an outcome of their shunts.

Unlucky Jason Muscat was victim of a brake failure that deprived him of some well-deserved points, and left P8 to Ryan McConkey. Mullins was 7th, preceded by Kieran Ryan in 6th and Rowland in 5th.

As Mark Wicks held Rouse at bay for the last step of the podium and Lee Morris sped to another win, celebrations erupted in the Nordsjoen pits: their man, the man they fought so hard to have in the team after the inaugural tests in Norway, has finally done it. Joe Consiglio is World Champion.