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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 15, 2010
Published on tags: Superleague
The eleventh round of this year's Championship saw the teams begin their tour of North and South America with a stop in the Canadian city of Montreal. The high speed circuit set amongst the park land on the ?e Notre-Dame is always a challenge for the drivers due to the close proximity of the walls and the circuit's reputation as a car breaker. Indeed, several teams had concerns over the brakes, especially after the issues in Bahrain.

Canada saw 2009 Champion Joe Consiglio back in action and with championship leader Janne Tanskanen, the Nordsjoen Racing pair locked out the front row in qualifying. Of the two, it was the Finn, Tanskanen who edged out Consiglio to claim pole by two tenths. Agustin Canapino returned for a one-off appearance and was an impressive 3rd for ART, followed by the inseparable Woods drivers. Constant driver Mark Stanton claimed a season best 6th on the grid at a track he loves.

The order remained largely the same in opening laps as Tanskanen once more converted pole into a race lead. There was a brief battle for 2nd as Consiglio came under pressure from Argentine driver Canapino, but despite a few brave attempts he just couldn't get past the reigning champion. In the midfield there are several exciting battles between the Synergetic cars, the Red Archers, the Oz Racing car of Gavin Thomas and the ST car of Mark Fuller.

As the race went on, attrition started to set in and several drivers ended their races early. Most notable among these was Canapino, who was enjoying a strong drive until he clipped a backmarker leaving his car too badly damaged and so denied ART their 2nd podium of the year. After that incident, Tanskanen maintained a slender lead over his teammate and they had both pulled almost a pitstop ahead of the 3rd and 4th placed Woods cars.

As expected, brake issues started to play a major part in the final stint of the race. By Lap 55, Tanskanen had elected to conserve his brakes which allowed Consiglio to breeze past him and take the lead. Behind Wicks managed to home in on his teammate Ryan, who suffered several spins in the space of a few laps, the last of which wrecked his car and led to his retirement. Thomas, Hatchell and Millar met similar fates as one by one their brakes let them down.

Entering the final lap, things looked set for a 1-2 finish for Nordsjoen, but sadly it wasn't to be. Consiglio's late push had proved disastrous as his brakes failed just a few miles from home, resulting in a crash that saw him drop to 4th place. As a result Tanskanen collected his 8th win of the season comfortably ahead of Wicks. Consiglio's misfortune also allowed Mark Stanton to claim Constant Racing's first ever Superleague podium as he took 3rd.