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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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September 08, 2012
Published on tags: Supercup
Petter Kaasa responded to increasing pressure of his championship lead with victory at the Nurburgring. The Norwegian came out on top of an intense battle with Cooper, winning by only six tenths of a second. Jamez Shepherd completed the podium with the three drivers separated by just over a second.

Kaasa started the race on pole ahead of the CSG Racing drivers but the race nearly turned to disaster as early as the second corner. A tardy start saw him fall down as low as fifth before he was touched by Martin O?Connor into turn two. The NRT Racing driver overcommitted to the corner on cold tyres and slid across into the Kaasa. The Torrent Motorsports driver got away with only minor contact as chaos unfolded behind him. The impending pile-up saw severe damage to numerous cars, with Adam Rouse and Philip Cullen losing their rear wings.

An even bigger incident occurred on lap three at turn, with contact between Kenney Lybeer and Wopke Hoesktra into turn 10. Lybeer?s reckless rejoin into the middle of turn 11 involved Myles Dixon, Martin Bulgin, Jason Muscat and Hoesktra as the track was littered with wreckage. The high rate of attrition continued with eight cars retired by the eleventh lap of the race.

At the front of the field, the zero stopping Shepherd struggled with high fuel and fell down the order. Kaasa took him in the early laps and began to chase down Roy Schroten, the Dutch driver again showing his great turn of pace. With silly season beginning to kick off for the league, Schroten is likely to be high on a number of team?s wishlists. It took until lap 8 for Kaasa to hunt down and take the Synergetic Motorsports driver, with the Torrent driver sweeping past him through the Schumacher Esses?.

It was shades of the Korean Grand Prix as Kaasa emerged from the pits ahead of his rivals. Shepherd?s strategy, as so often has been the case in the Superleague, brought him into play and snapping at the pairs heels. The CSG pair harassed Kaasa for the remainder of the race but never saw a clear chance appear.

Behind the front running trio, Schroten came home in fourth after a quiet evening?s work. After his escape from the first lap melee and his battle with Kaasa, it was a lonely race for the Dutch driver who won?t complain at another impressive haul of points. Boyd Bryson equalled his best finish of the season with fifth for Woods Racing.

Keith Camilleri and Morten Wernersen benefitted from the opening laps fracas to score a haul of points in sixth and seventh respectively. Adam Rouse recovered from losing his rear wing on the first lap to finish eight ? an important result for him with Cullen?s retirement in the race for third in the championship. Scott Bennett and Andrejs Pestovs rounded out the top ten in a race that saw only fifteen finishers.