2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round
| 2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round Superleague Formula round Belgium |
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Circuit Map
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| Date | October 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location |
 Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.492 mi (4.010 km) |
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| Laps | 24 & 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pole position | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team |
 Borussia Dortmund
|
Paul Meijer | |
| Time | 1:20.826 | ||
| Podium (1st race) | |||
| First |
 Liverpool F.C.
|
Adrián Vallés | |
| Second |
R.S.C. Anderlecht
|
Craig Dolby | |
| Third |
Borussia Dortmund
|
Paul Meijer | |
| Fastest lap (1st race) | |||
| Team |
Liverpool F.C.
|
Adrián Vallés | |
| Time | 1:38.031 (on lap 14) | ||
| Podium (2nd race) | |||
| First |
 Beijing Guoan
|
Davide Rigon | |
| Second |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
Duncan Tappy | |
| Third |
 PSV Eindhoven
|
Yelmer Buurman | |
| Fastest lap (2nd race) | |||
| Team |
 Atlético Madrid
|
Andy Soucek | |
| Time | 1:37.370 (on lap 11) | ||
The 2008 Zolder Superleague Formula round was the third round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on October 5, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, the same number of teams as there was at the Nürburgring. There were three driver changes for this round of the championship: Ryan Dalziel returned to the Rangers F.C. car (replacing James Walker), after missing the previous round due to a clash with his Rolex Sports Car Series commitments at Miller Motorsports Park. Two drivers made their debuts, with Dutchman Paul Meijer replacing Nelson Philippe in the car representing Borussia Dortmund and Belgian Bertrand Baguette replaced Andreas Zuber in the Al Ain car. The meeting saw a first win for Liverpool F.C. and a second win for championship leaders Beijing Guoan. However, the championship lead for the Chinese side was cut to 14 points.
After the random draw which split the eighteen-car field into two groups, the fastest four qualifiers from each progressed into the knockout stages to decide places 1 to 8 on the grid. For the third race in succession, drivers missed out on places in the knockout stages, despite setting a faster time than the fourth-placed qualifier in the slower group. On this occasion, three Group A drivers were eliminated despite setting times up to half a second faster than the fourth-placed qualifier of Group B. The unlucky drivers turned out to be Max Wissel (FC Basel 1893), Ryan Dalziel (Rangers F.C.) and (A.S. Roma), who were all quicker than Craig Dolby's R.S.C. Anderlecht machine, which made it through from Group B. A.C. Milan and Atlético Madrid topped their respective groups and were expected to face each other in the final, yet both teams were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Anderlecht and Paul Meijer's Borussia Dortmund machine. Sevilla FC and Liverpool F.C. were the other semi-finalists, yet neither would make the final as Meijer and Dolby sealed their places by beating the somewhat more experienced GP2 Series drivers Borja García and Adrián Vallés. In the final, Dolby would not set a time, thus giving Meijer a debut pole, becoming the third different polesitter in three races.
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