While Faster Than Speed endured a difficult World Championship race at Istanbul Park, being unable to score points and repeat 2007's race-winning success, things were much better in the World Series. Jorge Maenen and Roy Wachtmeester took 4th and 7th places respectively in a reduced WS Advanced race, while Juan Nicola took a solid 4th in WS Amateur. Heinz Vanderhoydonck and Drazen Cokor took further points.

World Championship

Patrick De Wit confortably advanced to the top-ten shootout after setting the 8th and 7th fastest times during the Q1 and Q2 sessions. With a heavy fuel load, he was 10th quickest in Q3. Sergio Casalins, Giuseppe Marconi and Roaldo Racing's Ben Philips, who was invited to make his WC debut aboard the Rex2009eda, all just missed the Q1 cut. Unfortunately, carrying penalties from Monaco's Qualifying, Giuseppe, Patrick and Sergio were demoted some places on the grid, starting from 19th, 20th and 22nd on the grid respectively.

Sergio and Patrick made excellent starts, climbing many positions in the first lap. Patrick, after passing his team-mate in an intense (and for the management, tense!) battle, found his way up to 7th before making the first of his only two-stops. Towards the end of the race, Patrick looked set for points after his solid drive as he was in 8th position, but with two laps to go, his engine couldn't take the effort any longer and said enough, leaving Patrick without points at the scene of his and Faster Than Speed's maiden WC victory. He was eventually classified in 13th position, 3 laps down. Sergio's promising start couldn't be turned into a good result, as he started struggling with his car due to technical problems, and had to retire after a race-ending off.

Ben had a very solid WC debut. After also making a good start, he battled hard against established WC veterans, showing solid pace throughout the race. Despite being unable to reach the points zone, he was rewarded with an 11th place finish. We thank our friends at Roaldo Racing for allowing Ben to drive this GP for FTS. Giuseppe, meanwhile, unfortunately continued with his streak of unlucky events, as he was hit during a highly-agressive move from Stroud. The contact damaged his engine, which eventually failed on lap 37.

World Series Ace

FTS continues to be straight out of luck in WS Ace, as Gabriel Montanes had another unfortunate retirement before half-distance after qualifying 19th on the grid.

World Series Advanced

Jorge Maenen and Roy Wachtmeester, now team-mates, set the 7th and 9th fastest times respectively in Q1. Drazen Cokor, meanwhile, qualified 14th. In Q2, Jorge secured 5th on the grid, while Roy stayed in the pits as he decided to carry a heavy fuel load for the start of the race.

Both Jorge and Roy had strong races, always battling among the top positions. However, due to a server issue, the race was cut short after 33 laps. And while this left both drivers slightly disappointed, as the team was sure that both drivers would have finished in higher positions going full-distance, both Jorge and Roy took strong points by finishing in 4th and 7th places respectively.

Drazen battled hard during the race, and while contact from a competitor and a spin compromised his chances, he maintains his perfect scoring record this season as he took the last point for 14th place.

World Series Amateur

Juan Nicola was 6th fastest in Q1, later securing 8th on the grid during the Q2 session. His team-mate, Heinz Vanderhoydonck, qualified in a solid 12th. Meanwhile, Argentinian Tomas Marino made his FSR debut in Turkey. The young 15-year-old is no stranger to racing though, as he keeps collecting throphies for his victories in Argentinian Karting series. Tomas was 17th on the grid for his debut race.

Juan had a tough start, despite making a good start, he damaged his front wing and suspension after making contact with a spinning-car that blocked the track. While the damage didn't allow Juan to lap at the expected pace, he delivered a very solid drive, never dropping below the top-5, to finish the race in 4th position.

Heinz also had a very strong race, looking set for a top-10 finish, but unfortunately, his car was also damaged after being hit by a competitor. Having to alter his braking points and lacking speed on the straights due to the damage, Heinz was unable to defend his position, which meant he dropped to 13th, still scoring some valuable points.

Tomas had a really impressive debut, as he climbed to 5th with a fantastic start. He was keeping up with the front-runners pace until an electrical failure left him out of the race on lap 10. While it was a heartbreaking moment for Tomy, as they call him, he showed great potential for the future.

Faster Than Speed now moves to Silverstone, in what will probably be the last British GP at the classic venue. Last year, Florian Pechon took the WS Advanced victory for the team, while Patrick De Wit scored a World Championship podium in 2007. This year, FTS will be looking forward to a successful goodbye to Silverstone!

Faster Than Speed enjoyed a great weekend in the Principality. Jorge Maenen made his FTS debut in Monte Carlo, and got up to speed inmediately with his new FTS-P9, to clinch his and FTS' first victory of the season in WS Advanced. In WC, Patrick De Wit survived a tough start to score 3 further points with an impressive comeback, while Nick Oldenhuis took his third podium out of four races in WS Amateur.

World Championship

Patrick De Wit, Sergio Casalins and Florian Pechon, this time replacing Ernesto De Angelis, set the 3rd, 12th and 17th fastest laptimes respectively in Q1, advancing to the following session. Giuseppe Marconi, meanwhile, qualified 22nd.
In Q2, Patrick was again very strong to advance to the top-ten shootout with the 4th quickest time, while Sergio just missed the cut, qualifying 11th. Florian, with some unfortunate issues, couldn't set a time and was unable to take further part in the event.
In Q3, Patrick struggled to find grip with race settings, the issue translating into an 8th position on the grid.

After contact with another car and after clipping the guardrails in the swimming-pool section, Patrick's race started in a very difficult way. Patrick, visibly unable to handle his damaged FTS-P9 correctly, started losing several positions, before entering the pits for repairs on lap 3. While the pitstop dropped Patrick to the rear end of the pack, the team fuelled him very heavily, hoping to climb back through the field with only one further stop during the race. Patrick drove a fantastic low-key race, lapping very strongly despite his long stints, which meant in his final stint he drove 40 laps on the same set of tyres. After everyone else went for their respective stops, Patrick rose to 6th position, to score 3 further points. While the result was not the one he expected around Monaco, it was a great recovery after the very tough opening laps.

Unlike Patrick, Sergio had a great start to the race, climbing to the points in the first laps. Unfortunately for him, though, the unforgiven barriers cost him the loss of his front wing. After pitting for a new nose cone, Sergio went on but had to retire later with a damaged car. Giuseppe had similar fortunes, he tried to continue after losing his front wing in the middle of a battle with two other cars, but as the suspension was broken, he retired soon after.

World Series Ace

Florian Pechon had a strong Qualifying, setting the 13th fastest time. Gabriel Montanes, meanwhile, qualified 22nd.

In the race, unfortunately both drivers were hit by other competitors. Florian was crashed by Meglic on the opening lap. After pitting for repairs, he was fuelled very heavily to try to make up the lost ground, but as it can happen in Monaco when you push hard with a very heavy car, Florian slid off the track and into the barriers, ending his race. Gabriel, meanwhile, was very well placed, in the top-ten, when an accident with Poniatowski left him out of the race on lap 4.

World Series Pro

Pablo Tassano, Faster Than Speed's sole runner in this WS Pro race, qualified 20th, climbing spectacularly to 8th by the end of the first lap. Unfortunately, another victim of the mighty barriers, he pitted several times trying to get back into the race, but his car was too damaged to continue.

World Series Advanced

Jorge Maenen made his debut for Faster Than Speed in Monaco, racing for the FTS Advanced Panthers team. The Belgian, who challenged Florian Pechon for last year's WS Advanced championship, is eager for success in 2009.

He showed his intentions inmediately as he set the quickest time in Q1. Roy Wachtmeester also secured a Q2 spot with the 8th fastest laptime, while Drazen Cokor qualified 20th.
In Q2, Jorge just missed out on pole, but secured a front-row position, while Roy took 7th on the grid.

Roy had a difficult start, as he clipped a barrier and lost his front wing on the opening lap. He quickly entered the pits, rejoined with a heavy fuel load in 22nd position. Driving very strongly, overtaking several cars and benefitting from his late stops, Roy climbed to a solid 4th position by the end of the race, despite the first-lap trouble. Team mate Drazen had a difficult race on the wrong tyre compound, but still made it to the points in 13th position.

Jorge, meanwhile, fought hard for the race win against Borna Spoljaric. Jorge, showing exceptional pace throughout the race, clearly had the upper hand on Spoljaric in the closing laps, but as usual, it's not easy to overtake at Monaco. With only a few laps to go, however, Spoljaric exited very slowly out of the Anthony Noghes corner, and Jorge took the chance to go side-by-side to pass. In a highly controversial move, Borna Spoljaric steered into Jorge's FTS-P9, the contact sending both drivers into the barriers. While Spoljaric's move cost him his own front wing, Jorge was lucky to escape with lessr damage, being able to lead the last laps to take his and Faster Than Speed's first victory of the season in Monte Carlo.

The result means Faster Than Speed remains the only WS Advanced winner in Monte Carlo, as Florian Pechon won the division's inaugural Monaco race in 2008, in what was the first of his series of 8 victories during the season.

World Series Amateur

Nick Oldenhuis was 3rd quickest in Q1. His new team mate, returning to FTS after a short stint at Torrent Motorsports, was Juan Nicola, who set the 6th fastest time. Heinz Vanderhoydonck, meanwhile, qualified in 15th place.
In Q2, Nick and Juan secured 6th and 7th on the grid respectively.

Nick drove a very strong race, making a solid start and reaching a podium position after his pitstop. Nick defended his 3rd place determinedly to take his third podium in the last four races.

Heinz, meanwhile, had a difficult race as he was hit on the formation lap, meaning he had to drive with a damaged suspension. Things got even worse when he had to pit for a new front wing after making contact with a car that was sideaways, blocking the track. Despite all the problems, however, Heinz drove very strongly to the last point, finally ending his streak of unlucky retirements as he finished in 14th position.

Juan had a solid first stint on his FTS return, but unfortunately, he was unable to be serviced for fuel and tyres in the pits due to a technical problem, which left him out of the race.

Faster Than Speed's next destination is the Istanbul Park, in Turkey. At the Otodrom, Patrick De Wit took the team's and his first and only to date World Championship victory in 2007, while the team had won all WS races at the venue in 2006, including a 1-2 finish in WS Ace. FTS will be definitely looking forward to repeat these success stories at the following race weekend!

Faster Than Speed had a good start of the European season, as Patrick De Wit, despite struggling during the race, added two further points to the team's WC tally. In WS Amateur, Nick Oldenhuis took his second podium finish in three races as he finished in 3rd place, while Roy Wachtmeester and Drazen Cokor gave FTS another double point-scoring result in WS Advanced.

World Championship

Patrick De Wit, Ernesto De Angelis and Florian Pechon, who was replacing Sergio Casalins, all went through the Q1 session, setting the 9th, 15th and 17th fastest laptimes respectively. Giuseppe Marconi just missed out by a small margin, qualifying 19th.
In Q2, Patrick set the 10th quickest time, securing a place in the top-ten shooutout. Florian continued his strong Qualifying performance as he took 15th of the grid, ahead of Ernesto in 16th. Patrick went on to take 10th on the grid during the race-fuel Q3 session.

For the second race in a row, Giuseppe was an unfortunate victim of a first-lap incident, which left him quickly out of the race. Florian's strong Qualifying couldn't be turned into a solid result as his engine stopped following a spin past half-distance.

While track modifications compromised Patrick's promising pace, he drove a solid race and made the best out of a weaker than usual car to pick up two valuable points finishing in 7th position. Ernesto, meanwhile, chose a very agressive 4-stopper strategy which unfortunately didn't work out for him. Despite pulling off some nice overtaking moves, he spent too much time stuck behind slower cars in a circuit where it's tough to pass, leaving him outside the points in 11th place.

World Series Ace

The team had a tough weekend in WS Ace, with Florian Pechon having to withdraw from the event due to technical difficulties, to guarantee the safety of the fellow drivers, and his team-mate Mauricio Gomez, having to start from the pitlane due to a missunderstanding with the league administration. Despite obviously losing all chances for a solid result, Mauricio was able to take part in the race, but unfortunately had to retire after a mid-race accident.

World Series Pro

Theo Gort qualified in 18th position, while Pablo Tassano, had to start from the back after being unable to take part in Qualifying due to a technical issue. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good Saturday for our guys, as Theo retired early, and Pablo followed soon after due to a disconnection.

World Series Advanced

Roy Wachtmeester, while unable to repeat his Bahrain Pole Position in Spanish soil, again entered Q2, where he qualified 8th. A 5 grid-position penalty, however, moved him down to 13th on the grid. Drazen Cokor, meanwhile, struggled again a little bit with his Qualifying pace, taking 23rd in Q1.

The penalty heavily hurt Roy's strategy, as he got stuck behind the heavy one-stoppers. He battled hard and showed strong pace, but he was unable to recover the lost time. However, Roy still took some very valuable points as he finished in 8th place. Drazen, meanwhile, trying to find his way up from his lowly grid position, fought very hard and took the last point in 14th position.

World Series Amateur

Nick Oldenhuis set the 8th quickest laptime in Q1, while team mate Heinz Vanderhoydonck qualified in 17th place. Nick had a strong Q2 session, as he was 3rd fastest, repeating his best starting position, achieved in China.

Starting from the back due to a penalty, Heinz continued to be straight out of luck, as he was a victim of an accident off the grid, having to retire after only a few metres.

Nick, meanwhile, had a great start, taking the lead from the third grid box. He led the first 13 laps, before having to pit earlier than planned due to a fuel misscalculation, which cost him the lead after his stop. Despite losing 2nd to Patel after a small error, Nick kept a solid 3rd, saving the car to the end and scoring his second podium finish in the last three races.

Next weekend, FTS will be racing in the dangerous streets of Monte Carlo, in Monaco, probably one of the most prestigious and glamorous events of the FSR season. In 2007, Patrick De Wit took his first FTS podium in the Principality, while last year, Florian Pechon took the first of his series of 8 race victories aboard the FTS-P8.

Faster Than Speed finished the flyaway season with strong results as Patrick De Wit took more WC points in Bahrain with a 6th place finish. In WS, Roy Wachtmeester took his maiden Pole Position in WS Adv. He endured a tough race, but still finished in a solid 4th position. Pablo Tassano and Nick Oldenhuis took further points in WS Pro and Amateur respectively.

World Championship

Patrick De Wit and Sergio Casalins were 3rd and 8th fastest in Q1, securing a place in the following round of Qualifying. Mauricio Gomez, replacing Ernesto De Angelis, and his team mate, Giuseppe Marconi, were unable to do so and qualified in 20th and 21st positions respectively.
Patrick and Sergio performed very solidly in Q2, setting the 3rd and 4th quickest laptimes, which meant they were slightly disappointed with 8th and 10th in the final Q3 top-ten shooutout.

The race start was disastrous for the FTS NetRex team. Mauricio, after recieving some rear damage in turn 2, spun his car at the exit of turn 4, collecting his team mate Giuseppe in the process, eliminating both from the race in the first lap.

Despite not feeling entirely confident for the race, Patrick drove another very good race, taking part in some interesting battles and making great use of his two-stops strategy. Towards the end, he looked set for a 4th place finish. Unfortunately, a small off on lap 45, cost him two places in the final classification and he finished in 6th place. Despite lamenting the lost chance for a better result, those 3 valuable points allowed Patrick to recover 3rd on the Drivers' Championship, while FTS keeps the same position in the team standings.

Sergio had a really disappointing race, as some last-minute setup changes for tyre wear concerns proved to be a bad idea, as his promising race pace, which the team believes could have taken him to a potential podium, was transformed into a 10th place finish, outside the points.

World Series Ace

Gabriel Montanes qualified in 18th position in Q1. His team mate, Mauricio Gomez, took the 22nd fastest time, and was improving his laptime when a power shortage didn't allow him to take further part in the event.

With Mauricio unable to race, Gabriel was the team's only hope for points in Sakhir. However, Gabriel's race went downhill as he collided with two cars that had hit each other ahead of him, and he had to pit for a new wing. This ended his chances as he finished 2 laps down in 16th.

World Series Pro

Pablo Tassano had a very solid race, after qualifying 18th, he was running in a comfortable 9th position with 12 laps to go. Things would become very tricky for Pablo, however, as he suffered a brake failure which caused him to damage the car and take and unplanned stop for repairs. Pablo, carefully nursing the car to the flag, eventually finished in 12th position.

World Series Advanced

Roy Wachtmeester showed impressive pace in Q1 as he set the 2nd fastest time, while his team mate Drazen Cokor qualified 18th. In Q2, Roy confirmmed his great performance as he set the quickest laptime to take his maiden Pole Position, only a week after taking his first podium finish.

Starting from pole, Roy led the first two laps, before a small mistake cost him the lead. It was the start of a tough race for Roy, who struggling to find any grip on his overheated tyres, had several moments which could have ended his race. Fortunately, he managed to keep the car on track, and while not being able to drive at his testing pace, he still scored very valuable points with a solid 4th position.

Drazen struggled with his car after recieving first-lap damage, which while not terminal, it compromised his pace. He was happy to have finished again in the points, as he crossed the line in 13th place.

World Series Amateur

Nick Oldenhuis had a great performance in Q1 as he set the 2nd best laptime. His team mate Heinz Vanderhoydonck also performed well, just missing out on Q2 with the 11th time. Nick was disappointed with his Q2 lap as he took 10th on the grid.

Unfortunately, Nick was hit in the first corner, dropping to 19th place. Heinz, meanwhile, was carrying a back-of-grid penalty from Sepang, meaning both drivers were at the back despite their strong Qualifying performances.

Nick made good progress to get back to the points, despite struggling with his car, and took some valuable points crossing the line in 9th position. Heinz, meanwhile, struggled with his tyres and had to pit earlier than planned for fresh rubber. This made it very difficult towards the end of the race, causing him to go off track and lose his front wing while on a point-scoring position. Heinz went on to finish the race in 16th position, albeit scoring no points.

Stay tuned for our report on the start of the european season as FSR goes to Catalunya, in Spain. FTS will be doing its best as usual, aiming to spray champagne again this weekend!

Faster Than Speed enjoyed a strong Chinese weekend, as Ernesto De Angelis was the fastest driver in the WC race and despite a few difficulties not allowing him to battle for victory, he took important points with 4th place. In WS, two FTS drivers stood in the podium for the first time, as Roy Wachtmeester took an impressive 2nd in WS Advanced, while Nick Oldenhuis finished 3rd in WS Amateur.

World Championship

Ernesto De Angelis and Patrick De Wit set the 4th and 8th fastest times respectively in Q1. Sergio Casalins, carrying a pitlane-start penalty from Australia, didn't take part in the session. Meanwhile, Tom Eley, driver from our friends at Ash Racing, replaced Giuseppe Marconi, and qualified 20th in his WC debut.
In Q2, Ernesto and Patrick were again firmly in the top-10, being 4th and 7th quickest respectively, they got a place in the last round of Qualifying.
In the final Q3 Pole shootout, Ernesto was once again 4th while Patrick took 8th on the grid.

Ernesto drove a fantastic race, showing the strongest pace in the field, as he set the fastest lap of the race, despite visiting the pitlane one less time than the top two finishers. Although he clearly had the pace to win the race, and was pretty much in contention until his first stop, some damage sustained in the first corner, plus a 14-second pitstop as the damage was repaired, cost him the chance to battle for victory. As Bruno Marques' engine started smoking with a couple of laps to go, it seemed as Ernesto could still make it to the podium, but Marques' engine survived to the flag, leaving Ernesto in a bittersweet 4th. Despite lamenting what could have been, he still scored very important points for FTS NetRex.

Patrick also drove a very strong race. Also on two-stops, he initially struggled against the light three-stoppers, but made his strategy work by looking forward to a 5th place finish by the end of the race. It wasn't to be, however, as Patrick's engine failed dramatically with only 3 laps remaining, leaving him with no points, eventually classified 17th.

Sergio was also driving a strong race from the pitlane, reaching the points zone at the end of his long first stint. However, he never reached his first stop, as a disconnection left him out of the race on lap 20. Tom was making good progress until he spun with cold tyres after his second stop, and unaccustomed to the controls of his Rex2009eda, he stalled the car, ending his race prematurely.

World Series Ace

Florian Pechon qualified his FTS-P9 in 17th position. Team-mate Gabriel Montanes unfortunately had a very disappointing Q1 and just missed the top-26, losing the chance to take part in the race. Florian, struggling with understeer, was unable to make much progress in the race, finishing outside the points in 16th position. The team will be looking forward to a stronger Ace showing in Bahrain.

World Series Advanced

Roy Wachtmeester confirmmed his solid performance as he set the 3rd fastest time in Q1. In Q2, he performed very strongly again and took 3rd on the grid. Team-mate Drazen Cokor, meanwhile, qualified 18th.

Roy drove his best race to date, climbing to 2nd after the start and staying there until he led his first lap ever before his first stop. A long 11-second pitstop ended up costing him the chances to win, but he still took his maiden podium finish with a fantastic 2nd place, just over a second and a half behind winner Fields. Roy also took the first fastest lap of his career.

Drazen showed a much better race pace, and although he was compromised by his Qualifying position, he made good progress to finish the race in 10th place.

World Series Amateur

Nick Oldenhuis and Heinz Vanderhoydonck were 7th and 8th fastest in the Q1 session. Nick, entering Q2 for the first time, drove strongly to 3rd on the grid. Heinz, having to start from the back due to carrying a penalty from Malaysia, didn't take further part in Qualifying.

Heinz unfortunately had an early retirement, as his car was not correctly set-up after the race was restarted. Nick, meanwhile, had a much better afternoon, driving firmly in the top-3 and battling for P2 in the final laps, to finally take his maiden podium finish with a great 3rd position.

The team will be heading to Sakhir, Bahrain, where all FSR divisions will contest their races in the desert next weekend. Faster Than Speed will be looking forward to build on the solid results achieved in Chinese soil, fighting at the top in both WC and WS!