The 2009 Superleague Formula season was the second
Superleague Formula championship. The series was rebranded the "Superleague Formula by
Sonangol" for this season and also
2010 with the
Angolan oil company becoming the title sponsor.[1] It began on June 28 at
Magny-Cours and finished on November 8 at
Jarama.
The field remained at 18 clubs for the 2009 season but
Beijing Guoan did not return to try to retain the title which they won with
Davide Rigon in
2008, however Rigon did return in the car of
Olympiacos CFP despite
GP2 commitments. In
Estoril,
María de Villota became the first woman to race in the series and
Sébastien Bourdais became the most successful racing driver to enter the series having been dropped by
Scuderia Toro Rosso just weeks earlier. Bourdais described Superleague as "the best alternative to F1".[2]
Giorgio Pantano had signed an official deal with Al Ain before the team announced they would not be able to compete in this season.[33] A week later however, they changed their decision and entered the championship with drivers Miguel Molina and Esteban Guerrieri before having Sevilla FC take their place from round 3 at
Donington Park.
Franck Perera replaced
Jonathan Kennard at A.S. Roma also at the midway point of the season.
Julien Jousse replaced Perera to complete the final two rounds for A.S. Roma.
The calendar for the season was announced on January 29, 2009.[39]
Adding to last year's qualifying and race format, a third 'Super Final' race was added to 4 out of the 6 events for the top six points scorers from the weekend's first two races (although it was initially the top three finishers from the two races qualifying – it was changed prior to round 4 of the season). The six cars raced to decide a 'Weekend Winner' and to whom the top prize money would go but no points were awarded for this race.
Official race commentary on the SF World Feed same from
Ben Edwards and
Bruce Jouanny for every round of the season. Jonathan Green and
Martin Haven have also featured in the commentary box. Ben Constanduros and Warren Pole were the pitlane reporters and interviewers.
Race 2 starts with reverse grid from finishing order of Race 1.
Test calendar and results
There was an initial shakedown of the new car at
Magny-Cours, France on April 28, 2009 by the
Alan Docking Racing team. Australian
John Martin completed laps of the circuit in the updated
Rangers F.C. car, before signing up to drive for them. There were further tests at
Zolder, Belgium from June 17–18 in which no real pacesetter was obvious, although
Dominick Muermans and
John Martin put in solid runs to go quickest.[40][41] Prior to the opening round, most cars tested at Magny-Cours on June 26 in which
Adrián Vallés for
Liverpool F.C. and
Hitech Junior Team was ultimately fastest.[42]
The 2009 Superleague Formula season was the second
Superleague Formula championship. The series was rebranded the "Superleague Formula by
Sonangol" for this season and also
2010 with the
Angolan oil company becoming the title sponsor.[1] It began on June 28 at
Magny-Cours and finished on November 8 at
Jarama.
The field remained at 18 clubs for the 2009 season but
Beijing Guoan did not return to try to retain the title which they won with
Davide Rigon in
2008, however Rigon did return in the car of
Olympiacos CFP despite
GP2 commitments. In
Estoril,
María de Villota became the first woman to race in the series and
Sébastien Bourdais became the most successful racing driver to enter the series having been dropped by
Scuderia Toro Rosso just weeks earlier. Bourdais described Superleague as "the best alternative to F1".[2]
Giorgio Pantano had signed an official deal with Al Ain before the team announced they would not be able to compete in this season.[33] A week later however, they changed their decision and entered the championship with drivers Miguel Molina and Esteban Guerrieri before having Sevilla FC take their place from round 3 at
Donington Park.
Franck Perera replaced
Jonathan Kennard at A.S. Roma also at the midway point of the season.
Julien Jousse replaced Perera to complete the final two rounds for A.S. Roma.
The calendar for the season was announced on January 29, 2009.[39]
Adding to last year's qualifying and race format, a third 'Super Final' race was added to 4 out of the 6 events for the top six points scorers from the weekend's first two races (although it was initially the top three finishers from the two races qualifying – it was changed prior to round 4 of the season). The six cars raced to decide a 'Weekend Winner' and to whom the top prize money would go but no points were awarded for this race.
Official race commentary on the SF World Feed same from
Ben Edwards and
Bruce Jouanny for every round of the season. Jonathan Green and
Martin Haven have also featured in the commentary box. Ben Constanduros and Warren Pole were the pitlane reporters and interviewers.
Race 2 starts with reverse grid from finishing order of Race 1.
Test calendar and results
There was an initial shakedown of the new car at
Magny-Cours, France on April 28, 2009 by the
Alan Docking Racing team. Australian
John Martin completed laps of the circuit in the updated
Rangers F.C. car, before signing up to drive for them. There were further tests at
Zolder, Belgium from June 17–18 in which no real pacesetter was obvious, although
Dominick Muermans and
John Martin put in solid runs to go quickest.[40][41] Prior to the opening round, most cars tested at Magny-Cours on June 26 in which
Adrián Vallés for
Liverpool F.C. and
Hitech Junior Team was ultimately fastest.[42]