Round 16 - Japan (Suzuka)

ACE SERIES Japan (Suzuka)
1997/98 Pole Position: Michal Janak (1:25.357)
1997/98 Race Winner: Jan Svehlik (1h22:09.281)
Race Distance: 53 laps

Qualifying

PosNo.DriverTeamTimeDiff.Pts
1.  # 9  Jan Svehlik  Wild 13-Bolgani  1:25.308  +00.000  20
2.  # 1  Michal Janak  Digitech-Magia  1:25.631  +00.323  16
3.  #25  Rafal Ziarnik  Yapamotox  1:26.554  +01.246  14
4.  # 2  Marco Saupe  Digitech-Magia  1:26.561  +01.253  12
5.  #26  Tomasz Bielawski  Yapamotox  1:26.713  +01.405  10
6.  #40  Mike Hogg  MSP Racing  1:26.804  +01.496  8
7.  #37  Tom Nielsen  Graton Grand Prix  1:27.349  +02.041  6
8.  # 8  Axel Bruns  Wild 13  1:28.010  +02.702  5

Race

An exciting end to the season with Svehlik taking his routine lead from Janak and Ziarnik. Janak then takes the lead for the first time in a number of races on lap 7, both men then pitting on lap 14. Lap 23 saw Ziarnik chugging slowly down the pitlane missing front and rear wings after a puncture had put him into the wall. Amazingly the Yapamotox could continue. Janak then pits lap 28 followed by Svehlik on lap 30 where slick team-work puts him back out in front. Janak soon retakes the lead at the Spoon Curve on lap 32 only to be repassed by the Wild 13 into the final chicane on lap 34. He repeated the manouvere on lap 35 to get back into the lead, however, but couldn't hold it - the resulting mistake allowing Svehlik back into a lead he wasn't about to lose. Saupe took third from Nielson towards the end and finished a huge 2 minutes and 47 seconds behind Svehlik who, in turn, was 3 seconds ahead of the recrowned champions - Michal Janak in the Digitech.

PosNo.DriverTeamTimeDiff.Pts 
1.  # 9  Jan Svehlik  Wild 13-Bolgani  1h21:53.585  +0:00.000  180+5+3
2.  # 1  Michal Janak  Digitech-Magia  1h21:56.789  +0:03.204  170+5
3.  # 2  Marco Saupe  Digitech-Magia  1h24:01.053  +2:47.468  165 
4.  #37  Tom Nielsen  Graton Grand Prix  1h24:13.529  +2:19.944  160 
5.  # 8  Axel Bruns  Wild 13-Bolgani  1h24:29.264  +2:35.679  155 
6.  #25  Rafal Ziarnik  Yapamotox  1h25:13.197  +3:19.612  151 
7.  #40  Mike Hogg  MSP Racing  -2 laps     147 
8.  #26  Tomasz Bielawski  Yapamotox  8 laps  15.1%  21 

Last modified: Sunday 03 October 1999 - 12:21