F1 Liverpool FC

That car is racing at Donington park, might pop and see it as its only a few miles from me 

If I was Rafa I wouldn't turn me back on that car too much, Parry might jump in it (couldn't resist it)

What's this all about then?



And did Rafa not get away on holiday this year? I've got a better tan than he has.

Well it may be the answer to the left wing problem but I am not too sure?

It would seen we are going to to the sport of motor racing! With little money for players and the continuing farce of financing the new stadium we have entered Motor Racing.

Here is the text from BBC and the link.
Liverpool move into motor racing 
 
Rafa Benitez and the Liverpool first-team squad unveil their car
Liverpool's commercial director Ian Ayre is confident the club will feel the financial benefit of competing in the new Superleague Formula series.

The Superleague Formula is a motor sport series consisting of 17 teams all driving identical 750 brake horsepower cars, carrying football club branding.

"We get a guaranteed signing-on fee and each year we have a guaranteed revenue stream," he told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"We're licensing our colours, our brand, into the series."

Ayre is keen to stress it will not cost the club any money to compete in Superleague Formula.

"The race series, the drivers, the tracks - all of that is covered by the race organisers and the series organisers," said Ayre.

 We've got a professional race team and we've got a great driver, so we're very excited and are expecting results

Liverpool commercial director Ian Ayre
"We're hopefully supporting [the series] and hopefully bringing some of our sponsors along to support it but we have no financial burden."

To date the Superleague Formula has attracted two other British clubs - Spurs and Glasgow Rangers - alongside some of the biggest names in world football, including AC Milan and Corinthians.

Ayre is aware Liverpool supporters will expect their car to win races but stressed that the running of the race car is out of the football clubs hands.

"We're taking it very seriously [but] unfortunately the on-track performance is largely in the hands of the driver and the team.

"We've got a professional race team and we've got a great driver, so we're very excited and are expecting results."

Ayre has been in his role as Liverpool Football Club's first ever commercial director for just over a year. He says he is enjoying his role and the challenges the job presents.

"Its been great. When we are out there talking to potential partners in all sorts of categories, Liverpool Football Club just opens doors and that makes life a whole lot easier."

The first round of action in the Superleague Formula competition takes place at Donnington Park on 30-31 August.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/7582611.stm

If this is true and for one can not see the point, are we the supporters, both attenders and armchair fans alike going to watch a Motor race? I doubt it so what is the point, as Liverpool commercial director Ian Ayre says,  We've got a professional race team and we've got a great driver, so we're very excited and are expecting results.
 I say CONCENTRATE ON THE JOB IN HAND....FOOTBALL.

Unless Masser is driving and then it may be interesting!
 

How odd's this?!
Don't quit your day jobs lads!

lets hope its better at corners then Xabi Alonso   

Ayre is keen to stress it will not cost the club any money to compete in Superleague Formula.

Don't believe anything Hicks lap-dog says.

Probably couldn't get Barry because the price of fuel shot up.  Reckon the new stadium (if it's ever built) will have some kind of Indy 500 circuit around the outside of the pitch.

Hopefully it will be Fernando Alonso in the drivers seat.

This has all the hallmarks of an early april fools!!

I like it, looks good

Wicked pics Reepicheep, thanks for sharing. Is it just me or do F1 cars look small?

Thanks reepicheep for the pics.

There are 17 f1 football cars: Lfc, Milan, Porto, Rangers, Galatasaray, Anderlect, Flamengo, Spurs, Roma, Al-Ain, Beijing fc, Dortmund, Basel, Olmpioius, Psv, Corinthians, Seville.

Liverpool's Spanish flair extends to Superleague Formula
Liverpool FC racing driver Adrian Valles 25/08/2008 http://www.superleagueformula.com/superleague/SF-Clubs/Liverpool-FC/Local-News/Liverpool-s-Spanish-flair-extends-to-SF

Liverpool Football Club has a big slice of Spanish influence from the coach to the on-pitch stars – now the Reds will be represented on track by a young Spanish star of the future in Superleague Formula.

Coach Rafael Benitez, striker Fernando Torres, goal keeper Pepe Reina, midfield Xabi Alonso, and defender Alvaro Arbeloa will now be joined by fellow Spaniard and talented racing driver Adrian Valles who will drive the 750 horsepower, V12 powered Superleague Formula car in the opening round of the championship at Donington Park on August 30/31.

After a successful karting career, Valles has risen through the ranks to major international championships including World Series by Renault and GP2 and scored a role as test diver for the Spyker Formula 1 team last year.

The Valencia-born Valles is now looking to follow in the footsteps of ex-Valencia coach Benitez to become a hero for the Liverpool fans.

Currently contesting the Formula 1 support championship, GP2, Valles is no stranger to success at Donington Park. He previously won the UK round of the World Series by Renault Championship at the historic midlands venue.

“I am really happy for the opportunity to represent Liverpool,” Valles said.

“I have followed the club closely ever since Benitez took over the helm and obviously there are a lot of top Spanish players representing the club as well. “Liverpool is one of the most famous clubs in the world so it really is a honour to drive their car in the inaugural championship.”

Valles contested last weekend’s round of the GP2 championship on home soil at the European Grand Prix being staged around the harbour of Valencia.

This week he will enjoy a 150 horsepower increase as he steps from his red BCN Compeition GP2 machine to the red Liverpool Superleague Formula car in pre-event testing on Thursday.

“These cars are going to be very powerful and quick and it will be a natural progression for me after racing in World Series by Renault and GP2,” Valles said.

“I am really looking forward to driving the car for the first time and it is great for me that the first race is at Donington Park because I have had great success there in the past and I really like the circuit.”

Valles will face a number of key rivals in the Superleague Formula championship including fellow Spaniard Borja Garcia (Sevilla), Robert Doornbos (AC Milan), Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven), Tristan Gommendy (FC Porto) and Ryan Dalziel (Rangers).

In total, Liverpool FC and Valles will do battle against clubs from England (Tottenham Hotspur), Scotland (Rangers), Italy (AC Milan and AS Roma), Portugal (FC Porto), Netherlands (PSV Eindhoven), Germany (Borussia Dortmund), Belgium (RSC Anderlecht), Switzerland (FC Basel), Greece (Olympiacos), Spain (Sevilla FC) Turkey (Galatasaray), UAE (Al Ain), Brazil (Flamengo and Corinthians) and China (Beijing Guoan).

The complete Superleague Formula calendar includes Donington Park (August 30-31), Nurburgring (September 20-21), Zolder (October 4-5), Estoril (October 18-19), Vallelunga (November 1-2) and Jerez (November 22-23).

Take it nobody's been following this then!

I watched a couple on the official TV channel.

The season finished last weekend and Liverpool finished....4th - despite some excellent driving by Adrian Valles throughout the season.

Heartache for Liverpool as Milan scores and Beijing Guoan celebrates

Beijing Guoan has been crowned as the inaugural Superleague Formula championship club in dramatic opening race at Jerez in Southern Spain today.

After a mistake in qualifying yesterday, Davide Rigon drove a steady race from the rear of the grid to finish ninth – earning enough points to clinch the crown. But while Rigon enjoyed a calm finish to his title season, the race at the front of the pack was full of action.

Liverpool FC’s Adrian Valles led off the start and by the time each club had completed their compulsory pit stops, the Reds had opened up a gap of more than 10 seconds.

Atletico Madrid’s Andy Soucek had set his sights on using a long opening stint to challenge for the win but this came unstuck when he spun entering the pit lane.

The Reds looked set to clinch their third victory of the year only to suffer a fuel pressure problem approaching the last lap board.

The Liverpool machine slowed dramatically, allowing AC Milan’s Robert Doornbos to sweep past to grab his second victory of the season. The victory improved upon Doornbos’ recent form which included three runner-up positions in the past four races.

Drama also struck Corinthians driver Antonio Pizzonia. The ex-Formula 1 driver crossed the line in second place but receive a post race 30 second penalty for making his compulsory pit stop outside the prescribed window (lap eight to 20). This allowed FC Porto’s Tristan Gommendy to clinch second ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Duncan Tappy.

The result from Porto backed up Gommendy’s victory at the previous round at Vallelunga and delighted the bus loads of Porto fans who had travelled overnight from Portugal.

RSC Anderlecht’s Craig Dolby clinched the fastest lap of the race en route to fourth place followed by Franck Perera (AS Roma), local star Borja Garcia (Sevilla), Valles (Liverpool), Yelmer Buurman (PSV Eindhoven) and new champion Davide Rigon (Bejing). Al Ain’s Bertrand Bagette completed the top ten.

Beijing now holds a 56 point gap in the championship with 373 points ahead of PSV Eindhoven, 317; Liverpool FC 317; AC Milan, 317; RSC Anderlecht, 280; AS Roma, 275; FC Porto, 263; Tottenham Hotspur, 247; Sevilla FC, 246; Galatasaray, 241; Corinthians, 219; Al-Ain, 218; FC Basel, 199; Rangers, 198; Flamengo, 183; Borussia Dortmund, 168; Olympiacos, 154 and Atletico Madrid, 120.

This afternoon’s second reverse grid will kick off at 2.00pm.

Adrian Valles (Liverpool FC)

“You never wish somebody else has bad luck but after all the misfortune we have had, I’ll take this one.
“When the team said Liverpool had a problem on the radio I didn’t say anything because I didn’t wnat to bring any bad luck on myself.
“I had low gearbox pressure already so I was doing everything I could to bring the car home.

Robert Doornbos (AC Milan)

“To grab the victory does feel really good. I knew I had a train of cars behind me because I was having issues with the downshift.
“I had to keep concentrating and make no mistakes - AC Milan, victory - perfect”

TRISTAN GOMMENDY (FC Poro)

“It is really nice to be here again because the race was quite tough. My pit stop was a little bit too late because Liverpool was able to jump ahead because the new tyres make a big difference initially.
“The Corinthians car was slower than me but the team told me that car was going to receive a penalty so I couldn’t push too hard and take any risks.
“It would have been stupid to try to get past and make a mistake. I am really happy for the team and all the Porto fans who made the trip down to see the car this weekend.”

Duncan Tappy (Tottenham Hotspur)

“I don’t know if I actually expected to end up on the podium after starting ninth but I’ll take it.
“I was having a good race and the team came on the radio and told me I was fourth – then as I was coming into the pits after the race they told me I was actually third.
“I was over the moon and it was really good to get a result for Tottenham again.
“I thought it would have been quite possible to pass, especially early in the race because I passed Galatasaray quite easily but I think they had a problem.
“But when I got caught up behind Porto it wasn’t as easy and I just had to play a sensible game and keep the car on the circuit.”

DAVID RIGON (BEIJING GUOAN) - 2008 CHAMPION

“Yesterday was disappointing with my mistake in qualifying.
“I was a bit nervous before the first race and I new Liverpool was in first place and I am very lucky to be the champion.
“It’s very good to be the first Superleague champion and I am very very happy.
“It was a very difficult year because everyone is a professional driver. We pushed very hard and we had a few problems with the car.
“I am going to enjoy myself in the second race but I will try and make the podium.
“I am very happy to have won the championship and it has helped my career. I am only 22 and we will see. I hope that someone from Formula 1 can help me, watch me and hopefully I can try and test for Formula 1 now.”

Better luck next year.



Don't remember my lollipop lady being this fit when I was a kid.

Discussed in The Kop today so I'll give this a bump for the new season.

Now there's a contender for 'Best Job in the World'.

And I mean the driver, not the bird.

A little bit of digging has shown:

We won race 1 at Magny Cours and finished 6th in the second race.  They then have a Super final 9 which we won but it is not for championship points - only for prize money. 

In the second round at Zolder in Belgium, we had two 3rd places.

Over all, after 2 of 6 rounds of racing, we are currently leading the championship.

1      21    Liverpool FC                  159
2    19    Tottenham Hotspur          128
3    10    FC Basel                          117
4    3    AC Milan                          112
5    8    RSC Anderlecht                  110
6    9    Olympiacos                  104
7    7    Flamengo                            83
8    14    Corinthians                     76
9    4    Galatasaray                    75
10    15    Atlético de Madrid            74
11    16    FC Porto                            73
12    24    FC Midtjylland                    72
13    17    Rangers FC                    66
14    22    AS Roma                            66
15    69    Olympique Lyonnnais            52
16    2    Sporting Clube de Portugal    51
17    5    PSV Eindhoven                    35
18    0    Sevilla FC                              0

The 3rd round is this weekend at Donnington Park.

For more info, click the link  http://www.superleagueformula.com/

Decent race today. Adrian Valles finished 6th. Had terrible qualifying in the rain and started 10th on the grid. Could have got 5th but Spurs just held on.

Just a thought, I am presuming that this is a pretty expensive sport to be involved it. Could the money be better spent or has it actually got anything to do with the club?

Its a class sport was watching it on LfcTv we cane in 7th i think

Champions in this last year. Watched us spin out today. Oh the similarities

To top it off Spurs just won the superfinal. We need a new driver. Spun out of both races