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| The last round of the championship was held in Madrid where at least 3 drivers had very clear chances of becoming Spanish Champion. Among those drivers, both Rodrigo Pahissa and Victor Pelaez drove for XRAY. |
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As always, Friday was free practice where all drivers search for the best set-up so as to face qualifying in the best shape.
Saturday started with controlled practice. Right after seriously started, all three candidates looked very strong and concentrated.
After Q1 the three contenders had qualified directly into the final, but with many drivers going very fast nothing would be decided until the last round.
In Q3 it was Josep Gradoli â“ also racing XRAY â“ claimed a place in the final and so moving Victor Pelaez to 5th place. Apart from Josep Gradoli, Rodrigo finished a perfect-round TQ and looked pretty safe as a direct qualified for Sunday.
Q4 was thrilling as Rodrigo managed to improve his pervious time. I?aki Pahissa stopped the watch a mere few thousandths of a second behind him to claim 2nd position. Josep Gradoli, who raced very close to Inaki in Q4, took 3rd place only 1 second behind. Victor and Xabier, the other two candidates to the final title, were left out of the final and would have to race in the semi-finals on Sunday.
So the first top three drivers were XRAY drivers: Rodri Pahissa, Inaki Pahissa, and JosĂ©p GradolĂ. |
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Main Final
Rodrigo made a perfcet start but only three corners later made a mistake and dropped to last of the group. Inaki and Josep Gradoli had a crash which left them behind, but all three proved to have a very fast pace since after the first pit stop they were again in the front runners behind Victor. Victor was having some problems and it looked as if the championship would be decided between Rodrigo and Xabier. After 10 minutes, Rodrigo was leading the race with Josep behind him. Inaki started to suffer engine problems, and Xabier took advantage of this to claim 3rd place⦠enough to become 2009 Champion. In the last few minutes, Juanito H. overtook Xabier which together with Rodrigo´s win meant that Rodrigo would become new Spanish Champion with just 16 years.
This is the first championship for both Rodrigo and XRAY in Spain, completing a perfect season for him and for the brand. Rodrigo also took place in the semi-finals at the EC in Italy this year. |
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Final results
1 Pahissa Rodrigo XRAY NT1
2 Gradoli Josep XRAY NT1
3 Hidalgo Garrido
4 Arana Xabier
5 Olivares Victor XRAY NT1
6 Franch Codina
7 Pahissa Inaki XRAY NT1
8 Martinez Luis
9 Mur Ortiz Tony XRAY NT1
10 Hidalgo Javier |
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2009 Spanish TC Gas Season
Back in March the championship started in Barcelona. The first round of the year was won by Inaki Pahissa with Rodrigo finishing in 3rd place. The second round was in Valencia where Jonhy Pastor claimed TQ and the final win, making it two wins in a row for XRAY. Furthermore, just before the Euros, the third round took place in Gijon and there it was Edu Escandon who TQâ™d and won. At Gijon the whole podium was XRAY, with Victor Pelaez in 2nd place and Rodrigo Pahissa in 3rd. Up to then all races were won by XRAY and just the TQ in Barcelona was done by another brand.
After the summer and with all drivers having relaxed after their vacations the fourth round took place in Bilbao, where due to bad weather we saw a very strange race. Nevertheless it was Mikel Angulo (XRAY) who managed to TQ. Unfortunately, with a damp track on Sunday he didn´t have good luck and couldn´t fight for the win, instead finishing 3rd overall. Victor claimed 2nd place and Xabier won, being the only race that XRAY didnâ™t win in the 2009 season.
The last round in Madrid had a lot to decide with three drivers fighting for the championship. After a perfect weekend, Rodrigo Pahissa TQâ™d and won, becoming new Spanish Champion. Moreover, XRAY had TQâ™d 4 out of 5 races and won 4 out of 5 races. 2009 has been a successful year for XRAY and we are all looking forward to 2010.
Final 2009 Spanish Gas Championship Results
1 Rodrigo Pahissa XRAY NT1
2 Xabier Arana
3 Victor Pelaez XRAY NT1
4 Eduardo Escadon XRAY NT1
5 Gradoli Josep XRAY NT1
6 Johny Pastor XRAY NT1
7 Javier Alonso
8 Jose Antonio Aldudo
9 Ramon Guasch |
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