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]
