Daily motorsport news

World Series by Renault 2009. Changes unveiled for 2009

xeneizeuk — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:12:20 +0000

The World Series by Renault organizing committee has presented to the teams the changes to be introduced in the three international WSR championships – Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Eurocup Mégane Trophy – for the 2009 season.

Calendar: focus on F1 circuits

In 2009 the World Series by Renault will once again give the stars of tomorrow the opportunity to hone their skills at top-class circuits. Seven World Series by Renault meetings will be held at Europe’s greatest motor racing venues in countries including Belgium, the UK, Spain, Hungary and France. The Formula Renault 3.5 Series calendar will feature two additional weekends, including a visit to Monaco, where it will act as the curtain-raiser for the most prestigious Formula 1 Grand Prix of the year.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series: ever closer to F1

In order to reduce season costs and better showcase drivers’ natural talent, the Thursday test sessions will be discontinued. There will also be changes to the format of the meeting proper, with increased track time. Two one-hour sessions of collective testing will be held on the Friday. Qualifying remains unchanged, with the spectacular SuperPole format retained, while the duration of the races will be extended to 50 minutes.
In order to encourage a combative spirit among drivers, a bonus point will be awarded to the driver who climbs the most places in the race order within each race.
At the halfway point of the season, the leader of the overall standings will be given the opportunity to drive a Renault R28 as part of an F1 Show held at a World Series by Renault meeting, while the eventual champion will be offered a test with the ING Renault F1 Team at the end of the year.
Finally, the aerodynamics of the Formula Renault 3.5 car will undergo minor enhancements inspired by the 2009 F1 regulations.

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: a passport to Formula Renault 3.5 Series

The winner of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 will be awarded a €500,000 grant to help them make the step up to Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2010. The top three in the Eurocup will also be invited to test-drive the Formula Renault 3.5.
As will be the case for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, collective testing will be held on the Friday only, with two 40-minute sessions. The meeting format remains unaltered, with a 15-minute qualifying session, a 15-minute SuperPole and two races lasting 25 minutes + 1 lap.
The decision has been taken to reduce the number of competing cars to 38, to be selected by the World Series by Renault organizing committee. This step will reinforce the elite nature of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and boost national Formula Renault 2.0 championships.

Eurocup Mégane Trophy: a new car

New Mégane Trophy will be unveiled in a few days’ time by Carlos Ghosn at the Paris Motor Show (October 4-19).
After each race, €20,000 in prize money will be divided among the best performers, including €5,000 for the winner. In all, €280,000 in prize money will be awarded over the Eurocup Mégane Trophy season.
A loyalty bonus will also be introduced. Every car that competes for the whole season will be rewarded with a sum of €12,000.
The format of the meetings will be as in 2008, with two hours of collective testing on Friday, a 20-minute qualifying session and two races lasting 40 minutes + 1 lap with a mandatory refueling stop. The Gentlemen Drivers category, which proved a great success in 2008, is to be continued.

World Series: Estoril preview

xeneizeuk — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:52:36 +0000

Everything is in place for Giedo Van der Garde (P1 Motorsport) to take his first motorsport title. The penultimate meeting could see the Dutchman, who leads Fabio Carbone (Ultimate-Signature) by 53 points, crowned champion. With just 62 points still to play for, Giedo has plenty of room to maneuver!

The calculators are out and everyone is doing their sums. Everyone, that is, except for Giedo Van der Garde! Championship leader since the first race of the season, the P1 Motorsport driver is just one step away from the title.

With eight podium finishes, including five wins, Van der Garde must continue his form without putting himself under unnecessary pressure. The odds are stacked in his favour, as mathematically, only Fabio Carbone is capable of catching him. To keep his hopes of the title alive, Carbone must score 22 points more than Van der Garde in Portugal. The title hopes of Tech 1 driver Julien Jousse’s slipped away at Le Mans. Even if the Frenchman claimed both pole positions at Estoril and Barcelona as well as winning the four remaining races, he would still lose out to Van der Garde on his number of wins.

The fight for second place is very hotly disputed. Since his first win in Budapest, Fabio Carbone has become Van der Garde’s main rival. However, Carbone will have to work hard in Portugal to defend second place. Julien Jousse has by no means given up the fight, and after a mixed weekend at Le Mans, he will be pulling out all the stops. Mikhail Aleshin (Carlin Motorsport) and Salvador Duran (Interwetten.com Racing) are also lining up to steal the coveted runner-up place.

Carbone can count on one major ally in the form of teammate Esteban Guerrieri. The two Ultimate-Signature drivers showed just how well they work together at Le Mans, where Guerrieri finished on the podium (the sixteenth driver to do so in 2008) for the first time this season after taking his first pole position in the category. The South American duo are fueling Ultimate-Signature’s hopes of a Team title. The Anglo-French team is only nine points adrift from Tech 1 Racing, who are only seventeen points behind P1 Motorsport. Tech 1 Racing and Ultimate Signature will therefore put everything they have into this battle, and the fight between Julien Jousse, Charles Pic, Fabio Carbone and Esteban Guerrieri can only be more exciting for it.

As the end of the season draws near, chances to make a mark are running out fast. Nevertheless, with 2009 just around the corner, some drivers need to shine. Race winners already this year, Bertrand Baguette (International Draco), Miguel Molina (Prema Powerteam) and Robert Wickens (Carlin Motorsport) need to stage a comeback before the final curtain.

Miguel Molina could well play a decisive role in these two final meetings. With a new lease of life since his second place at Le Mans, the Spanish driver comes to his two favourite circuits, Estoril and Barcelona, where he won last season. He is certainly a force to be reckoned with.

Panasonic Toyota Racing: Racing After Dark in Singapore

xeneizeuk — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:24:54 +0000

Panasonic Toyota Racing takes a step into the unknown this weekend with the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. Not only is this the first time the city state has hosted the Formula 1 World Championship, it is also the first time a Grand Prix has been held at night.

The island of Singapore lies on the southern tip of the Malayan peninsula and, with an area of just over 700 square kilometres, it is the third smallest state to host a Grand Prix, after Monaco and Bahrain, but with over 4million inhabitants, it is a bustling metropolis.

The new circuit, which is 5.067km long and features 23 corners, is located in the Marina Bay area of Singapore City and includes iconic landmarks such as the Singapore Flyer big wheel, the Esplanade and Raffles Boulevard. The lay-out is not just spectacular, it also features several unusual characteristics – the drivers will travel over Anderson Bridge, under a grandstand and through the 300km/h turn six; claimed to be the fastest corner on a Formula 1 street circuit.

That cocktail of glamour, novelty and challenge brings an obvious comparison to another street circuit. “It can definitely be the Monaco of the east because of the character of this street circuit,” says Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis at Panasonic Toyota Racing. “But it could be also the Nürburgring of the east because we are talking about 23 corners, which starts to sound like the old Nürburgring!”

Jarno Trulli concurs, although as a driver his priority is to understand the finer points of the lay-out in order to get maximum performance out of his TF108. “I’ve seen the plans and the Grand Prix looks amazing so far, although you always need to drive the track first before having a proper idea of it,” he says.

“You need to understand the corners and the speeds so you know more about the set-up and the kind of downforce we are going to run. It is a new challenge because we don’t know the track or the conditions so it will be interesting.”

Despite the incredible location, it is the novelty of racing at night which has created a wave of anticipation in Formula 1 circles.

Many team members at Panasonic Toyota Racing have experience of competing at night from the team’s adventures in the Le Mans 24 Hours, while others, such as Timo Glock, have experienced it elsewhere in their careers.

Unlike at Le Mans, the TF108s will not be equipped with headlights; instead around 1,500 lights have been installed around the entire track to ensure near-daylight conditions for the drivers. Timo raced under lights during his Champ Car season in 2005, when he finished eighth in a 400km race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so he is more prepared than most of his rivals for the challenge ahead.

“The main issue is that you are driving at a different time of day,” explains Timo. “Normally you would be resting in an evening but in Singapore the race will start at 8pm. They will give us as much light as possible but as it is a night race I don’t expect it will be like daylight in every corner. That is fine though.

“Driving at night is a fun experience and it is definitely a really good show for the fans; that is the most important thing.”

For the drivers, adapting to the different timetable is the key issue but for other team members that is just part of the conundrum of racing at night. An observation team of engineers and logistics experts visited Singapore in July to witness a lighting test and study the impact artificial lights will have on team operations.

“We have looked at different things,” says Chief Engineer Race and Test Dieter Gass. “We have looked at a pit board for example which is visible at night and we have to make sure everything is visible in the garage and on the pit wall. Also the display on the steering wheel might need to be different because normally it has to be quite bright in order to be visible on a sunny day.”

Panasonic Toyota Racing has devoted a lot of energy to minimising the effect on team members of the unique timetable, which is the single biggest logistical challenge of the new circuit. “That has been the biggest concern,” reveals Team Manager Richard Cregan. “All the other logistical matters are pretty much the same as with any other flyaway race.

“We have worked closely with the FIA and FOM in deciding the timetable and we have worked internally to come up with an appropriate daily schedule because you can’t have guys starting work at 8am and leaving at 3am; that would not be fair. So we have come up with solutions to shift the whole working day later.”

It is not simply the absence of daylight and the unusual timetable which could create a challenge in Singapore. On September evenings in Singapore the humidity of the day often breaks with heavy rain while teams will experience the unusual situation of air and track temperatures falling during the course of the race and practice sessions.

“I think for us the biggest challenge will be the temperature,” says President John Howett. “The surface temperature of the track will be very low and normally Formula 1 tyres work best in higher temperatures. Then of course at that time of year there’s a high probability of rain. So we will face difficulty with temperature, made worse possibly by heavy rain. Night racing is a challenge but we’re a team that has come from Le Mans so we should be able to handle that quite easily.”

So, the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix presents more challenges than any other race on the calendar, but Panasonic Toyota Racing has left no stone unturned in its preparations, giving Jarno and Timo the platform to fight once again for the podium. And that would be the perfect preparation for the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway next month.

Goodwood Revival lures F1 star into comeback

xeneizeuk — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:41:58 +0000

Former F1 and TV star Martin Brundle has been lured into making his racing comeback by Goodwood for this weekend’s cult Revival event (19-21 September). The prestigious retro motor racing spectacular will be awash with legendary cars, bikes, planes and heroes set in an authentic time warp background at the glorious Goodwood track in West Sussex.

Brundle will not only be reunited with Jaguar with whom he enjoyed his most successful racing at Le Mans and in the World Sports Car Championship, but he will also team up with Grand Prix design legend Adrian Newey in a fearsome light weight E Type Jaguar from the sixties.

The Brundle / Newey combination will take on the mighty Ferraris, Aston Martins and Cobras driven by champions past and present in the famous Tourist Trophy race which includes a dramatic pit stop to change drivers. The former teammate to Michael Schumacher at Benetton F1 is putting his reputation on the line.

“To a degree” said Brundle, “although I’m not a professional driver anymore. I know I will have to take a 90% approach in the Tourist Trophy as it’s a race that’s hotly contested, I was surprised to see just how aggressive the drivers are but I will leave a margin for error.

“We race hard but fair as this event is a magical step back in time, it’s a chance to drive a beautiful car from a great racing era which lured me into saying yes. In a previous Goodwood Revival I remember powering into St Mary’s and looking across to see Sir Stirling Moss, head back in his famous white helmet, piloting an iconic D Type Jaguar at 160 mph next to me. It was surreal, as if I was in a movie, an unforgettable moment of pure nostalgia.”

The legends of motor sport will gather this weekend to celebrate 60 years of Goodwood and the tenth running of the Goodwood Revival. Everywhere the 80,000 expected spectators look, painstaking attention to detail will astound the onlooker – from World War Two planes in dog fights above, to fifties bikes raced by former and current stars. Whilst everyone will also dress the part in this huge cult theatrical event on the Sussex Downs.

Period theatre or not, Martin Brundle will be expected to play a major role and take front of stage on his racing return.

F3 Euroseries arrive at Barcelona

xeneizeuk — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:40:47 +0000

For the third time in its history, the Formula 3 Euro Series is going to race at the Circuit de Catalunya, this weekend. Nico Hülkenberg (ART Grand Prix), Formula 1 test driver for the Williams team, travels to the 2.977-kilometre circuit located close to Barcelona as championship leader. Currently, Edoardo Mortara (Signature-Plus) is his toughest opponent. Furthermore, the Italian who currently holds second position in the championship won one of the two rounds of last year’s Barcelona weekend. While Renger van der Zande (Prema Powerteam), the other man who celebrated a race win at Barcelona, in 2007, follows in third position.

Meanwhile, three guest drivers will use The Formula 3 Euro Series’ appearance in Spain for trying to demonstrate their skills on the grid of the planet’s most competitive young-gun series: Brendon Hartley (Carlin Motorsport), Peter Elkmann (RC Motorsport) and Stéphane Richelmi (Barazi Epsilon). Monaco’s Richelmi and his team will make their Formula 3 Euro Series debuts but the other two drivers already have got Formula 3 Euro Series experience under their belts. German Elkmann even has won a Formula 3 Euro Series round: in 2006, at Brands Hatch.

The grid also features two drivers from Barcelona: Dani Clos (Prema Powerteam) and Daniel Campos-Hull (HBR Motorsport). Clos travels to the Circuit de Catalunya right after having completed his first Formula 1 test and would love to tie in with his performance delivered in Pau. There, he secured his maiden Formula 3 Euro Series podium finish. While rookie Campos-Hull still is waiting for his first success in the hard-fought series.

Dani Clos (Prema Powerteam): “I’m looking forward to my home event. After all, I have fond memories of last year’s races at Barcelona. Despite having qualified only 18th I nearly made it to the podium, in the second race. And it goes without saying that I want to secure a similar result, this year. It’s about time for me to again be involved in the battle for the top positions and it would be really nice to make it to the podium, in my home race.”

The Formula 3 Euro Series is covered live or re-live in 20 countries. Furthermore, Formula 3 Euro Series race résumés are broadcasted in numerous countries.

Audi wins Le Mans Series 2008

xeneizeuk — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:13:41 +0000

After the triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the early title win in the American Le Mans Series, AUDI AG performed another feat with the Audi R10 TDI diesel sportscar: At the 1000-kilometre race at Silverstone (Great Britain), Audi Sport Team Joest – clinching victory as well as fourth place – secured also the champion’s title in the European Le Mans Series (LMS).

In front of a record turnout of 53,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) at the season’s finalé scored the first victory of the Audi R10 TDI, which is powered by over 650 hp, in the Le Mans Series. For Alexandre Prémat (France) and Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) a fourth place at Silverstone was sufficient to win the drivers’ title in the LM P1 class. The LMS manufacturers’ and team titles went to Audi as well.

From the outset, the two Audi R10 TDI cars of Audi Sport Team Joest were able to keep the pace of the two Peugeot 908s in the race and put the French diesel sportscars under massive pressure. As a result, Peugeot driver Nicolas Minassian in a duel with Allan McNish spun as early as in the first turn and later retired due to an accident.

After the premature end of the race for their only remaining rivals in the fight for the drivers’ title, Alexandre Prémat and Mike Rockenfeller would have merely needed a sixth-place finish to win the title. The two youngsters were leading the race most of the time, did not take any unnecessary risks and were heading for the title win when they were forced to make an unscheduled pit stop 20 minutes before race end due to a defect on the right rear suspension. Thanks to a quick repair the car bearing number 2 in the race lost only four laps.

A slight contact and a stop-and-go penalty due to overtaking under a yellow flag caused some additional drama on the final laps. In the end, Prémat/Rockenfeller crossed the finish line in fourth place, though, and thus secured the champion’s title.

Another nerve-racking experience was the victory drive of Dindo Capello and Allan McNish. Due to a quicker pit stop Audi Sport Team Joest in the second hour of the race managed moving their R10 TDI past the previously leading Peugeot. When Peugeot driver Stéphane Sarrazin after a safety car period tried overtaking Capello on the outside in turn 1, he turned in too early and collided with the Audi. Capello together with Sarrazin spun off the track, losing three laps in the gravel trap and due to a cut tyre.

From 17th place, Capello and McNish managed to make up ground again with consistently fast lap times, a good strategy and perfect pit stops to take the lead again 20 minutes before race end. This locked in the first victory of the Audi R10 TDI in the LMS as well as Audi’s title win in the manufacturers’ classification.

Quotes after the race at Silverstone

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “That was a placatory end of a difficult championship. We’re proud to have won the Le Mans Series straight in our first year against such strong rivals. Maybe we dreamt that we’d be going home from here with race victory and the championship title but it was hard work. The whole team did a great job. The pit stops and the strategy were very good and the boys drove a constantly fast pace. We were at the level of our strongest rivals who took themselves out of the race due to accidents, and we made the maximum of the situation. Well done to the whole squad!”

Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1): “First of all, congratulations to our team-mates Alex (Prémat) and ‘Rocky‘ on their well-deserved title win. For Allan (McNish) and me it was a nice end of the Le Mans Series. We were fast at the first four races as well but always had some kind of problems. After the accident with Stéphane Sarrazin, in which I feel – 101 per cent – that I was not at fault, I thought that this race was over for us as well. But we never gave up. Seasoned drivers, an experienced team and a great car make for a good combination to win a race which – just like Le Mans – seemed to have been lost already on paper. This race showed that people with a lot of will power and commitment can make the seemingly impossible possible. That’s why Allan and I are proud to be part of this fantastic team. Audi won Le Mans, the ALMS and the LMS. Now I’m firmly keeping my fingers crossed for Audi to win the DTM title as well.”

Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1): “I believe that Dindo (Capello) and I deserve this victory, and so does everyone in the team – both the exploit at the finale and the champion’s title. We fought hard this year. For Dindo and me things weren’t always going as well as they should have. We had incidents when we were in the position to win races. I think 24 hours ago nobody would have expected Audi to win the race and the manufacturer’s title and ‘Rocky‘ and Alex (Prémat) the drivers’ title. Audi has had a clean sweep in sportscar racing this season: Le Mans, the American Le Mans Series and the now the Le Mans Series. A great year for Audi Sport.”

Alexandre Prémat (Audi R10 TDI #2): “It’s simply fantastic for everyone in the team and of course for ‘Rocky‘ and I. I think we did a good job all weekend as well as thoughout the year. The race was tough. Up to the final lap we were on edge because 20 minutes before the end of the race we had a damaged suspension. That was close! Fortunately, the mechanics did a great job yet again. Thank you, Audi. Thank you, Team Joest. Thank you also to Allan (McNish) and Dindo (Capello) from whom we were able to learn a lot this year.”

Mike Rockenfeller (Audi R10 TDI #2): “I always believed that we could make it – and now it’s come true. In a championship you’ve got to consistently score good points and we did that at the first four races. And today we scored the necessary points as well. Of course we’d have liked to win this race. But I’m extremely happy that our ‘sister car’ clinched this exploit here for Audi. Allan (McNish) and Dindo (Capello) had a lot of misfortune this year. Audi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the last race of the LMS and the championship – it’s hard to top that. For Alex and me it was very important to clinch this title.”

Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “That was a strange and difficult race. Previous races already showed that Peugeot tends to make mistakes when they’re under pressure. In my opinion, the Peugeot drivers clearly made mistakes here. Perhaps they got a little nervous because they didn’t manage to drive away from us. After number 7 was out of the race, Alex (Prémat) and ‘Rocky‘ were able to drive very cautiously. Fortunately, we managed to eliminate the technical problem quickly. In the end, they only missed third place by a few seconds. But that doesn’t matter: they’re the champions and Allan (McNish) and Dindo (Capello) have won the race. The two pushed like hell and deserve this win. A fantastic result for Audi!”

The results at Silverstone

1 Capello/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) 195 laps in 5h 40m24.862s
2 Mücke/Charouz (Lola-Aston-Martin) – 2 laps
3 Dumas/Boullion (Pescarolo-Judd) – 4 laps
4 Prémat/Rockenfeller (Audi R10 TDI) – 4 laps
5 van Merksteijn/Verstappen (Porsche) – 4 laps
6 Campbell-Walter/Hall (Creation-Aim) – 4 laps
7 Primat/Tinseau (Pescarolo-Judd) – 5 laps
8 Ortelli/Ayari (Courage-Oreca-Judd) – 6 laps
9 Lienhard/Theys/Lammers (Porsche) – 8 laps
10 Amaral/Pla (Lola-AER) – 10 laps

Actors support Audi in DTM title fight

xeneizeuk — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:10:14 +0000

The ninth round (Sunday, 1:45 p.m. CEST live on ARD) now puts the DTM on the finish straight of the season. With leader of the standings Timo Scheider and champion Mattias Ekström Audi has two hot irons in the fire – and prominent support to boot: Sisters Anja and Gerit Kling as well as Simon Licht will keep their fingers crossed for the drivers at Barcelona.

Next Thursday, the film, “Der Baader Meinhof Komplex”, will hit the cinemas as one of the most spectacular German productions in recent years. Simon Licht is one of the protagonists in the role of RAF founding member Horst Mahler. The actor, who was born in Hanover in 1966, played in previous films like “Elementarteilchen” as well as in TV series like “Stromberg”.

In addition to his other passion, sailing, Simon Licht is also a big motorsport enthusiast and will experience his DTM debut at Barcelona. The connection to Audi has existed for some time: At the Audi MedCup, the regatta series in the Mediterranean, Simon Licht was a guest on board the German boat “Platoon”, which is supported by Audi. After meeting the successful sailors the actor now has the opportunity of a close-up experience with the motorsport department of the Ingolstadt brand.

In the DTM title fight next weekend Audi can count on further prominent support: Anja and Gerit Kling are travelling to the Circuit de Catalunya at Audi’s invitation as well. The sisters rank among Germany’s most popular TV actresses.

None of the prominent guests will be restricted to the role of a mere spectator: On Saturday, they will be climbing into the passenger’s seat of the 470-hp Audi A4 DTM racing taxi to be chauffeured around the 2.977-kilometre circuit. On Sunday the actor and actresses will split their support: Simon Licht will visit Mattias Ekström at his garage before race start, the Kling sisters will have Timo Scheider explain the Audi A4 DTM to them, which has won as many as four races in the most popular international touring car racing series this year.

Prominent national and international support for its racers has a long tradition at Audi: Actors like Fritz Wepper, Ralf Möller, Moritz Bleibtreu and Peter Lohmeyer, athletes like Sven Hannawald and Dieter Thoma or TV stars like Sarah Wiener, Gitta Saxx and Kai Pflaume were among the guests who spurred Audi on at the DTM venues just this year.

Volkswagen establishes “touring car school” in America

xeneizeuk — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:09:51 +0000

Halfway through the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup it is clear that the series has firmly established itself in the American motorsport scene after just four events. The American offshoot of the “touring car school”, modelled after the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup in Germany, looks back on a successful first half of its maiden season: some 30 drivers aged 16 to 26 from the USA, Canada and Mexico delivered gripping races at the first four rounds with four different winners. The Jetta TDI Cup combines promotion of young talent at reasonable costs with innovative clean diesel technology. Next weekend (19–21 September) the fifth race will be run in Iowa.

“After the first half of the Jetta TDI Cup’s debut season, we can say that the unique concept of the ‘touring car school’ has also successfully established itself in the USA, after proving itself in Germany since 1998 with the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup and its predecessor series, the Lupo Cup,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “The identical and centrally entered Cup Jetta cars give the young drivers an optimum opportunity to show their talent – and with innovative TDI power by Volkswagen at that.”

Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volkswagen of America, provides a positive interim summary as well: “Volkswagen looks back on a long tradition in the American motorsport scene. That’s why it was important for us to return to the circuits with a programme in keeping with the times. The inception of the new Jetta TDI Cup has created an ideal platform to present the advantages of Volkswagen’s clean diesel technology. At the races staged so far, the drivers have delivered thrilling motorsport with the particularly fuel-efficient, production-based touring cars and caused diesel technology to be viewed in a different light.”

Well-balanced sport and spectators galore

The U.S. inaugural round of the one-make cup, which exclusively uses ultra-modern diesel technology, took place at the VIRginia International Raceway on 27 April. The winner of the successful opening event – with a merely 0.463-second advantage over his closest rival – was 25-year-old Mark Pombo (USA). Each of the following races at Mosport/Canada and the tradition-steeped American circuits at Portland and Lime Rock Park produced a new winner, David Jurca, Josh Hurley and Chris Castagna (USA). Some 55 000 spectators enthusiastically watched the 170-hp Cup Jetta cars developed by Volkswagen Motorsport in Germany. The well-balanced field of the new racing series at the season’s mid-point is also reflected in the points standings. After four of eight rounds of the season, Jurca is the front runner with 113 points, Hurley and Castagna follow with seven- and eight-point gaps, respectively. With more than one hundred points yet to be awarded, the fight for the first title remains open.

Four races to go before the title decision

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup’s next stop will be at the Iowa Speedway on 19/20 September. It will be followed by Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey (27/28 September), the only event of the year with two back-to-back races. The season’s finale will take place at Road Atlanta (01–04 October) in conjunction with the American Le Mans Series. The champion will receive up to 250 000 U.S. dollars for his next career step.

“World Series Guys” shine in Monza

xeneizeuk — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:09:02 +0000

Drivers from competitions set up by Renault Sport Technologies and RPM Racing shone at an exciting Italian Grand Prix. Having graduated to Formula 1 from Formula Renault 3.5 just over a year ago, Sebastian Vettel stepped into the limelight when he claimed his first Grand Prix victory in only his twenty-second F1 race.

In July 2007, Sebastian Vettel was forced to abandon his season in World Series Formula Renault 3.5 at the top of the general standings. It was a high price to pay, but for all the right reasons, as the German was called up by Scuderia Toro Rosso to race in the last seven Grand Prix of the season. A little over a year after entering the very highest class in his sport, Vettel has now become the youngest driver in history to take a pole position and an F1 win.

Vettel was joined on the podium by Heikki Kovalainen, champion of the 2004 World Series by Nissan and Robert Kubica, who earned his title the following year in the inaugural season of World Series by Renault.

Just missing out on a podium place after a brilliant race, Fernando Alonso completed the impressive line-up of drivers from the Renault Sport Technologies stable. The ING Renault F1 Team driver started his career in single-seater racing in the Nissan Telefonica Open, winning the championship in 1999.

The race order for this Grand Prix sends out a powerful message to up and coming drivers in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, starting with Giedo Van der Garde who has the 2008 crown well within reach.

Created when World Series by Nissan fused with Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and V6, the World Series by Renault have become the competition of choice for drivers hoping to reach motorsport’s highest rung. Drivers who stand out in the Formula Renault 2.0 national championships can expect to move up to Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and from there to Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The winner of that championship is then offered a test-drive with ING Renault F1 Team.

The last two rounds of the season will take place at Estoril (September 27-28) and Barcelona (October 18-19).

Silverstone tests. Tuesday 24

xeneizeuk — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:21:21 +0000

Photos in Silverstone. 24/06/08

http://picasaweb.google.es/javi.xeneize/TestF1Silverstone240608/photo#s5215478925018671058