Formula Renault 3.5
An exceptional 2011 season ended on Sunday on the Montmelo circuit beside Barcelona. The overall level of driving was very high in each category leading to overwhelming domination or closely-fought battles for the different titles.
Formula Renault 3.5 Series, a no-holds-barred duel
The Carlin Motorsport drivers, Robert Wickens and Jean-Eric Vergne, fought a no-holds-barred duel throughout the season, which should not overshadow the in-depth quality of the rest of the pack. “It’s one of the best fields we’ve seen since the launch of the World Series by Renault,” said Emmanuel Esnault, Renault Sport Technologies’ sporting manager. “It was no surprise to see the first twenty drivers covered by a second! Kevin Korjus, the victor of last year’s FR 2.0 Eurocup, starting winning in Motorland, which only goes to prove the success of the feeder formula put in place by Renault. It’s an efficient system in which everybody has a chance, even a debutant up against more experienced drivers. Yet again we rewarded the mid-season leader with an F1 test, and the champion at the end of the season will take part in the rookie tests in Abu Dhabi. In addition, new teams want to come in, which shows that we offer everybody a level playing field.”
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 : a big field and a promising champion
Carlos Sainz Jr was the pre-season favourite, but finally the title went to Robin Frijns in an action-packed championship helped by the number of cars on the track. “It’s extremely positive,” continued Esnault.” The number of entries was in keeping with the previous years in Formula 2.0 Eurocup after a difficult 2010 season due to the introduction of the new car. This year we had more than thirty-five cars in each heat. The top-five drivers, Robert Frijns, Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat, Will Stevens and Stoffel Vandoorne, were brilliant. The overall level of competitiveness was extremely high.”
Eurocup Mégane Trophy: Comini dominates
There was no suspense in the Eurocup Mégane Trophy as Swiss driver Stefano Comini dominated the season from start to finish. “He was very spectacular,” commented Esnault. “He proved that a driver coming from single-seaters has every chance of fighting at the front in the Mégane Trophy. His title is going to open a few doors for him. This was the case for Nick Catsburg, and will be the case for other drivers in the future. There are three former Mégane drivers in the GT1 World Championship: Catsburg, Maxime Martin and Mickaël Rossi. We now hope that Comini will impress Nismo (Nissan Motorsport) in his test in the Nissan GT-R GT1 as much as Nick Catsburg did.”
Eurocup Clio: a successful first season
The first season of the Clio Eurocup was a successful one with eight spectacular races, battles all round the track and an outstanding champion, Nicolas Milan. “We set up this championship to stimulate the national Clio Cup Championships,” explained Esnault. “The result far exceeded our expectations as it pulled in a large number of entries. We attracted the cream of the national championships, and Nicolas Milan quickly showed he was a cut above the others. He never finished lower than second, and could pull off a triple with the Clio Cup France and the Clio Cup Spain. The Clio Eurocup has been so successful that we’ll continue it in 2012 with the same format. Thanks to Ellip 6 and Renault Sport, Milan will race in the full 2012 Eurocup Mégane Trophy!”
All four series will be there next year. Find below the 2012 World Series by Renault calendar*:
5-6 May: Motorland Aragon, Spain
26-27 May: Monaco (Formula Renault 3.5 Series only)
2-3 June: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
30 June-1 July: Nürburgring, Germany
14-15 July: Moscow, Russia**
24-25 August: TBC (Formula Renault 3.5 Series only)
15-16 September: Hungaroring, Hungary
29-30 September: Paul Ricard HTTT, France
20-21 October: Barcelona, Spain
Official Renault Sport Press Release.