Sebastien Buemi
Infiniti Red Bull Racing F1 Team reserve driver Sebastien Buemi is a key figure in our World Series by Renault Formula One shows and spends his life at racetracks. Yet it seems his endurance programme and his job as a development pilot are not enough for the Swiss, so this weekend he climbed on board a Renault Trucks race truck at the Hungaroring.
Since 2007, Renault Trucks has been starring in the European Truck Racing Championship with its special race-prepared trucks, which are based on the Renault Premium road tractor unit. One of these beasts of racing put in an appearance at this weekend’s World Series by Renault meeting, with Sebastien Buemi climbing into the passenger seat of French driver Anthony Janiec’s truck and discovering a whole new way of getting around the Hungaroring.
Situated behind the cabin, the DXi13 Racing engine packs quite a punch. Developed by the teams at Renault Trucks, it can deliver enough performance to turn our F1 driver pale, thanks to a displacement of 12.8 litres, 1160bhp, torque of 5600Nm at 1400rpm and a 16-speed manual gearbox.
The truck’s maximum engine power of 2600rpm was also a world away from the 18000rpm Sebastien Buemi is used to with his Renault Sport F1 engine.
All smiles after completing his lap, the Swiss driver said: “It’s a lot more impressive than I thought it would be. It accelerates fast and brakes hard and it’s not easy to control either. You need to keep adjusting your line the whole time. It was a whole new experience for me because I’ve never sat this high up at a track before. I lost all my bearings. The chassis is very rigid too. It jumps up and down on the kerbs and it doesn’t roll at all. I think I’d need a few more practice laps before I could get behind the wheel.”
Official Renault Sport Press Release.