20 October 2015
A beautiful end of an era at Jerez
The World Series by Renault season final was held last weekend at Circuito de Jerez. The weather played havoc with the 32,000 spectators on hand and the competitors of the categories organized by Renault Sport Technologies. Under sometimes torrential rain, the drivers used all their immense skills. Oliver Rowland set new records in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and Jack Aitken won the title in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. Andrea Pizzitola was crowned in the Renault Sport Trophy. Dario Capitanio won the Renault Sport Trophy Prestige title as well as the Renault Sport Trophy Endurance crown with his partner David Fumanelli. Between the races, Pierre Gasly starred in Infiniti Red Bull Racing F1 Show to the delight of the fans that came out for the final round of 2015.
Patrice Ratti, Renault Sport Technologies Managing Director: “Despite the severe weather, we witnessed magnificent races this weekend and celebrated our champions! This meeting marked the end of a long chapter, that of the World Series by Renault. We are proud to have organized this event and to have made it so popular and relevant. More than six million people have been a part of this over the past 11 years and many have discovered motor racing through this unique concept. Our loyal partners and the local subsidiaries played crucial roles in its success. We wish all the best to RPM Racing, which will organize a new championship with the Formula Renault 3.5. We will concentrate on Formula Renault 2.0 and the Renault Sport Trophy, whose role in the career of the drivers will be increasingly more decisive. Thank you to everyone for the wonderful years with all of you!”
Formula Renault 3.5 Series: Records for Rowland, de Vries rookie of the year
With the title already wrapped up, Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) continued his dominance in Andalusia. With the win on Saturday, the Racing Steps Foundation backed Englishman set the category record for most wins in a season. The next day, the drivers who won at each meeting this year – except Monaco – became the first driver in the history to score more than 300 points in a season. Despite his Sunday pole position, he was beaten by the laureate in the 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2 .0 Nyck de Vries (DAMS), whose maiden win assured him the rookie of the year title.
Race 1: 1- O. Rowland, GBR (Fortec Motorsports), 2- E. Orudzhev, RUS (Arden Motorsport), 3- M. Vaxiviere, FRA (Lotus)…
Race 2: 1- N. de Vries, NED (DAMS), 2- O. Rowland, GBR (Fortec Motorsports), 3- M. Vaxiviere, FRA (Lotus)…
General classification: 1- O. Rowland 307 pts, 2- M. Vaxiviere 234 pts, 3- N. de Vries 160 pts…
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: top honours for Jack Aitken and Josef Kaufmann Racing
They were eight in contention for the championship in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. After winning the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS at Jerez the weekend before, Jack Aitken (Koiranen GP) put in a perfect Saturday to take the lead in the category. On Sunday, Ben Barnicoat (Fortec Motorsports) won. 16th place Jack Aitken watched his rival Louis Delétraz and Kevin Jörg fail in their quest. The two Swiss drivers had to settle for bringing Josef Kaufmann Racing another team title. First year driver, Harrison Scott (AVF) won rookie of the year honours.
Race 1: 1- J. Aitken, GBR (Koiranen GP), 2- K. Jörg, SUI (Josef Kaufmann Racing), 3- I. D’Agosto, ITA (Manor MP Motorsport)…
Race 2: 1- J. Aitken, GBR (Koiranen GP), 2- I. D’Agosto, ITA (Manor MP Motorsport), 3- B. Barnicoat, GBR (Fortec Motorsports)…
Race 3: 1- B. Barnicoat, GBR (Fortec Motorsports), 2- A. Hubert, FRA (Tech 1 Racing), 3- I. D’Agosto, ITA (Manor MP Motorsport)…
General classification: 1- J. Aitken 206 pts, 2- L. Delétraz 193 pts, 3- K. Jörg 193 pts…
Renault Sport Trophy: the last titles go to Pizzitola and Oregon Team
The inaugural Renault Sport Trophy season concluded in Andalusia. The Endurance race went to the duo of Andrea Pizzitola and Richard Gonda (ART Junior Team #2), who won ahead of the Italian tandem of Dario Capitanio and David Fumanelli (Oregon Team #8), who had clinched the title at Le Mans. On Sunday, Dario Capitanio completed his season in style with a third consecutive victory in Sprint Prestige before he turns his attention to the 2016 24-Hours of Le Mans. In Elite, Indy Dontje (ART Junior Team) took the win ahead of ex-F1 driver Christian Klien (Zele Racing) and Andrea Pizzitola. Despite an opening lap accident and a penalty, the French driver won the title and the opportunity of his lifetime: take part in the selection test with the factory Nismo team in Super GT in November. The young blood has met Shoichi Miyatini, Nismo President, in Jerez.
Endurance Race: 1- Pizzitola-Gonda, FRA-SVQ (ART Junior Team), 2- Fumanelli-Capitanio, ITA (Oregon Team), 3- Bacheta-Nalio, GBR-ITA (Oregon Team)…
Prestige Sprint Race: 1- D. Capitanio, ITA (Oregon Team), 2- C. von Grünigen, SUI (Zele Racing), 3- R. Gonda, SVQ (ART Junior Team)…
Elite Sprint Race: 1- I. Dontje, NED (ART Junior Team), 2- C. Klien, AUT (Zele Racing), 3- A. Pizzitola, FRA (ART Junior Team)…
General classification Elite: 1- A. Pizzitola 140 pts, 2- S. Schothorst 138 pts, 3- D. Fumanelli 103 pts…
General classification Prestige: 1. D. Capitanio 162 pts, 2. R. Gonda 123 pts, 3. D. Sijthoff 109 pts…
General classification Endurance: 1- Fumanelli/Capitanio 115 pts, 2- Pizzitola/Gonda 95 pts, 3- Bacheta/Nalio 72 pts…
