8 September 2015
Forceful return at Silverstone
Much anticipated by competitors and public alike, World Series by Renault made its return to Silverstone. The legendary British circuit offered spectators a heart-stopping racing spectacle, including the Infiniti Red Bull Racing F1 Show, featuring Antonio Felix de Costa. Formula Renault 3.5 Series leader, Oliver Rowland, also went on to victory, as did Tio Ellinas. Jack Aitken, Kevin Jörg and Anthoine Hubert who took the laurels in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, while Niccolò Nalio, Luciano Bacheta and Pieter Schothorst scored highly in the Renault Sport Trophy.
Jeremy Townsend, Renault UK Communications Director: “We have experienced many exciting times with World Series by Renault in the UK. Since the last UK round in 2011, we have been keen to see Silverstone return to the calendar because we are extremely fond of the event, so it was with great pleasure that Renault UK had the opportunity to return to the 100% Renault meeting. As always, we included a large number of activities in the village for the whole family. It was an ideal opportunity to offer test drives in the whole range, including the Renault Twizy and Twingo as well as in the All-New Renault Kadjar, which was launched in the UK this month. The many activities on offer were a big hit and made for a terrific weekend to be enjoyed by the whole family.”
Formula Renault 3.5 Series: Ellinas wins, Rowland gets the better of Vaxiviere
After setting the pace in the collective tests, Tio Ellinas (Strakka Racing) kept the momentum going in taking his maiden pole position then debut victory in the category. Dedicating the success to his recently deceased grandfather, the Cypriot was joined on the podium by the two standouts in the championship, Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) and Matthieu Vaxiviere (Lotus). While the Lotus F1 Team Junior driver set the category lap record during Sunday qualifying, the Racing Steps Foundation protégé took an impressive win in race 2. Pietro Fantin (International Draco Racing) completed the podium. Oliver Rowland now has a 36-point lead. Only seven drivers still have a mathematical chance of winning the title.
Race 1: 1- T. Ellinas, CHY (Strakka Racing), 2- O. Rowland, GBR (Fortec Motorsports), 3- M. Vaxiviere, FRA (Lotus)…
Race 2: 1- O. Rowland, GBR (Fortec Motorsports), 2- M. Vaxiviere, FRA (Lotus), 3- P. Fantin, BRA (International Draco Racing)…
General classification: 1- O. Rowland 209 pts, 2- M. Vaxiviere 173 pts, 3- D. Stoneman 98 pts…
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: the race for the title is wide open
While Jake Hughes (Koiranen GP) was quickest in the collective tests, his teammate Jack Aitken (Koiranen GP) won the two pole positions at stake on Saturday. Leader of a 100% British podium, Jack Aitken won race 1 ahead of rookie Harrison Scott (AVF) and Jake Hughes, before being second best to Kevin Jörg (Josef Kaufmann Racing) in race 2, while Jake Hughes was once again third. Anthoine Hubert (Tech 1 Racing) dominated on Sunday with his first pole position and success in the category ahead of Kevin Jörg and Ukyo Sasahara (ART Junior Team). After a subpar weekend, Louis Delétraz is now just a single point in front of team mate Kevin Jörg in the title chase.
Race 1: 1- J. Aitken, GBR (Koiranen GP), 2- H. Scott, GBR (AVF), 3- J. Hughes, GBR (Koiranen GP)…
Race 2: 1- K. Jörg, SUI (Josef Kaufmann Racing), 2- J. Aitken, GBR (Koiranen GP), 3- J. Hughes, GBR (Koiranen GP)…
Race 3: 1- A. Hubert, FRA (Tech 1 Racing), 2- K. Jörg, SUI (Josef Kaufmann Racing), 3- U. Sasahara, JPN (ART Junior Team)…
General classification: 1- L. Delétraz 124 pts, 2- K. Jörg 123 pts, 2- J. Hughes 116 pts…
Renault Sport Trophy: Niccolò Nalio unbeatable, Pieter Schothorst victorious right off the truck
Newcomer to the Renault Sport Trophy, Pieter Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) turned heads by leading the way in the collective tests. However, it was up to the Prestige drivers to qualify for the Endurance race and Niccolò Nalio (Oregon Team #6) demonstrated he was the man to beat. The hard-nosed Italian driver led the intermediate classification before Luciano Bacheta clinched the win for the duo. On Sunday, Niccolò Nalio came back for more and won the Prestige Sprint race in front of Dario Capitanio (Oregon Team) and Toni Forné (ART Junior Team). Sixth place Diederik Sijthoff (V8 Racing) now has the two Italians breathing down his neck. In the afternoon, Pieter Schothorst claimed the top spot in the Elite Sprint ahead of Indy Dontje (ART Junior Team) and Nicky Pastorelli (V8 Racing). Forced to retire, Steijn Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) now has a 28-point lead in the Elite category.
Endurance Race: 1- Bacheta-Nalio, GBR-ITA (Oregon Team), 2- Fumanelli-Capitanio, ITA (Oregon Team), 3- Dontje-Forné, NED-ESP (ART Junior Team)…
Prestige Sprint Race: 1- N. Nalio, ITA (Oregon Team), 2- D. Capitanio, ITA (Oregon Team), 3- T. Forné, ESP (ART Junior Team)…
Elite Sprint Race: 1- P. Schothorst, NED (Equipe Verschuur), 2- I. Dontje, NED (ART Junior Team), 3- N. Pastorelli, NED (V8 Racing)…
General classification Elite: 1- S. Schothorst 75 pts, 2- A. Pizzitola 55 pts, 3- W. Reip 45 pts …
General classification Prestige: 1. D. Sijthoff 70 pts, 2. D. Capitanio 69 pts, 3. N. Nalio 68 pts…
General classification Endurance: 1- Fumanelli/Capitanio 61 pts, 2- Bacheta/Nalio 55 pts, 3- Reip 37 pts…
This coming 12 and 13 September, the World Series by Renault heads to Germany for a 100% Renault weekend at the Nürburgring.