The champions of 2014 collect their awards

Attended by more than 400 guests, the gala evening brought the curtain down on the 2014 season and the first decade of the World Series by Renault, ten years of unbroken success for the Fast, Free & Fun event, which has attracted 5.6 million spectators in total, some 462,000 of them in 2014. This last decade has seen now fewer than 500 WSR races take place on 25 tracks in 13 countries.

Over the course of its ten-year history the World Series by Renault has crowned 33 champions, the latest of them being Carlos Sainz in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Nyck de Vries in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Oscar Nogués in Eurocup Clio. The trio collected their 2014 winners’ trophies on Sunday evening, with the likes of Patrice Ratti, Sébastien Buemi, Jean Ragnotti and Alain Prost on hand to present the silverware.

The awards ceremony also saw accolades handed out to many distinguished members of the World Series by Renault family, with the organisers make some special presentations to key players in the history of World Series by Renault. These included long-standing partners Michelin and Total and the Tech 1 Racing, International Draco Racing and Pons Racing teams, all three of whom have competed in every WSR season to date.

“We have stayed loyal to the World Series by Renault, which put its trust in us at the end of 2005,” said Tech 1 Racing Team Manager Simon Abadie. “Renault has put an awful lot of effort in, especially in helping teams to cut their budgets. Having won titles in the Eurocup Megane Trophy, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, we have a very close bond with WSR.”

Pons Racing Director Emilio de Villota had this to say about his team’s award: “Renault is very committed and the World Series by Renault stands out for its universal approach. There’s more to it than just the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, which we compete in, and you have to remember that it’s also a nursery for Formula One. It has a fantastic schedule and I see it as the best championship in Europe, and a very competitive one too. I am very grateful that Pons Racing has won this award and I hope we’ll still be around in another ten years’ time.”

“Renault is an irreplaceable partner,” commented International Draco Team Manager Simone Giglio, who insisted that Andrea Tesi, the team’s technical director, step up to collect the award. “This championship has given us an awful lot. It’s always been successfully marketed and we’ve always done a really good job.”

The evening came to a close with the presentation of the schedule for the 2015 World Series by Renault. Click here to see it for yourselves.

The 2014 World Series by Renault award winners:

Formula Renault 3.5 Series
 1st Drivers’ championship: Carlos Sainz
 2nd Drivers’ championship: Pierre Gasly
 3rd Drivers’ championship: Roberto Merhi
 Best rookie: Pierre Gasly
 1st Team championship: Dams Racing
 2nd Team championship: Fortec Motorsports
 3rd Team championship: Arden Motorsport

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
 1st Drivers’ championship: Nyck de Vries
 2nd Drivers’ championship: Dennis Olsen
 3rd Drivers’ championship: Alex Albon
 Best junior: Dennis Olsen
 1st Team championship: Koiranen GP

Eurocup Clio:
 1st Drivers’ championship: Oscar Nogués
 2nd Drivers’ championship: Mikel Azcona
 3rd Drivers’ championship: Eric Trémoulet

Special World Series by Renault Season Ten awards:
 Jean-Paul Mari, Renault Sport Director of Motorsport and Communications in 2005, the year the World Series by Renault came into being.
 Laurent Burgat, World Series by Renault’s Director of Communications in 2005.
 François Sicard, Renault Sport Track Racing Manager in 2005.
 Jaime Alguersuari, President of RPM Racing.
 Jean Ragnotti, most valuable driver in the World Series by Renault.
 Michelin.
 Total.
 Tech 1 Racing.
 International Draco Racing.
 Pons Racing.