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Continued from News...
The
countdown has begun!
In a
few weeks, the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup will kick off on
the Nogaro circuit. The original calendar has been slightly modified.
The Formula Renault 2.0 WEC will not go to Dijon but instead will return
to Spa-Francorchamps to everybody’s great delight!
In
just under a month the drivers in the Formula Renault 2.0 West European
Cup will line up for the first race of the year. The second season’s
kick-off will take place where the Formula Renault WEC first saw the
light of day – Nogaro! The FR 2.0 WEC will be part of major meetings
like the World Series by Renault, the WTCC and the FFSA Super Series.
During the course of the season the teams will go from Nogaro to
Portimao by way of Barcelona, Pau, Magny-Cours, Valencia and Spa-Francorchamps.
The mythic Belgian circuit will replace the Dijon-Prenois round on the
2009 calendar. The drivers in the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup
will attempt to tame the awesome Spa-Francorchamps layout in early June,
so the weather should be better than last year!
The Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup Organisation Committee has
made a point of keeping to the high-quality standards that have ensured
the success of this championship. Thus, the FR 2.0 WEC will run only on
circuits homologated by the FIA, and technical checks complying with
Renault Sport Technologies rigorous standards will be carried out. ORECA
is looking after the engine back-up at the majority of the events, and a
single clerk of the course has been nominated for the whole season.
Everything has been arranged to provide a level playing field from both
a technical and sporting point of view.
Entrywise, three of the main Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 teams have
already committed themselves: SG Formula, Epsilon Euskadi and Fortec
Motorsport. The battle for victory looks like being a hard-fought one.
Jean-Eric Vergne (SG Formula) and Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi), who
were among last year’s front-runners in the FR 2.0 WEC, are the hot
favourites. But they will have their work cut out to fend off rivals
like Miki Monras (SG Formula) Miguel Otegui (Epsilon Euskadi), Julien
Abelli (SG Formula), Nathanaël Berthon (Epsilon Euskadi), Ramez Azzam (SG
Formula) and Carlos Munos (Epsilon Euskadi) who already have some
experience of this championship.
The rookies will also be out to fight at the front. Arthur Pic (SG
Formula), winner of the 2008 Formul’Academy Euroseries, Dominic Storey (SG
Formula), Hugo Valente (SG Formula) and Kevin Breysse (SG Formula) learn
quickly and will soon be outright victory contenders. In addition, all
the French drivers will compete for the FFSA Formula Renault 2.0
Championship with Jean-Eric Vergne defending his 2008 title.
Pole Services, winner of a race last season, has also entered Benjamin
Lariche and a driver to be announced. English team, Fortec Motorsport,
should finalise its entry and drivers in the next few weeks. Other teams
like Hill Speed and lquick Valencia will take part in selected rounds.
The final on the Portimao circuit will be an event not to be missed: it
will be a kind of “Winter Cup.”
2009 Entry list
N°
Name
Team Nat
- 1 VERGNE Jean
Eric SG FORMULA FRA
- 2 MONRAS
Miki SG FORMULA ESP
- 3 PIC
Arthur SG FORMULA FRA
- 4 STOREY
Dominic SG FORMULA NZE
- 5 VALENTE
Hugo SG FORMULA FRA
- 6 ABELLI Julien
SG FORMULA FRA
- 7 AZZAM Ramez
SG FORMULA EAU
- 8 BREYSSE
Kevin SG FORMULA FRA
- 9 LARICHE
Benjamin POLE SERVICES FRA
- 10 TBA
POLE SERVICES
- 11 COSTA
Albert EPSILON EUSKADI ESP
- 12 OTEGUI
Miguel EPSILON EUSKADI ESP
- 14 BERTHON
Nathanaël EPSILON EUSKADI FRA
- 15 MUNOZ
Carlos EPSILON EUSKADI ESP
- 16 TBA
EPSILON EUSKADI
- 25 TBA
FORTEC MOTORSPORT
- 26 TBA
FORTEC MOTORSPORT
2009 Calendar
10th – 13th
April: Nogaro – FFSA Super Series - France
17th – 19th April: Barcelona - World Series by Renault - Spain
15th – 17th May: Pau – World Touring Car Championship - France
29th – 31st May: Magny-Cours – FFSA Super Series - France
5th – 7th June: Spa-Francorchamps – 12h00 BTCS - Belgium
11th – 13th September: Valencia – Spain
6th – 8th November: Portimao – Portugal
2009 Collective tests:
7th – 8th April: Nogaro
27th – 28th May: Magny-Cours
+ 2 days in Valencia to be announced.
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