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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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WEC
FR2.0 infos:
www.frwec.com Provisional standings Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup after 12 out of 14 races 1. Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) 114 pts – 2. Vergne (SG Formula) 112 pts – 3. Da Costa (Motopark) 97 pts – 4. Monras (SG Formula) 73 pts – 5. Quaife-Hobbs (Motopark) 68 pts… 10. Pic (SG Formula) 27 pts… 12. Azzam (SG Formula) 16 pts… 23. Valente (SG Formula) 5 pts. Next event : Motorland Aragon (Spain, October 24-25). Team Championship : 1.SG Formula (F) 173 pts ; 2.Epsilon Euskadi (E) 160 pts ; 3.Motopark Academy (D) 137 pts…
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk SG Formula 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 11th and 12th rounds Nürburgring (Germany) September 19-20 2009 SG Formula is ready for the showdown!
Jean-Eric went into the Nürburgring race seven points behind Portuguese driver Da Costa and came away from Germany two points behind the similarly named Costa from Spain! In the meantime, the former championship leader and one of his team-mates both had their cars pulled up after qualifying when infringements to the technical regulations were discovered. Their brake pumps had been altered to curb the mechanical drag induced by brake pads rubbing against the discs along fast straights. This is the third time that Motopark Academy have been collared for breaking the rules this season. The team nevertheless lodged an appeal so its drivers were allowed to race pending a decision, although they were banned from the podium and were not awarded any championship points. SG Formula's team manager Stéphane Guérin reacted to this latest infringement, which casts a shadow over a championship that is essential to the emergence and training of motor racing talent, as follows: "It makes you wonder how many times the team in question put out a car that was within the rules this season! Everyone knows how serious the situation is, so now proper decisions have to be taken. The race organisers have to act to protect their championship from a blight which I'd compare to doping in other sports." Out on the track, Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne found himself up against Albert Costa, who he had beaten twice the week before on the Spaniard's home patch in Valencia. That West European Cup meeting was just perfect for the Red Bull Junior Team driver, who notched two pole positions and two victories on that occasion. The tables were turned in Nürburgring, with the Spaniard winning twice and Jean-Eric scoring points for second and third. Jean-Eric's Sunday result was a gritty performance after Kevin Magnussen (Motopark) ran into him in the middle of the first turn. One of the aerodynamic components on his SG Formula car got damaged and he also found himself with a stiff neck - not exactly what you want when driving in as physically demanding a category as Formula Renault 2.0! SG Formula's Spanish driver Miki Monras had a good meeting. He was lying 3rd in Race 1 when unfortunately he had to drop out after his engine developed a fault in the electrical/electronics control system. He finished in a good 4th place in Sunday's race, after the exclusion of Magnussen and Da Costa, having started the race 10th. Hugo Valente put in his best performance of the season by earning himself 3 points for 8th in Saturday's race. A collision on braking into Turn 1 put paid to his chances in Race 2. Various incidents in the peloton prevented Arthur Pic and Ramez Azzam from repeating the excellent results they achieved in the Silverstone and Le Mans meetings. "We have now a month's hard work ahead of us before the big Motorland meeting," concluded Stéphane Guérin. The FR2.0 Eurocup decider will take place next October 24-25 on the brand new Alcaniz circuit in Aragon, which the competitors will have the opportunity to discover during two days of practice. SG Formula will be heading to Spain with the double aim of holding on to its team crown and perhaps winning the drivers title that it so narrowly missed out on last season. Above all, let's hope that the event proves to be a victory for sporting fairness.
7th and 8th rounds Silverstone (UK) July 4-5 2009 God Save SG Formula!
The La Rochelle outfit always seems to do well on the Budapest circuit. Starting on the outside of the front line, Jean-Eric Vergne led the first race of the Hungarian event from start to finish. On the other hand, he was only in 8th place on the grid for Race 2 and things got worse when a collision ahead of him set him back quite a few places. Yet he still managed to finish 7th, lapping a lot quicker than the leaders at the end of the race. His team-mates also got good results on the Hungaroring. Spaniard Miki Monras twice finished 3rd, Ramez Azzam got his best ever Eurocup results with two Top 10 finishes and Hugo Valente bagged his first point at this level. "We were somewhat apprehensive about the Silverstone leg because last year things had been quite difficult for us here," said team-manager Stéphane Guérin. "As it turned out our results were in line with those we got in Budapest. The scrutineering inspections that have taken place recently may have calmed things down a bit in the category. For us, it is very satisfying to have shown ourselves to be so competitive on such an unforgiving circuit." On the British Grand Prix circuit, Mika was the fastest driver in Group A and Jean-Eric was 2nd fastest in Group B. The Frenchman went on to dominate the Superpole and take the best spot on the grid for the two races. "Our car proved to be on top form with new tyres," continued Stéphane Guérin, "which explains the result of Race 1. Jean-Eric led the race in the opening laps but his lap times dropped off as his tyres wore. We managed to put things right for Race 2, however." After coming 3rd on the Saturday, Jean-Eric went on to win Sunday's race and put himself back in the running for the European title crown. Miki played safe for points, picking up a 4th and a 6th place. Rookie Arthur Pic made a big impression. His best performance so far in the Eurocup took him into the Top 10 in the championship standings. Ramez Azzam also notched his best European performance so far by taking 7th place. So SG Formula had four drivers in the Top 10 in Race 2 and Hugo Valente might have joined them had he not got shunted by a rival two-thirds of the way through the race. These results saw SG Formula move up from 3rd place and into the lead in the team standings, one point ahead of Motopark Academy and two ahead of Epsilon Euskadi. Let's not forget that Epsilon Euskadi lost out on victory in Barcelona on a technical infringement. Or that Motopark Academy had a driver excluded because, after taking Superpole and before winning race 2 in Hungary, he was adjudged to have been racing with illegal wheel bearings. Motopark Academy appealed against the decision. "When Sörensen's wheel bearings were examined they were found not to have been just slightly modified, they had been entirely rebuilt to improve the car's top speed!" added Stéphane Guérin. "So that's the second time this season that technical inspections have uncovered cheating, something that sullies the reputation of what is perhaps the best championship for young drivers. Despite Renault Sport's best efforts, it seems you can't change some people's mentality. Last year we had teams lodging false claims against us. Now they themselves have been caught red-handed! That's not my idea of motor racing. We have to carry on for the sake of our drivers and sponsors, but clearly we have to ask ourselves whether it's worth continuing in Formula Renault 2.0 if people are going to behave like this."
Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, 1st and 2nd rounds Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup 3rd and 4th rounds Yes WEC can ! Its well known that the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup championship is for nurturing young motor racing talent so the opening round of the new season was keenly awaited. Overall, the weekend’s results fell short of expectations for SG Formula, apart from Miki Monras' first podium place at this level, which takes him to third place in the provisional standings, level on points with the 2nd-placed driver. On the other hand, the La Rochelle team tightened its stranglehold over the West European Cup, or 'WEC' as it's known, with two pole positions and two wins. Eurocup: Monras into the top three
"As in previous seasons, we fought it out with top-quality competition with only a few hundredths of a second and some last minute technical adjustments differentiating the teams. Except that this year one driver - Albert Costa - literally stole the show, finishing both races comfortably in the lead. Mind you, he got himself disqualified from Race 1 for non-compliance, just as he had in qualifying at Nogaro. The main thing I take from this meeting is that Miki Monras is now lying 3rd in the championship after working extremely hard to get Sunday's result. Our team is very attached to Spain. It's a country that loves its motor racing, and one that produces winners! Jean-Eric Vergne deserves a special mention. He had a medical condition that saw him doubled up with pain in the truck, just 15 minutes before he was due to get in the car for qualifying. Despite this he drove a great Race 2. True he came away from Barcelona empty handed, but it's not the end of the world. There is a long season ahead and lots of drivers are in the running. No-one is on top, except perhaps this weekend's show stealer, although maybe he won't get away with it all season. Also, let's not forget that Jean-Eric picked up his third WEC win here.” WEC: What a story SG Formula repeated the feat it achieved in Nogaro by qualifying six out of its eight drivers on the front three lines on both Barcelona WEC’s starting grids. Rookie Arthur Pic was poleman on the Sunday morning but Jean-Eric Vergne dug deep to make it three wins in three races. He took the race ahead of Epsilon Euskadi driver Albert Costa and Arthur Pic, the latter celebrating his first Formula Renault 2.0 podium place and second leading rookie victory. Julien Abelli was in pole position as the meeting drew to a close on Sunday evening and he managed to hold off Jean-Eric Vergne to take the race. Miki Monras and rookie Arthur Pic made it a magic foursome for SG Formula. "Julien's victory was one of the big events of the weekend. It sends out a big message of encouragement to all those drivers who, like him, find it tough going to finance their racing. It was a long shot with Julien, who we were able to assess in 2008 thanks to a deal with his old team. Yannick Hubert, our operations manager, was convinced that it would be a worthwhile operation, so we put together a programme which was tailored to his means but which was intense enough for him to stay the pace with his team-mates. He did well in Nogaro and here he picked up a win off pole position on a Formula 1 racetrack. "
Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup 1st and 2nd rounds, Nogaro April 11-12-13 Full house of podium places for SG
After trailing Basque team Epsilon Euskadi during official testing at the start of the week, SG Formula got its act together in open practice and went on to clock the six fastest times in the first qualifying session. In misty, drizzly conditions, Jean-Eric Vergne notched up his first pole position in the category, ahead of team-mate Miki Monras from Barcelona, who was not as quick in the first sector of the circuit. There was no April fooling around for the team's rookies, as they hogged the 2nd row of the starting grid. On the inside was Frenchman Hugo Valente, who won a Formul’Academy race last season in similar weather conditions, and on the outside was New Zealander Dominic Storey. Race 1 was run on an even-wetter and more treacherous track. Red Bull Junior Team driver Jean-Eric Vergne drove a peerless race to take the chequered flag. Miki Monras took 2nd place, clocking the fastest lap in the race in the process. Ramez Azzam's supporters went wild in Dubai! In Formula Renault 2.0, the Emirati covered himself in glory by achieving his first podium finish, confirming the rapid progress he has made since last season. Top-placed rookie Arthur Pic demonstrated the force of his potential by finishing the race 4th. Resistance was in the air on Monday morning. On a somewhat greasy track, Jean-Eric Vergne didn't let slip the chance of a second pole position, although Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) only missed out by a few thousandths of a second. However, a few hours later the Spaniard was demoted for a technical non-compliance, so the front three lines of the grid in Race 2 were once again occupied by six SG Formula cars. Julien Abelli had suffered engine problems during Race 1 qualifying but this time he was on the front row, ahead of Miki Monras and Arthur Pic, who was once again the best-placed rookie. The 35,445-strong crowd that had turned out for the Easter Monday racing at Nogaro was pleased when the sun peeped out from behind the clouds. In a repeat of the previous day's events, Jean-Eric Vergne swept straight into the lead and held it all the way through. Julien Abelli demonstrated he is in good form with his first podium at this level. Miki Monras finished well in 3rd after fending off a late challenge from fellow-countryman Albert Costa. Behind the Spanish pair came Kevin Breysse, taking the best-placed rookie spot after overcoming the technical problems he faced in the initial stages of the meeting. Last winter, there was a question mark hanging over the 2009 season for this ex-Formula BMW driver, so compared to his team-mates he has fewer miles of practice under his belt. Arthur Pic picked up a drive-through penalty for having clipped the white line coming out of the pits for the installation laps, but he picked himself up and clocked the fastest lap of the race. So it was that SG Formula repeated last year's double success in the WEC season opener at Nogaro. "The championship field is smaller this season than in 2008," observed team-manager Stéphane Guérin, "but the quality hasn't dropped noticeably. We are nevertheless up against a team which won the Eurocup in 2006 and 2007. The way the weather changed at Nogaro enabled us to test out different configurations, which will prove useful for the upcoming rounds.” He added: “six out of our eight drivers won podium places in one form or another. Jean-Eric bossed the event and the result is great for the team and the driver’s confidence but it doesn't stop there, we'll be in Barcelona next week looking for a win in the Eurocup, too!" Formula Renault 2.0 2009 SG Formula drivers: N°1 Jean-Eric
Vergne, French, born April 25th, 1990 (WEC + Eurocup)
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2
points. With one month to go before the final race of the season, that's
all there is to choose between SG Formula's Jean-Eric Vergne and the
current leader of the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup series, Albert Costa.
The La Rochelle outfit increased its lead in the team standings, so it
will head off to Spain with the prospect of winning two titles! 
In
a repetition of Hungary in mid-June, the SG Formula team was singing the
French national anthem in honour of driver Jean-Eric Vergne's victory in
England. Double poleman and top points scorer at Silverstone, the Red
Bull Junior Team driver, who hails from the Paris region, eased into 3rd
place in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup standings while SG Formula
moved to the top of the Teams championships. Hardly surprising then that
there is an air of optimism in the team going into the French leg of the
series in Le Mans. 
All
five SG Formula cars entered in the Eurocup qualified for the Superpole.
Jean-Eric Vergne was quickest in Group A and rookie Arthur Pic clocked
the 3rd fastest time in Group B. However, only Miki Monras managed to
get into the Top 10 during the deciding Superpole session. After setting
off 6th for Race 1’s grid, the Spaniard had to make do with 5th place at
the finish. The team engineered a recovery in Sunday's race. Starting
3rd on the grid, Miki Monras held onto his place to take third place on
the podium. Arthur Pic made up ten places to finish 7th, and the team's
youngest driver, Hugo Valente, leapt up a full thirteen places to win
his first European point by finishing 10th. Jean-Eric Vergne was moving
up well through the field as well, only to have his race spoilt by a
collision when a top five finish seemed on the cards. 
The
SG Formula race team kicked off its Formula Renault 2.0 West European
Cup season by cleaning up all the places on the two podiums at Nogaro.In
both races they took the first three spots and now have 1st,
2nd and 3rd in the overall standings. Winner in
the French championship and best rookie. Jean-Eric Vergne stood head and
shoulders over proceedings in the Easter Cups, despite stiff opposition
from the other side of the Pyrenees.