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Eurocup final classification:
Eurocup Teams Championship :
Results available at www.renault-sport.com West European Cup final classification:
WEC Teams Championship :
Results available at www.frwec.com
SG Formula
Team launched in 2004, based in La Rochelle (France)
F3 Euro Series debuts in 2008 (3 podium finishes
after 14 out of 20 races, 1 rookie class win)
Formula Renault 2.0:
2008: provisional team and driver championships leader in Eurocup and West European Cup 2007: Team Champion in France, Jules Bianchi French Champion and Rookie Champion, Alexandre Marsoin 3rd in French championship, Charles Pic Rookie runner-up, 2nd in Eurocup Team Championship, Jon Lancaster Eurocup runner-up, Charles Pic 3rd in Eurocup. 2006: Team Champion in France, Jean-Karl Vernay French Championship runner-up and Rookie runner-up, Julien Jousse 3rd in French championship, 2nd in Eurocup Team Championship, Carlo Van Dam 3rd in Eurocup. 2005: Team Champion in France, Romain Grosjean French champion, Eurocup Team Champion, Yann Clairay 3rd in Eurocup. 2004: Team Champion in France, Yann Clairay French Championship runner-up, Guillaume Moreau 3rd in French Championship, Romain Grosjean Rookie runner-up |
SG Formula Formula Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, 13th and 14th rounds West European Cup Formula Renault 2.0, 14th and 15th rounds Barcelona October 18-19 2008 SG Formula takes five crowns out of a possible six!
Last weekend in Magny-Cours, SG Formula driver Jean-Eric Vergne was crowned FFSA Champion of France. In Barcelona this week the team added four more Formula Renault 2.0 titles to trophy cabinet. The Drivers, Teams, and Rookies crowns in the West European Cup all went to SG Formula as did the Eurocup Teams title. A shower of rain at the right time and Daniel Ricciardo might have made up his three point deficit to take the European title but it was not to be. Still, the La Rochelle outfit can be proud of what it has achieved in the 2008 campaign. Whichever way you look the results, the team has made great strides since last season. Eurocup: Fighting all the way SG Formula's single-seaters were a cut above the rest in Barcelona, both in the wet and the dry. Saturday morning's qualifying sessions took place on a track that rain had turned into a skating rink but the team's six drivers slid gracefully into the 24 qualifiers. Then in the Superpole session, with the track still wet, SG Formula won the four front places on the grid in both main races. At that point in time, Daniel Ricciardo and direct rival Valtteri Bottas, who started 11th, were equal on points, thanks to the point Ricciardo picked up for clocking the fastest time. Rain tyres had to be used at the start of Race 1 because the track was still damp. Everything went fine for SG Formula until the half-way marker. Andrea Caldarelli was in the lead ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, but after the rain stopped both drivers found the final laps tough going. It was clear that the setup of their cars was not working well on a drying track. Valtteri Bottas came striding back into contention and took the race. Andrea had to make do with third place on the podium, and Daniel sunk to 5th. The sun was back out for Sunday's race and SG Formula finished the season with what turned into something of a demonstration. Daniel Ricciardo, Andrea Caldarelli and Jean-Eric Vergne came home 1-2-3, providing a fine illustration of the form that has swept the team to its second European title. However, 4th place was just enough to ensure Finn Valtteri Bottas the top driver crown, with a short but sufficient three point margin. SG Formula drivers turned in some remarkable performances during this final round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, not least Jean-Eric Vergne with his 2nd and 3rd fastest times during qualifying, and the final podium place that saw him firmly ensconced as the championship’s top rookie. Anton Nebilitskyi astonished everybody with his 4th and 7th times in the Superpole before going on to win points in the main races. Miki Monras deserved the plaudits that came his way too, with a 4th place on Sunday's grid. 2008 has proved to be a fruitful season. Daniel Ricciardo ended up with a silver medal and Andrea Caldarelli pipped Epsilon driver Euskadi Roberto Mehri to the bronze. Never has SG Formula been as close to taking the European driver's title, with the suspense enduring right up to the end, only to miss out by not even a handful of points. SG Formula finished the 2008 season with more wins and pole positions than any other team. West European Cup: Powering peerlessly to the title The final round of the West European Cup took place in Barcelona on the same World Series by Renault billing as the Eurocup, and SG Formula drivers were in full control. Fastest man during qualifying Daniel Ricciardo raced to victory in Race 1 ahead of team-mate Andrea Caldarelli. SG Formula picked up its second 1-2 of the weekend as the meeting drew to a close, this time with Andrea coming home ahead of new champion Daniel. 2008 Champion driver of France Jean-Eric Vergne added the Rookie crown to his results tally. 3rd in qualifying, he finished 4th then 7th in the main races. Tristan Vautier finished his season with two creditable 6th-placed finishes, while Anton Nebilitskyi and Miki Monras also pocketed points on the Catalan circuit. In the final drivers' standings of a West European Cup worth at least half a Eurocup, Daniel came 1st, Andrea 3rd, Jean-Eric 4th, Tristan 6th, Anton 7th, Miki 8th and SG Formula topped the team standings. Stéphane Guérin takes stock of the season "Obviously we didn't miss out on the Eurocup champion drivers title in just this one meeting. Our strategy for Race 1 was to get as far ahead as we could at the start, but both Daniel and Andrea suffered as their cars became progressively less competitive as the track dried out faster than anticipated. It’s a pity it didn’t rain again! What we have achieved in 2008 gives us great heart to take things further forward next season. Daniel's WEC title was amply deserved – he was head and shoulders above the rest. Andrea finished the season strongly and I understand Toyota have big plans for him. Jean-Eric has been learning fast this season and I predict great things for him, he'll be one of the favourites for the Eurocup in 2009. Considering he only raced in the WEC, Tristan turned in some good performances despite the deficit of miles compared to his rivals. Miki has shown enormous potential for a 16-year old. The way he resisted Bottas in Race 2 in the Eurocup was admirable. Anton had a very good meeting, despite some over-exuberance at times. Ramez continues to progress, too. My appreciation also goes to our 30-strong technical team; they've been working non-stop away from home for over a month now! Their professionalism has been exemplary."
West
European Cup Formula Renault 2.0, 12th and 13th rounds SG Formula takes French title, to the echos of the Song of the Italians!
Team-manager Stéphane Guérin still felt that the team ought to have done much better. "In pure performance terms our cars were up to scratch but our top drivers didn't deliver the goods during qualifying, that was the problem. We are more determined than ever as we head off to Barcelona, where both the West European Cup and the Eurocup will be decided.” SG had four drivers in the Top 6 on the Race 1 grid at Magny Cours and seven in the first twelve in Race 2. However, only Andrea Caldarelli managed to get on the front row. “Whatever happened to championship leader Daniel Ricciardo?” you might ask. After all, he has seven wins under his belt this season. Well, he did qualify 3rd for the Saturday but slipped back down to 6th place in the opening lap of Race 1. He might have salvaged the day when title rival Roberto Mehri made a spectacular exit from the race due to a wheel nut problem… but the red flag saved the Spaniard's blushes when the result was declared on the basis of the positions at the end of the penultimate lap, which meant he got his win. Mehri was again in trouble on Sunday, this time with a loose steering rod. Despite the handicap, he pulled all the tricks in the book to hold off the SG Formula driver, who had to make do with 4th place. At the final count Daniel Ricciardo is just three points behind Mehri going into a mouth-watering final in Barcelona. 4th on Saturday, Andrea Caldarelli fluffed the start of Sunday's Race 2. He spent much of the race tailing Mehri and Costa. But when Mehri started having steering problems Andrea eventually found an opening and then went on to complete an incredible overtaking manoeuvre to take Costa on the last lap. The trap was set as the drivers braked in front of the Lycée and sprung going into the final chicane. This was the Toyota Driver Program driver's second win of the season. Jean-Eric Vergne achieved one of his goals at Magny-Cours when third spot on the Race 1 podium saw him take the FFSA French Championship crown. The next day he came 7th, bang in the middle of a compact group of eight cars which included no fewer than six SG Formula cars. Tristan Vautier came 5th, as he had done on Saturday. Ramez Azzam drove his best race of the season on Sunday. After qualifying an excellent 10th he held his own in the chasing pack, finishing the race 8th, ahead of Anton Nebilitskyi who was delighted to be back in the points. Race 2 saw Miki Monras struggling with a sticky clutch which prevented him doing any better than 11th place.
West European Cup Formula Renault 2.0, 10th and 11th rounds Spa-Francorchamps (Belgique) October 4-5 2008 SG Formula tops all the standings
The weather didn't make life easy for the competitors in Spa-Francorchamps. The cars started the first session of qualifying on rain tyres but had to switch to slicks for the final minutes. The track was improving all the time so naturally enough the final lap was the decisive one. Andrea Caldarelli(pictured below) had been quick until then but made a mistake towards the end, while Daniel Ricciardo was lapping a bit off the pace, leaving his main rival, Roberto Mehri, to bag pole position. Behind him, however, were lying in wait three SG drivers, occupying the 2nd, 3rd and 4th berths. Daniel Ricciardo
took the lead in the opening lap of Race 1 only to lose it again to
Roberto Mehri. Then Daniel and team-mate Andrea Caldarelli sparred for a
while, which only served to help the race leader. At the finish, SG
Formula had its men in close formation. Daniel Ricciardo and Andrea
Caldarelli won 2nd and 3rd spots on the podium, Jean-Eric Vergne, who
was leading Rookie and best-placed Frenchman, came 4th and Miki Monras
fought back from 7th to take 5th place. Tristan Vautier made up five
places to bag a Top Ten finish after starting the race 15th. Sunday's qualifying laps took place in the rain. Daniel Ricciardo got revenge on Roberto Mehri, beating him to pole position by over three-tenths of a second. With Andrea Caldarelli, Jean-Eric Vergne and Tristan Vautier close behind, SG Formula had no fewer than four drivers in the Top 5! A rain-drenched Race 2 confirmed this order, which just happens to be the same as in the provisional WEC standings after the Spa-Francorchamps meeting! Daniel Ricciardo led from start to finish, Andrea Caldarelli was on the podium once again, and Frenchmen Jean-Eric Vergne and Tristan Vautier pocketed some precious points. New Spanish recruit Miki Monras, who joined the team for the Estoril round, came 9th and moves up to 8th in the championship standings. As for Anton Nebylitskiy and Ramez Azzam... well, they'll probably want to forget the Ardennes meeting as soon as they can! "Ideally, I'd like us to widen the gap when we go to Magny-Cours so that we can concentrate on the Eurocup in Barcelona," said team-manager Stéphane Guérin.
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, 11th and 12th rounds West European Cup Formula Renault 2.0, 8th and 9th rounds Estoril (Portugal) September 27-28 2008 Two more wins for SG Formula! SG Formula added two more victories to its tally on Portugal's Estoril race circuit. That makes 12 successes in the 21 Formula Renault 2.0 races to date this season! That's a fair catch for the team from La Rochelle. Daniel Ricciardo was a winner in Saturday's Eurocup race and again in the West European Cup on the Sunday morning, although after that his results were not as good. There is still high suspense for both trophies. Eurocup: Two SG Formula drivers in contention for the title SG Formula's week-end started on a high with 5 out of 6 of its Eurocup cars amongst the 24 to qualify for the Superpole. Sixth man Ramez Azzam missed the party by just one place. Daniel Ricciardo lived up to his favourite's billing by taking pole for Race 1 and picking up the bonus point for fastest time in the Superpole. Jean-Eric Vergne was 3rd fastest, and newly-recruited Spanish driver Miki Monras surprised by taking 5th place. "Recruiting Miki is an investment for the future. This is the start of a story that will take us beyond the end of the season" said SG team manager Stéphane Guérin. SG Formula is making a real name for itself on the export market! At the start of Race 1 Ricciardo managed to hold off an aggressive Bottas, and went on to open up a narrow but sufficient lead that kept him safe until the finish. Vergne lost one place off the grid and finished the race just off the podium. Monras, with zero Eurocup points to his name before this race, marked his arrival in the team with a fine 7th place. An uncharacteristically sluggish Caldarelli did some damage limitation by finishing 8th. Race 2 was unusual, too, in that it only had one SG car managing to scrape into the Top 10 at the finish. Yet three out of the first five cars on the grid were from SG. This sorry state of affairs was down to a complete hash up at the start by Daniel Ricciardo, who fared little better in the two restarts to come home a disappointing 10th, and to a misunderstanding between Jean-Eric and Andrea. 11th man on the grid Anton Nebylitskyi was unable to make up the ground he lost at the start and Miki Monras ran off the track. So the scene is set for a great final in Barcelona next October 18-19, with no fewer than four possible championship winners. Only one point separates Bottas from Ricciardo! Caldarelli is not out of it either, despite his difficult weekend in Estoril.
West European Cup: Ricciardo increases his lead; Vergne and Vautier move up Daniel Ricciardo won Race 1 from 2nd place on the grid. In Race 2 he did just the opposite. Roberto Mehri got off to a better start than SG Formula's Aussie poleman, who finished the race 2nd. Yet, as the championship enters the second half of the season, Daniel did himself a power of good points-wise. Two other SG Formula drivers did themselves no harm either in the standings after Estoril. Jean-Eric Vergne tailed Daniel Ricciardo out of the starting blocks on Sunday morning. Just as he had done in Le Mans, he finished the race 2nd, and was the best-placed rookie. Coming 5th in Sunday afternoon's race eased him into 4th place in the current WEC standings. Tristan Vautier, who joined the team this summer, jumped from 7th to 5th. The young Frenchman was lying 4th for 100% of the time in Race 1 and... 97% of the time in Race 2. In other words, he overcame Albert Costa in the final lap of the meeting to take third place on the podium! Miki Monras' 6th place in Race 1 was a highly satisfactory result. He looked likely to score points in the afternoon too, until a puncture propelled him off the track in the last lap. As for Russian driver Anton Nebylitskyi, a crash in the Eurocup prevented him from taking part in qualifying for the WEC races, but he coolly stepped through Sunday's field from 24th to 8th place! On the other hand, it was a disappointing outing for Ramez Azzam, who missed the Top 10 by just one place in Race 1. Andrea Caldarelli dropped out the morning's race after a collision. Then a mysterious mechanical problem that affected his top speed prevented him from doing any better than 9th in the afternoon.
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, 9th and 10th rounds West European Cup Formula Renault 2.0, 7th round Le Mans (France) September 6-7 2008 For SG Formula, two heads are better than one in the Eurocup standings!
Eurocup: Caldarelli picks up where he left off at the Ring Italian Andrea Caldarelli put himself back in the running with his performance at the Nürburgring, and he continued his revival at Le Mans. His two second place finishes put him ex-aequo at the top of the standings with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo from Australia. Highlight of the weekend for him was the way he got past Bottas and Ramos in Race 1. After qualifying 5th and 3rd respectively for the two main races, Daniel was frustrated on the Saturday when a dodgy throttle cable put him out of the running during the warmup lap. Then on the Sunday he got off to a poor start and could only manage 6th place past the flag. Jean-Eric Vergne was flying during open practice and then clocked the fastest time in his qualifying group. Unfortunately things didn't go as well when it came to the Superpole decider. He made up for his mistake with two splendid drives in the two main races, climbing from 12th to 7th on the Saturday and from 10th to 5th on the Sunday. These results moved him up a slot in the championship standings, in which the Red Bull Junior driver now occupies 7th place. He is the leading rookie in the overall table. Two out of the team’s six single-seater racers were written off in a gigantic crash at the start of Race 1. Fortunately no-one was injured! It was for this reason that Ramez Azzam had to drop out after the satisfaction of getting amongst the 24 Superpole qualifiers in weather conditions he doesn’t particularly like. Anton Nebylitskyi was another of SG Formula's Superpole qualifiers to got caught up in the crash but luckily the team managed to rebuild a car for him during the night. He says he drove a very careful race in recognition of the work done by the mechanics, eventually coming home 15th in race 2. On the other hand, there was much satisfaction for guest driver Alexander Sims from the UK. On a circuit he was discovering for the first time, he drove two faultless races. He picked up points as he climbed from 10th to 6th in the first race and from 11th to 9th in the second. WEC: Ricciardo’s fifth win and Vergne’s maiden podium finish! SG Formula drivers occupied the first three places on the grid for the start of Sunday's race. As the lights went out, Jean-Eric Vergne managed to get past Daniel Ricciardo, who was in pole, and Andrea Caldarelli, and he led the race until the 10th lap. The lead changed hands after Jean-Eric and Daniel had treated the crowd to some wheel-to-wheel stuff through several corners. Once past Jean-Eric, Daniel went on to notch his 5th success in the West European Cup. So for top rookie finisher and best-placed French championship driver Jean-Eric Vergne, it was second place on his maiden podium. Andrea missed out on a possible podium place after a mistake put him back in 8th position. Driving a car that had been completely rebuilt after the Eurocup crash, Anton Nebylitskyi was lying 7th when another car ploughed straight into him. Finally, it wasn't an easy drive for Tristan Vautier because this was his only race, whereas the other drivers came into it with Eurocup miles under their belts! He came away with a useful 6th place. Stéphane Guérin's assessment There is nothing to lament over when we have a 1-2 in the WEC, six out of six drivers qualified through the Eurocup Superpole and two drivers leading the European championship! However, their lead over Bottas and Mehri has been cut to under 10 points, so team-manager Stéphane Guérin returned to La Rochelle with mixed feelings: "I'm happy with Andrea Caldarelli's performance. He's consistently amongst the leaders. His confidence is growing and he's always highly motivated. But I'm disappointed with Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne missing out in the Superpole. The race conditions were difficult as the track was drying out. But we had a fighter pilot as our very special VIP guest and he gave us weather updates in real time! Sadly, Daniel and Jean-Eric didn't make the most of their tyres at the right moment, although we were in great shape setup-wise to go looking for two pole positions, as our 1-2-3 in the WEC qualifiers proved. But mistakes soon get punished when you are up against good opposition; we've got to be on top form all the time! In Jean-Eric's case, we mustn't forget his good starts and his first podium place, which should spur him on to greater things."
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, 7th and 8th rounds Nürburgring (Germany) August 30-31 2008 SG Formula gets one podium place per race in Germany
SG Formula drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Andrea Caldarelli took it in turns to be on the 3rd rung of the podium at the Nürburgring, thus retaining their first and second slots at the head of the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup standings. These results mean SG Formula stay top of the team standings, just a few days ahead of French round of the championship. The Nürburgring meeting was always going to be a tough one for the boys from La Rochelle, given the team's relative lack of mileage on this circuit compared to one or two of its more redoubtable rivals. However, team and drivers alike fought valiantly over in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. Toyota Driver Program driver Andrea Caldarelli had a very good meeting. He was the fastest man in the first session of open practice, saving his best time for the final lap. After coming through qualifying in 2nd place in his group, Andrea went on to clock the 4th fastest time in the Superpole, which earned him a spot on the outside of the second line of the starting grid for the two main races. The latter were to all intents and purposed decided in the dash from the start. In Saturday's race, the Italian driver was lying 5th after the start but shot into 3rd place on the Sunday. That's the way things stayed in both races until the chequered flag was taken. "It was not easy for Andrea or for any of his team-mates because we were not in top shape here at the Nürburgring," observed team-manager Stéphane Guérin. "There is not a lot of grip on this circuit, so we were expecting to have a tough time here, despite our victory in 2007." We were competitive on new tyres but after that it got hard for us, and our drivers were not in a position to go flat out. So in these circumstances I was very pleased with Andrea's gritty performance. He's a warrior, as his fastest time in the first session of practice on a dodgy surface demonstrated, and he gave Mehri a run for his money at the start of Race 2." After winning 4 of his first 6 races, Daniel Ricciardo could only add a 3rd place to his tally on the Saturday, and a 5th place on the Sunday. Stéphane Guérin gave us a few insights into why: "This summer Daniel made his debut in Formula 3, which enabled him to exhibit his talent at that level. But to me it's clear he's had a few problems readjusting to Formula Renault 2.0, both mentally and technically, because of lower grip and downforce in this category. But in Race 1 he showed he was getting to grips with the problem; he moved up four places within half a lap at the start! So, bring on Le Mans!" The surprise package in the Superpole was rookie Jean-Eric Vergne, who qualified for 3rd place on the grid of both main races. Unfortunately, if the young driver from Ile-de-France has a weakness it is his start technique, and Race 1 saw him lose three slots at the start. He finished the race 6th. History repeated itself on the Sunday. He finished the race 6th again, only to have the result taken away from him afterwards for unsporting behaviour. "What Jean-Eric achieved in qualifying is more than pleasing," said Stéphane Guérin. "He's the top 'pure' rookie in the Eurocup (editor's note: Costa, who is ahead of him in the championship, has already driven in F3), but he has to work on this problem he has off the grid. Dropping places in this way is demoralising. As for his 25-second penalty, well I respect the impartiality of the stewards but for my part I thought it was a very harsh decision. Jean-Eric didn't change driving line twice and there was no contact with Hegewald. The manoeuvre may have been feisty but not illegal. We didn't lodge an appeal for the simple reason that the rules don't allow it." SG Formula's other two drivers, Anton Nebylitskiy and Ramez Azzam, didn't notch any points in Germany. "Ramez qualified twice for the Superpole, which shows that he is capable. But he needs to count less on his potential and concentrate more on the way he prepares for meetings and how he doses his effort in them. At the Nürburgring, he didn’t get into his stride until the Sunday but by then it was too late, he was right at the back of the grid. Anton was lying 6th during practice on the dry. If we analyse his times corner by corner, we can see that in some places he did better than any of his team-mates! After that, he qualified for the Superpole for the first time ever. That decided him to put the needle in the red despite our telling him it wasn't necessary! There you go, he's an aggressive driver. But it led to a few wheels-locked situations that robbed him of a better place on the main race starting grids."
Eurocup
Formula Renault 2.0, 5th and 6th rounds SG Formula's Hungarian Double Double
The racing team from La Rochelle finished its weekend in Hungary as it had begun - with a resounding success! It started with a 1-2-3 in the Superpole session for Daniel Ricciardo, Andrea Caldarelli and Jean-Eric Vergne which took them to the three front places of the grid in both races, and finished in style with 1-2’s at the finish! Daniel Ricciardo had dominated proceedings during practice before the meeting so it was no surprise to see him come through his qualifying group with the best time. The Red Bull Junior Team man was also the quickest in the Superpole session, ahead of team-mate Andrea Caldarelli, who is a member of the Toyota Drivers Program. It remained to be seen if the pair could maintain their form in race conditions, but the SG Formula drivers quickly dispelled any doubts. Daniel put paid to any opposition, both on the Saturday and the Sunday. 2nd placed man Andrea also put enough distance between himself and the rest of the field to avoid any danger in race 1, but in Sunday's race he had to work harder. Rookie Jean-Eric Vergne started both races in 3rd place on the grid. He would have dearly liked to make it a triple podium success for his team, and he came close doing it. He lost two places at the start due to a clutch problem on the Saturday, and was only able to make up one place in the race. He got off to a good start on the Sunday and tried a late braking move to get past Andrea Caldarelli into 2nd place. But team-mate Andrea resisted well and Jean-Eric held back sportingly. This left room for Hegevald to slip past Jean-Eric, who then found himself locked in battle with two Epsilon Euskadi cars. However, SG Formula's other Red Bull Junior Team man held on valiantly and for the second time in the meeting he pocketed the points for coming 4th. In doing so he got his best Eurocup results and put himself back in the running in the championship. Russian driver Anton Nebylitskiy just never managed to get going at this central European rendez-vous. On the other hand, Ramez Azzam came away from Hungary with a 16th and a 20th finishing places, after having the satisfaction of being one of the 24 drivers to qualify via the Superpole. These are not bad results considering that Ramez is one of the least-experienced drivers in the field, either in karting or car racing. Both SG Formula and Daniel Ricciardo significantly increased their respective leads in the championship standings. Andrea Caldarelli moved into 2nd place in the standings, and Jean-Eric Vergne jumped from 15th to 8th. Team-manager Stéphane Guérin couldn't hide his joy and had a broad smile on his face on Sunday evening: "It's very unusual at Eurocup level to see a team pick up first and second in both races. It's the first time it happens to us at SG Formula and this is a very positive result for us. Daniel and Andrea are two guys who work very well together and the whole team benefits. It was very sporting of Jean-Eric to back off as he was trying to get past Andrea but unfortunately it made him lose his pace and he paid for it by dropping a place. There is nothing to worry about, Jean-Eric is regularly among the top five drivers in Europe. This is his maiden season in Formula Renault 2.0, and here in Hungary he was the best-placed rookie both during qualifying and in the two races. " There will be no summer break for SG Formula! They have a full programme lined up in Formula 3, starting with Zandvoort next July 12-13. On the other hand, Formula Renault 2.0 will be taking a break until the end of August, when the team will return to the Nürburgring, where it was victorious in 2007.
West European Cup Formula Renault 2.0
3rd
and 4th rounds
After
Romain Grosjean twice in 2005, Julien Jousse and Jean-Karl Vernay in
2006, Alexandre Marsoin and Jules Bianchi in 2007… SG Formula was keen
to continue its unbroken series of Formula Renault 2.0 victories on the
Dijon-Prenois circuit. It was mission accomplished as Daniel Ricciardo
picked up two fine wins. With four races gone, the team from la Rochelle
remains unbeaten in the West European Cup.
Pic Claire Didier CCcommm. SG Formula at the double!
Results available at www.renault-sport.com
mail your links to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk
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For
the third time in three weeks rival teams SG Formula and Epsilon Euskadi
stood neck and neck, with one victory each. Italian driver Andrea
Caldarelli delighted the La Rochelle outfit by snatching victory in the
very last chicane in Sunday's race! We have to wait another week before
we know if Daniel Ricciardo will become the first ever West European Cup
winner in Formula Renault 2.0. In the meantime, the season's first
trophy was awarded in Magny-Cours (in the Nièvre region of France) when
Jean-Eric Vergne was crowned FFSA Champion of France. He takes over the
mantle from last year's winner Jules Bianchi, also racing for SG
Formula.
Formula
Renault 2.0's West European Cup is far from over, but after Spa-Francorchamps
and with just two more meetings to go in the season, SG Formula is still
leading in all four standings. Daniel Ricciardo heads the drivers'
standings after coming second in Saturday's race and winning on Sunday
in Belgium. Jean-Eric Vergne leads both the Rookies and the French
championships and of course SG Formula is still in control in the team
standings.
We
have an unprecedented situation in the 2008 edition of the Formula
Renault 2.0 Eurocup, with Daniel Ricciardo and Andrea Caldarelli - both
entered by SG Formula - jointly taking the lead in the championship. Le
Mans also hosted a West European Cup race during the weekend, in which
the team from La Rochelle notched up yet another 1-2. 
The
Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup season opened with a 1-2 for SG Formula.
Repeating their success in the West European Cup, Daniel Ricciardo and
Andrea Caldarelli completed race 1 in Spa in the same order. They
started Sunday's race with similar intentions but the scrapping that
took place on the first lap saw the Australian back down in 4th place
and the Italian right out of the race.