World Series by Renault - Hungaroring preview
The Hungaroring Circuit near Budapest will be the host of the third round of the 2015 World Series by Renault. On Saturday and Sunday (June 13 and 14) spectators would see a total of seven races in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Renault Sport Trophy and Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. A fixture on the calendar since 2007, the Hungarian circuit offers a technical challenge and an incessant series of corners that leave the competitors no time to relax.
In Formula Renault 3.5 Series Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) and Matthieu Vaxiviere (Lotus) shared victories at Aragon and Spa, while Jazeman Jaafar (Fortec Motorsports) was the winner at Monte-Carlo. The leading trio is being chased by the two rookies in the DAMS team: Dean Stoneman and Nyck de Vries.
Further behind, Tom Dillmann (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) will try to stay in the hunt. A goal shared by Tio Ellinas (Strakka Racing) and Egor Orudzhev (Arden Motorsport), who both scored points in each race in Belgium. Pietro Fantin (International Draco Racing) and Meindert van Buuren (Lotus) will hope to consolidate their positions in the top ten, as will Nicholas Latifi (Arden Motorsport), who led for the first time in Belgium.
After scoring points at Spa, Aurelien Panis (Tech 1 Racing) and Gustav Malja (Strakka Racing) want to confirm their progression. On the other hand, Alfonso Celis (AVF), Sean Gelael (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin), Bruno Bonifacio (International Draco Racing), Philopaz Armand (Pons Racing) and Roy Nissany (Tech 1 Racing) need to rebound. For her part, Beitske Visser (AVF) will be looking for her points of the season. And finally, Roberto Merhi (Pons Racing) will hope to break his streak of bad luck at a circuit where he won by nearly 30 seconds last year.
In Renault Sport Trophy winners of the first round in the history of this new championship, Dario Capitanio and David Fumanelli (Oregon Team) lead the Endurance classification. However, the two Italians dropped out of the sprint races, won by Diederik Sijthoff (V8 Racing) in Prestige and Steijn Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) in Elite.
While the Oregon Team duo will try to bounce back to remain in the race for titles, the two Dutchman will aim for the double with their respective team mates, Nicky Pastorelli (V8 Racing) and Jeroen Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur). Against them, some teams hope to take the upper hand, beginning with the tandem of Andrea Pizzitola and Richard Gonda (ART Junior Team). After looking strong for the win in Endurance, they had to settle for third place. The other Renault Sport R.S. 01 in the French squad will be another to watch: fifth in Endurance, sixth in Elite and on the podium in Prestige, Indy Dontje and Toni Forné (ART Junior Team) are ambitious.
Team mates of Dario Capitanio and David Fumanelli, Luciano Bacheta and Niccolò Nalio (Oregon Team) want to do better after their second position in Endurance. Just off the podium in Elite, Luciano Bacheta will race for the win, while Niccolò Nalio will want to make up the ground he lost after retiring in the Prestige race.
After the tests where Zele Racing set the fastest time, the start of the season was more discreet. In the n°9 car, Vittorio Ghirelli and Philippe Bourgois will be keen to do better like the drivers of the other Renault Sport R.S. 01: Bas Schothorst and Philippe Haezebrouck. Monlau Competicion will once again put their confidence in Wolfgang Reip, who finished on the podium at Spa. In Hungary, the winner of the 2012 GT Academy will partner with David Cebrián Ariza, who finished fourth in the Renault Clio Cup España in 2013 and 2014.
