Driver Database News

British racer Jordan King took MP Motorsport back onto the podium during the latest round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup at Most in the Czech Republic on Sunday, 28th August, while Estonia’s Karl-Oscar Liiv came tantalisingly close to doubling up for the Dutch team.

Without doubt the best weekend of 2011 so far for the front-running Formula Renault squad, King and Liiv proved to be a match for the championship leading Red Bull Junior drivers throughout while team-mate Alexey Chuklin continued his impressive rise up the ranks.

Just a few days removed from the most recent round of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit the weekend prior, MP Motorsport travelled directly to the Czech Republic for the most easterly situated race meeting of the NEC campaign.

Rapid from the off during practice, where King was fastest of all across the four sessions, along with Liiv the pair confirmed the team’s superb pace in qualifying on Saturday, 27th August, with the fifth and fourth fastest times respectively. During qualifying for the second of the weekend’s three races, King starred by sealing a front-row start while Liiv was ninth quickest.

During the opening encounter, Liiv raced impressively and came within just 0.5 seconds of climbing the podium as he pressured Stoffel Vandoorne all the way to the chequered flag. Chuklin fought his way through strongly from 21st on the grid into 14th position but for King the chance of a podium went begging when contact with Alessio Picariello while contesting third place resulted in an excursion – he finished a lap down.

Sunday’s racing began with a deserved celebration as King lapped consistently on the pace of Carlos Sainz Jnr and Daniil Kvyat on his way to a fantastic third place finish. At the end of the 17-lapper he was a mere 0.8 seconds shy of Kvyat and only 1.5 seconds adrift of winner Sainz Jnr. King’s fastest lap of the race, incidentally, was 1m32.794 seconds – just 0.2 seconds shy of the best of the race.

Liiv was again in terrific form too and carved his way past several cars to rise from ninth on the grid into fifth position at the finish. Like King, the Estonian’s pace was impressive and his quickest lap was less than 0.2 seconds outside his team-mate’s best. Once again, Russian racer Chuklin delivered a strong drive to end up in 16th place from the 10th row of the grid.

The third and final race at Autodrom Most could have produced the second podium of the event for MP Motorsport but Liiv had to settle for fourth, just under two seconds shy of the rostrum. Chuklin drove superbly to take 12th position right on the tail of Picariello and Rafael Danieli but King had to face more misfortune when a questionable drive-through penalty was handed out.

Forced to start at the back of the grid, due to his finishing position from the opener, the youngster made a fantastic getaway and rapidly climbed into the mid-order. Unfortunately for King, he was then forced to serve a penalty following a pass on Richard Gonda but the decision was certainly erroneous and meant he was only then able to recover into 16th place.

“Overall, we really are very happy with the way this weekend has gone”, said MP Motorsport team principal Sander Dorsman, “It’s been our best race meeting of the season by far, Jordan and Karl-Oscar were on the pace all weekend and really took the fight to the Red Bull guys. Alexey keeps on impressing us with his progress and the visit to Most saw another improvement. All in all, a fantastic event.”

MP Motorsport continues its hectic schedule this weekend, 3rd/4th September, by participating in the Auto GP Championship event in Valencia, Spain, with Dutch driver Daniël De Jong. From there, the team will prepare for the penultimate rounds of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship which will be held at Paul Ricard in the south of France on 17th/18th September.

Photo by Chris Schotanus/Essay Produkties.

Reigning Protyre Formula Renault BARC champion squad Hillspeed is eyeing a potential expansion into the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup for 2012 after a successful debut at Zandvoort over the weekend, 13th/14th August, during the RTL GP Masters of Formula 3 support event.

Travelling to The Netherlands with all three of its regular BARC drivers, Howard Fuller, Zaamin Jaffer and Sean Walkinshaw, the Derbyshire team managed to outpace and out-perform a large number of category regulars.

Both races were affected by dreadful weather but it proved no barrier to Hillspeed’s trio – especially Walkinshaw for whom it marked his maiden run in the wet. In the first encounter on Saturday, Fuller climbed from 21st on the grid into an excellent 15th place finish before bettering that in race two by rising from 19th position into a superb 13th place – just 0.2 seconds shy of the top 12 at the flag.

Indian racer Jaffer qualified within 0.3 seconds of his team-mate to secure a place alongside Fuller on the 11th row of the grid for race one. Ending the opener 20th overall, Jaffer too had his strongest run in the second encounter when he scythed his way through fantastically into 14th position from the back of the grid – his lower than expected grid slot caused by an unfortunate excursion in second qualifying.

Car racing rookie Walkinshaw faced, by far, the toughest test of his maiden season in single-seaters but he gave a very good account of himself by finishing 22nd in the opener and a much improved 18th in race two. With it being the teenager’s maiden experience of a Formula Renault in wet conditions, his double finish was all the more impressive on his Zandvoort debut.

Making the most of the opportunity to enjoy some additional running as an invitational entry in the latest round of Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, Hillspeed is now seriously considering a full-time entry into the increasingly popular championship.

Team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “We’ve had an exceptional few days at Zandvoort, the NEC is a fantastic championship and a very attractive option for Hillspeed as we look ahead to next year and the opportunities available to us.

“Howard, Zaamin and Sean all did a great job this weekend and we’re delighted with the level of performance we were able to show. At this stage NEC is definitely on our radar for 2012, Zandvoort has been a great experience for us and we’d certainly like to hear from drivers considering the championship as an option for next year.”

Hillspeed’s single-seater trio will return to action in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship three weeks from now on Saturday, 3rd September, at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire. On the very same weekend, the team’s Ginetta Junior squad will travel to Knockhill in Scotland for the 13th and 14th rounds of its championship season.

Photo by Chris Schotanus / Essay Produkties

Zandvoort in The Netherlands hosted the latest rain-affected instalment of Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup action over the weekend, 13th/14th August, with local team MP Motorsport delivering great pace and almost securing a deserved podium finish.

Alongside regular drivers Karl-Oscar Liiv and Alexey Chuklin, Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship competitor Jordan King returned to the Dutch team’s ranks for another outing in Europe as he continues to expand his experience and all three youngsters produced impressive performances.

Displaying front-running speed from the off, in the race one qualifying session King was the highest placed of the MP Motorsport trio with the fourth best time while Estonian driver Liiv was seventh fastest and Chuklin was 16th on the timesheets.

In the second session, Liiv took up the mantle of the squad’s quickest driver with the fourth best time to secure a second row start for Sunday’s encounter while King was just 0.018 seconds slower with the fifth quickest lap and Chuklin was an improved 14th.

At the beginning of race one on Saturday, King suffered a bitter blow when he stalled and had to battle his way back from the tail of the top 20. With a huge amount of work to do, in extremely tricky conditions, the first-year racer mounted a tremendous recovery and carved his way through into a richly deserved seventh place finish.

Liiv, meanwhile, encountered his own misfortune when dicing for the final podium spot with Robin Frijns. Moving into the top four and looking very strong, the teenager tangled with the Dutchman at the first corner – Tarzanbocht – as they jostled for third meaning an immediate retirement for both on the third lap.

Ever-improving Russian driver Chuklin really came into his own this weekend by recording a superb top 10 finish in race two after an excellent drive. Realistically, he should have been celebrating the same sort of result in the opening encounter but he was punted into the gravel trap by a rival at the first corner of the final lap. Managing to recover, the unfortunate Chuklin took the flag in 17th place.

Liiv was on course for a possible podium again in race two as he battled for third with Come Ledogar for almost the entire duration. Driving very strongly, the MP Motorsport racer was unceremoniously pushed onto the wet grass when attempting a pass and so he retired in the gravel just a couple of laps from the finish – a harsh end to the weekend for the rapid charger.

King ended the second encounter in fifth after a good recovery drive which was enforced after being pushed wide at the first turn early on. Having to fight back from eighth position, he concluded the race a mere 0.8 seconds shy of the podium.

“We’re very happy with the pace all three guys showed this weekend”, said Sander Dorsman, MP Motorsport team principal, “It’s been a good event for us, although it is frustrating to have missed the podium as Karl-Oscar and Jordan had the pace and, with more luck, they could have both been up there. Alexey has done very well, we’re really pleased with him – he did a great job all weekend.”

Next on the calendar for MP Motorsport is a visit to the UK this coming weekend, 20th/21st August, for the latest two rounds of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship action as part of the British round of the World Series by Renault festival at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit.

Photo by Chris Schotanus / Essay Produkties.

Mumbai-born racer Zaamin Jaffer delivered an impressively strong account of himself at Zandvoort in The Netherlands over the weekend, 13th/14th August, with a double class podium on his debut in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup.

The 21-year-old, who is in his first season of ‘slicks and wings’ racing, seized the chance to gain some additional experience during the summer break from his regular commitments in the UK-based Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship and starred at Zandvoort with two excellent drives.

Despite being at the wheel of the previous generation FR 2.0 car, the one he pilots in Formula Renault BARC, Zaamin outperformed a number of NEC regulars in their more powerful 2011 specification cars and finished second in class in each outing. His performances were especially notable considering the dreadful wet conditions which were prevalent throughout the event.

“It was a really positive weekend, we had good pace compared to the guys in the current spec cars and to finish ahead of so many of them – especially in race two – was fantastic”, said the Indian racer, “Obviously they have more power than we do and in the wet they have much better tyres, they’re softer, wider and have more grip, so to be able to mix it with them was really good.”

In terms of his class, Zaamin immediately led the way during the opening practice session and just missed out on pole position in qualifying by 0.3 seconds. In the first race he lapped consistently quicker than Hillspeed team-mate Howard Fuller but had to settle for second after a small mistake.

Race two – which acted as support to the prestigious RTL GP Masters of Formula 3 – was by far the most impressive run for the Dubai-domiciled driver as he scythed his way through superbly from the back of the grid into 14th position overall and second in class again.

After an unfortunate excursion at the beginning of second qualifying, Zaamin faced an incredibly tall order but by the end of lap one he had already climbed into the top 18 overall and progressed very well to gain another four positions before the conclusion on lap 12.

“I’m confident I could have won the class in both races”, he explained, “I was consistently quicker than Howard (Fuller) in race one but the smallest of mistakes prevented me from challenging. In the second one, the problem there was the fact I was stuck behind one of the current spec cars while also defending from one of them as well so it took me a lap longer than him to get by.

“As soon as we got past, you could pull two or three seconds clear but they had a big advantage with more power and much better grip from their different tyres. The whole point of doing the weekend was to get some extra experience in race conditions in the Renault and to go up against some of the top European guys. Overall, I’m happy with how everything went and our level of performance.”

Zaamin’s next outing will come as part of the regular Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship season with rounds nine and 10 taking place on Saturday, 3rd September, at the ultra-fast Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire. Ahead of the event, the Hillspeed driver is seventh in the points standings.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Race winning team MP Motorsport is delighted to confirm it will once again focus its participation in Eurocup Formula Renault and the Northern European Cup in 2010 having ordered three brand new cars from Renault Sport Technologies.

With Formula Renault championships across the world replacing the hugely successful FR 2.0 Tatuus chassis with the freshly designed Barrazi-Epsilon car from next year, MP Motorsport is already busy preparing for its introduction with an intensive winter testing programme throughout Europe.

The Dutch team has enjoyed good success in recent events with podium finishes at Germany’s Nurburgring and in the Formula Renault NEC race meeting at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

Now, the Oudenbosch-based squad is keen to hear from interested drivers who would like to discuss testing opportunities and also the 2010 race programme in two of the continent’s most competitive one-make single-seater championships. Currently, MP Motorsport has lodged three entries for Eurocup and three more for the NEC.

“We’re very keen to hear from any drivers interested in testing with us in Europe over the winter months, we have an intensive programme in place with a lot of running planned in Spain and Portugal to take advantage of the warmer weather”, said MP Motorsport’s Sander Dorsman.

“It’s been a good season for MP Motorsport. We’ve had some great success with several podium finishes and now we’re looking forward to the last Eurocup race of the season in Spain at the end of the month before embarking on our winter testing schedule.”

Next on the calendar for MP motorsport is the final Eurocup Formula Renault race meeting of the season which will take place at Motorland Aragon in Spain over the weekend 24th/25th October.

To get in touch with the team regarding testing opportunities and race drives in 2010, please contact Sander Dorsman on 0031 (0) 6516 70158 or by email through sander@mpmotorsport.nl

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs brought his 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup campaign to a close at Spa at the weekend, taking two fourth places to finish fourth in the points standings, just three points adrift of third.

The 18 year-old was once again among the pace-setters in Friday’s damp test sessions posting the second fastest time and comfortably ahead of his rivals. For the BRDC Rising Star, the results of the races would prove crucial in his bid to take third place in the championship to secure a World Series by Renault test.

In the qualifying session, Adrian was fourth fastest to take a second row start for the opening 10 lapper. At the start, he briefly dropped to sixth before quickly finding a way past chief rival Marco Sorensen and pulling away and catching third placed Daniel de Jong.

However some aggressively defensive driving from de Jong prevented Adrian from making his attempts to pass stick and several times he was forced to lift off, taking fourth at the flag.

The weekend’s final round was wet, the typical Spa weather playing a crucial role in the outcome of the battle. A slow getaway from fifth, with too much wheelspin, dropped Adrian down the order but he quickly made up ground pushing newly-crowned champion Antonio Felix da Costa for second.

With Sorensen in the lead, Adrian would need to finish second to have a chance of finishing third in the title battle, and for several laps the Tonbridge teenager enjoyed a battle for the place with his Motopark team-mate. However as the pair exited Eau Rouge running side-by-side, Adrian was forced wide, dropping a wheel onto the gravel and allowing Kevin Magnussen through into third.

With just one lap remaining, Adrian closed down the two-second gap to third place but was denied the chance of taking a podium finish by just a second, crossing the line in fourth place.

“Things started really well for us, setting the second quickest time in the damp tests but in the dry the set-up didn’t really suit us and the car didn’t work so well. I felt confident however of being able to get the positions in the races to get third in the championship and with it the WSR test but sadly it didn’t turn out that way.

“In the opening race I managed to stick with my rival for the position and was easily able to get by him and close down the gap to de Jong who was running less wing. But he was weaving across the track quite a bit and I had to lift to avoid a collision when I tried to pass him, otherwise I’m sure I could have had third.

“In the second race, I got too much wheelspin off the line and dropped back a bit but managed to get up to third on the opening lap and then had da Costa ahead who made life very difficult to pass. We swapped places several times but with two laps to go I dropped a wheel on the gravel which allowed Magnussen through.”

With the North European Cup now finished, Adrian heads to his last event of the season, the final rounds of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship at Motorland over the weekend of 24/25 October.

Antonio Félix da Costa won this weekend in Nurburgring the Formula Renault 2.0 North European Championship title. After showing a strong and consistent performance during all season with 10 podiums in 12 races (nine wins and 1 second place), the Motorpark Portuguese driver won his first international title. Also in Nurburgring, Antonio Felix da Costa had the second last journey of the Eurocup, where he won the first race, and finished P2 on the second, being this classification suspended after an appeal from his team Motopark Academy against the disqualification of the Portuguese driver.

Due to the proximity of time between the first race of the NEC and the second race of the Eurocup, Team Motopark decided to make the Portuguese driver start from the pit lane in order to avoid the usual confusion of the first corner at Nurburgring: “I was P3 on the grid, where usually some confusion might happen on the start, so we decided to play secure and start from the pits” said Antonio, who after the field of 18 drivers pass, pulled out of the pit-lane and finished on a excellent sixth position after overtaking thirteen cars in thirteen laps.This result allowed Felix da Costa to start third , given the reversal of the top 8 of the grid for race two.

In the second race, pulling out of third place, Antonio Felix da Costa gave no chance to their opponents and won after an impressive race, finishing with more than 6 seconds clear of second-placed Briton Adrian Quaife – Hobbs. This result allowed the young Portuguese driver, considered by many as one of the most promising young drivers of the moment to collect the North European title of Formula Renault 2.0, still with two races to go at Spa Francorchamps in two weeks time.

“It was a very stressful weekend, I learn a lot about how to control emotions, I run two races for the Eurocup and two other for the NEC. I am really happy with my performance and I believe this title was a great reward for all the work and commitment that my team has spent since the beginning of the season. I am very pleased and even more motivated to continue to fight for the European Championship. I would like to thank and dedicate this title to those who accompanied me along this time, between sponsors, all guys in Motopark, friends, my manager team – Sowhat and my dad.”

In the second race of the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Championship, Antonio Felix da Costa has again been highlighted. After the victory in the first race, he secured a second place on race two. The classification of both two races and scorings at Nurburgring for the Eurocup is currently suspended, pending resolution of the Sport Court of Appeals, due to the appeal brought by Motopark against an alleged irregularity. “The decision of the appeal of Motopark on these two races will come in the coming weeks. Both me and my team are fully confident that the final decision will be in our favour and the recovery of 27 points will come to me. For now I want to celebrate and enjoy the NEC title and after focus myself on the last race of the Eurocup at Alcaniz”, concluded the new North European Formula Renault 2.0 Champion.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs took another podium finish in the Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup in the second of two races at the Nürburgring this weekend to jump to third in the points standings. The weekend also featured the penultimate rounds of the Eurocup in which Adrian drove a storming opening round from 12th to finish fourth to keep him in contention for fourth in the championship.

The 18 year-old kicked off the weekend with a cracking pace in free practice, second and third quickest in the two 40 minute Eurocup sessions. That ensured he would qualify through to the Superpole shootout in which he wound up sixth quickest.

The opening round of the Eurocup however, didn’t allow the BRDC Rising Star to capitalise on his grid position, as an overheating clutch problem on the line dropped him down the order, entering the first corner in 12th. A storming drive through the field allowed the former T-Cars champion to carve his way up the order, finishing fourth at the end.

There were high hopes of race two producing a podium finish until an incident at the first corner forced Adrian wide and off onto the gravel. Another strong drive over the course of the race allowed Adrian to make up several places but some defensive driving from several drivers prevented him from finishing higher than ninth.

The North European Cup races had Adrian struggle with an intermittent problem over the remaining three laps while lying fifth. The resultant problems dropped him to seventh but race two saw a return to form that netted victory earlier in the year.

A great start had Adrian take the immediate lead ahead of Antonio Felix da Costa and for five laps, including a three lap safety car period, he held the championship leader at bay. However on lap six the experienced da Costa got a better line at the chicane and found a way past. Soon after Kevin Korjus passed Adrian for second, although he quickly retook the place. The short delay allowed da Costa to pull away slightly and prevented Adrian from mounting a serious challenge to retake the lead.

“It was a weekend of mixed fortunes really. We set some quick times in practice and qualifying and in the Eurocup race it was great to fight back from 12th to fourth and of course another podium in the NEC has improved my position in the points standings.

“Hopefully we can return to the final rounds of both championships and finish the season with victory.”

The final round of the North European Cup at Spa takes place over the weekend of 3/4 October with the Eurocup final rounds at Motorland three weeks later on 25 October.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs underlined his rapid pace in the first of two Formula Renault 2.0 North European Cup race at Most in the Czech Republic last weekend, posting the fastest lap on his way to fifth place. The 18 year-old had set the early pace in Thursday’s practice with the quickest time in the first of four sessions and narrowly missed the pole spot by seven thousandths of a second in qualifying.

“Free practice went really well, with the quickest time in the opening session,” said Adrian. “We spent the next three sessions making some final adjustments to the car ready for qualifying and in that it was a very close run thing, just missing out on pole to a Czech driver/team combination which I don’t suppose wasn’t too much of a surprise.”

The Most circuit features a long run from the grid into the first corner and this was to prove unlucky for the Tonbridge youngster at the start of Saturday’s race. A good start allowed Adrian to hold his position off the line but as the pack filed into the first corner, he was hit from behind under braking and forced wide onto the outside dropping him down to sixth.

Undeterred, Adrian recovered quickly, setting the fastest lap of the race, as he reeled in and passed Luis Derani for fifth place where he finished at the flag.

“The first race was pretty chaotic at the start. I got away well but under braking for turn one, I was hit and forced off. Two cars also collided and there were cars scattered everywhere to try and avoid it. This dropped me down to sixth which was very disappointing after starting so well but it was great to show my pace again in the race with the fastest lap.”

In Sunday’s top eight reverse grid the BRDC Rising Star started from fourth with high hopes of a podium finish. However, after making a good start to hold position, Adrian began to struggle with a lack of grip which gradually dropped him down to seventh. In the latter stages of the race he was able to return to the pace of the opening lap and close down the gap to the battle for sixth but was unable to find a way past, crossing the line seventh at the flag.

“The opening lap was fine, I managed to hold position, but then I suddenly found I had a lack of grip and had to brake earlier than usual which cost me some places. Towards the end of the race though, it all came back again and I was able to close the gap and hang on to the back of the pack ahead. All in all I think once again we showed we had pace but sadly the results didn’t reflect that. Hopefully we can put that all behind us ahead of our next weekend.”

Adrian resumes his bid for race victory with the next rounds of both the NEC and Eurocup Formula Renault Championships which take place at the Nürburgring in Germany over the weekend of 19/20 September.