Renault World Series 2009 (Off season/General thread)

[Rf1 Fan]

Originally Posted by the sniper

Thanks for the information, great news. Do you have a source by any chance?

This will be interesting in Britain if British Eurosport get the F1 support races as well, they'll be showing GP2, FIA F2 and WSbR!!!

For GP2 on British Eurosport i don't know,i live in france and if it's the same deal for British Eurosport you won't watch feature race in live,the feature race will be broadcasted in delayed the saturday evening or sunday morning and sprint race will be broadcasted in live.

[the sniper]

Originally Posted by Rf1 Fan

A member of Tech 1 team.

A race engineer.

Originally Posted by Rf1 Fan

For GP2 on British Eurosport i don't know,i live in france and if it's the same deal for British Eurosport you won't watch feature race in live,the feature race will be broadcasted in delayed the saturday evening or sunday morning and sprint race will be broadcasted in live.

Cool, thanks Rf1 Fan and welcome to 10 Tenths.

[Rf1 Fan]

Thanks.

[jondownunder]

Federico Leo recently confirmed at Pons:
http://www.italiaracing.net/notizia.asp?id=22277&cat=5

[strider]

Originally Posted by jondownunder

Federico Leo recently confirmed at Pons:
http://www.italiaracing.net/notizia.asp?id=22277&cat=5

Interesting. He was supposed to be doing BF3 this season with Ombra, with whom he raced in German F3 and at Monza with BF3 last year. Not very quick.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by strider

Interesting. He was supposed to be doing BF3 this season with Ombra, with whom he raced in German F3 and at Monza with BF3 last year. Not very quick.

With so many empty seats in World Series, maybe he saw the opportunity to fry (or get fried by) bigger fish.

[wannab-aracer]

I hear a certain Bruno Senna is now looking for other options than F1.

With all the top GP2 seats taken, could WSR be an option ?

[bella]

that would be my thought as well. there's some good high profile seats available i reckon, and his personal sponsors would be able to benefit from the openness for the spectators... seems like a good match, especially considering the prize.

[strider]

Interesting thought. I reckon Renault would bend over backwards to get him on board.

[Go_For_Pole]

Miguel Molina in at Ultimate

[OJB]

That's a good signing for Ultimate, I think, although it does make me wonder what happens to Guerrieri, Carbone and Mansell. Only one (if any) will get the second seat.

Still, I'd say that immediately makes Molina favourite judging by his classification last year and the fact he is with the team that came second in 2008. He'd better hope for a better start to the season than he has last year!

[OJB]

Just a small update to include Ultimate and Pons:

Tech 1 Racing - Charles Pic (FRA)
Ultimate Motorsport - Miguel Molina (ESP)
P1 Motorsport - James Walker (GBR)
Prema Powerteam - Omar Leal (COL)
Carlin Motorsport - Jaime Alguersuari (ESP) & Oliver Turvey (GBR)
Draco Racing - Bertrand Baguette (BEL) & Marco Barba (ESP)
Pons Racing - Marcos Martinez (ESP) & Federico Leo (ITA)
Comtec Racing - Alexandre Marsoin (FRA) & Anton Nebylitskiy (RUS)
Fortec Motorsport - Fairuz Fauzy (MAL) & Sten Pentus (EST)

Means we have no drivers for KTR, Interwetten, RC and Epsilon Euskadi, while Tech 1, Ultimate, P1 and Prema still have one more to add - and testing starts next week.

My only predictions are Greg Mansell/Ricardo Teixeira/Esteban Guerrieri at Ultimate, Renger van der Zande at Prema, Siso Cunill at KTR and Pablo Sanchez/Salvador Duran at Interwetten. Maybe Filipe Albuquerque at Epsilon Euskadi.

[kerrmanningjarv]

As long as Filipe A. doesn't have to skip any A1GP rounds to do WSR, I'd say "go for it"... I think he maybe has more to gain in A1 as the cars are higher performance and he is, in my opinion, facing a higher calibre of drivers.

Also he has a chance of winning the A1GP title, next season if not this season, whereas Epsilon in WSR seem to have dropped off since 2005.

[WSR Fan]

That's an excellent signing for Ultimate IMO. He really has developed into a very tidy little driver over the past two seasons and as OJB said, if he has a better start to the year than in 2008, he has got to be one of the favourites for the title. And if Ultimate had any sense they would partner him with either Guerrieri or Mansell, not Teixeira.

This year's championship looks fascinating, with Molina, Pic, Walker, Baguette and Alguersuari all capable of taking the title IMO. And if the aero revisions to the car allow for closer racing, then all the better!

[kerrmanningjarv]

Have we seen any pics yet of the cars with the aero revisions? Interested to see what changes they make.

[runshaw]

Originally Posted by WSR Fan

This year's championship looks fascinating, with Molina, Pic, Walker, Baguette and Alguersuari all capable of taking the title IMO.

I'd add Turvey to that list too.

[strider]

Originally Posted by runshaw

I'd add Turvey to that list too.

Ditto. I think a Turvey who doesn't have to worry about studying for and then sitting exams will be even stronger than he was last year in BF3.

[wannab-aracer]

Molina has to be in with a title chance at Ultimate.

I know it's a long shot but I was hoping to see Greg Mansell and Bruno Senna in the same garage at Ultimate. Now that would be interesting !

The Carlin duo get to continue there dual from last year and I expect a few fireworks there, should produce some thrills and spills.

[strider]

If you want thrills and spills in the Carlin garage, you should have Turvey and Brendon Hartley together. I still smile when I think of Brendon referring to Oliver as "the ginger one" in a TV interview which went out on air after second BF3 race in Bucharest last season.

As for Ultimate, I hope they retain Esteban Guerrieri, although I guess any team would be ecstatic to have Bruno Senna. Greg Mansell? Under no circumstances, anywhere, thank you.

[META4]

Mansell is rumoured to be the one in the second Ultimate car

Tech1 will test Frankie Provenzano at Jerez and Valencia.

Even for top teams it seems not that easy to find drivers...

[kipper]

Originally Posted by strider

As for Ultimate, I hope they retain Esteban Guerrieri, although I guess any team would be ecstatic to have Bruno Senna. Greg Mansell? Under no circumstances, anywhere, thank you.

I think that Guerrieri would be the team's best chance of securing wins and possibly the championship. Senna would be a good option given his experience in GP2 and the attention he would bring to any team. However, I suspect that the DTM or sportscars will be his home of '09. Greg Mansell, I feel lacks the experience and successes to be competitive at this level, however, if he brings a load of sponsorship then teams may look to recuit him and enable them to run a less funded, but more competitve driver in another car.

[Alex K]

I much doubt in Senna's link, don't know where it came from, but IMO it'd be risky for him if he didn't perform. It's tough championship, where 3/4 of contenders are contenders for race wins and halfof'em for championship, it went well for Vettel but may not work for Senna. Just a guess. My second guess is that we still may see Senna in #8 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara in ICS.

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by kerrmanningjarv

Have we seen any pics yet of the cars with the aero revisions? Interested to see what changes they make.

No, not that I know of.

The Renault-Sport press release at the end of September stated that "the aerodynamics of the Formula Renault 3.5 car will undergo minor enhancements inspired by the 2009 F1 regulations", so I'm guessing (and hoping) that they'll remove most of the flick-ups and chimney's from the side pods.

[wannab-aracer]

Originally Posted by Alex K

I much doubt in Senna's link, don't know where it came from, but IMO it'd be risky for him if he didn't perform. It's tough championship, where 3/4 of contenders are contenders for race wins and halfof'em for championship, it went well for Vettel but may not work for Senna. Just a guess. My second guess is that we still may see Senna in #8 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara in ICS.

The Senna link was just a thought Alex. Nothing more in it than that. I personally think it would be his best option as it seems clear that unless he secured a top seat in GP2 he would look elsewhere. I just feel WSR would be a good fit considering, and I think any series will be to risky for him if he does'nt perform

[wannab-aracer]

Originally Posted by strider

If you want thrills and spills in the Carlin garage, you should have Turvey and Brendon Hartley together. I still smile when I think of Brendon referring to Oliver as "the ginger one" in a TV interview which went out on air after second BF3 race in Bucharest last season.

As for Ultimate, I hope they retain Esteban Guerrieri, although I guess any team would be ecstatic to have Bruno Senna. Greg Mansell? Under no circumstances, anywhere, thank you.

Yes, I remember Hartley giving Turvey a bit of a dressing down Most amusing !

Strider, It would seem your not a huge fan of Mansell. I thought his performance in BF3 in O7 was quite strong, are you doubting his on track ability or character off it

Molina and Guerrieri would be a great pairing, but as ever money talks. I'm sure we will have a better idea after Jerez tommorrow, and I can't wait to get a look at the new car. I was hoping the Renault sport site would have had a least a sneak preview, but it would seem to be the same as last year. A poor website and a pain to navigate around.