With its unique layout, history and atmosphere, Spa-Francorchamps is loved by drivers and motorsport fans alike. The Belgian track will host the next round of the World Series by Renault this coming weekend, one of the high points of the WSR season, with all four international championships organised by Renault Sport Technologies on the bill for the first time this year. It promises to be quite a meeting.
Belgium hosted the very first World Series by Renault meeting at Zolder in 2005. Two years later Spa-Francorchamps, nestling in the Ardennes, took over as the series’ Belgian venue, quickly establishing itself as one of the main attractions of the season and drawing large crowds in the process.
For the first time this year all four WSR categories are on the card, with Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Eurocup Megane Trophy and Eurocup Clio sharing the Ardennes track with a host of other attractions. Chief among them are two Formula One drivers, with Switzerland’s Sebastien Buemi heading the Infiniti Red Bull Racing F1 Show and Caterham F1 Team’s Dutch driver Giedo Van der Garde, the 2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, also in action.
In the infield, meanwhile, there is another world for race-goers to discover in the Renault Village, where the marque’s entire range will be on show, including the Captur. The Time Tunnel will take visitors on a journey back through Renault’s history, and the Alpine, Track, Clio and Rally-themed areas provide a link between the past, the present and the future. Over in the F1 Paddock, the Children’s Village, complete with bouncy castles and a road safety awareness workshop, will stand next to the Z.E. exhibition devoted to Renault’s range on electrical vehicles. There will also be a competitive edge in the Sport Paddock, where racing fans can try their hand at the Renault Sport and Michelin simulators and the Pit Stop Challenge and check out the Infiniti Red Bull Racing area and Red Bull Street Style demos.
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: Preview
Matthieu Vaxiviere’s (Tech 1 Racing) superb clean sweep in the season’s opening meet at Motorland Aragon shot him to the top of the standings, though the French driver is well aware that he is now a marked man on the grid.
The Frenchman’s closest challengers are Esteban Ocon (ART Junior Team) and Egor Orudzhev (Tech 1 Racing), who both joined him on the podium in Spain but are respectively 24 and 26 points behind him in the championship standings.
Among the other title candidates, British duo Jake Dennis (Fortec Motorsports) and Oliver Rowland (Manor MP Motorsport), Colombian racer Oscar Tunjo (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and the French pair Pierre Gasly (Tech 1 Racing) and William Vermont (ARTA Engineering) are all aiming to score big in Belgium.
In the absence of a Dutch leg, Spa is the next best thing to a home meeting for Steijn Schothorst (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP), while Luca Ghiotto (Prema Powerteam) will hope to maintain his fine form after scoring an excellent win in the Formula Renault 2.0 Pau Trophy a few days ago.
The 42-car field features a number of wildcards, among them current Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS leader Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam) of Italy.