Off to another great start!
The first 2006 World Series by Renault meeting was a resounding success with the fans. Simply managing to wade through the crowds in the paddock on Sunday was a real achievement, with such an attendance rarely having been seen at the Belgian circuit! Out on the track, the favourites floundered while supposed outsiders came to the fore. That's what competition is all about, and it bodes well for the 2006 season which looks as if it will turn out to be just as exciting as expected!
87,000 spectators at Zolder
Despite the fact that the weather was more miserable than last year, spectators turned out in significant numbers for the 2006 World Series by Renault curtain-raiser. 22,000 fans came on the Saturday and 65,000 on the Sunday, giving a total attendance of 87,000 for the weekend, nearly 10% up on last year's event!
French domination
With five wins out of six in Zolder, the French drivers have gained a stranglehold on the three international Renault Sport championships. There were clean sweeps for
Eric Salignon (Interwetten.com) and Laurent Groppi (Graff Racing), who each won both their races in the World Series Formula Renault 3.5 and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, whilst Jean-Philippe Dayraut (Epsilon Euskadi) could «only» manage to win one of the Eurocup Mégane Trophy races. The French have laid down the gauntlet!
Jan Heylen puts in an appearance
The 2005 Eurocup Mégane Trophy champion paid a visit to the Zolder paddock and made sure he called in to say hello to his former rivals. Now a member of the Champ Car team, Dale Coyne Racing, the Belgian driver will shortly be moving on to Florida, a world away from his home town of Geel!
A new TV production system for the World Series
The Zolder meeting was the occasion for the go-live of a new TV production system. Sixteen digital cameras were spread all around the circuit, all directly relayed by
satellite. A technological step forward which will ensure that we miss out on none of the action and that there will be no shortage of slow motion replays!
Prema comes to town!
The Formula Renault 3.5 and 2.0 race cars of the Prema Power Team will take part in a demonstration on Sunday, May 14, in the streets of San Marino's historic old town. Christian Montanari, a native of this pint-sized country, will obviously be the hero of the day, which will provide spectators with a taster of the Misano meeting.
Monaco schedule
Although the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Mégane Trophy are taking a break until the Istanbul meeting (June 17-18 ), the World Series Formula Renault 3.5 will be back in action on the streets of Monaco from May 25 to 28. Free practice is scheduled for Thursday 25 at 3.40pm, and the thirty drivers will take part in qualifying on Saturday 27 at 9am. The race, the curtain-raiser to the F1 Grand Prix, is due to start on Sunday 28, at 11am.
Meneghello a doubt for Monaco
Despite being inadvertently involved in the collision at the start of race one in Zolder, Matteo Meneghello struggled on to make it to the finish line. After the race, doctors discovered that he had broken the navicular bone in his foot and dislocated ligaments in his wrist. The GD Racing driver had an operation in Rome to limits the effects of the fracture. He will not know until May 9 whether he will be able to take part in the Monaco race.
