World Series at Zolder huge success

At a sunny Zolder circuit, the World Series by Renault, held this weekend, could count on 98.000 motorsport fans. The fans could enjoy races from Formula 1.6, Formula 2.0, the Eurocup Megane trophy and the new Clio cup. Of course the crowd was also entertained with demo's from historic Renault cars and a Formula 1 demo with Jonathan Cochet.

Formula 1.6:
If you want to become an F1 driver one day what better place to start than with Renault, world champion in 2005 and 2006. Formula Renault 1.6 is just the job for young coming men aged 15 or more. This weekend, not only young men came in action during the FR1.6 races as Karline Stala finished the first race on Sunday in 3rd position. She finished after Belgian driver Niels Cox and winner Kevin Demaerschalk.

The second race was won by Niels Cox followed by Karline Stala, who was easily recogniseable by her helmet with flowers, and Nicolas De Crem.

Formula 2.0:
The Formula 2.0 single-seater powered by a 2-litre 196 bhp engine is the ideal springboard for future F1 stars. The Formula 2.0 Eurocup provides young drivers, who have already made their mark, with a showcase to express their talent in a top-level competition at the wheel of a car that can reach 250 km/h.

Following in the footsteps of Ammermüller (now test driver for the Red Bull Racing Team) in 2005 and Groppi in 2006, Brendon Hartley (Red Bull Epsilon) won the two opening races of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season at the Zolder circuit. The New Zealander was faster than Henki Waldschmidt and Tristan Vautier.

Brendon Hartley: "This weekend really couldn't have gone better. We were the fastest in all conditions. After a difficult 2006 season, this has been a perfect start for me."

Clio Cup:
The new Clio Cup has F1-inspired aerodynamics and is powered by a 2.0-litre 16V 205 bhp engine. This less-known championship could entertain the crowd at Zolder as it was a spectacular race. Kristian Nägele won the race at the Belgian track and was accompanied by 2 fellow Germans: Christian Ott and Elmar Jurek.

Eurocup Megane Trophy:
As it has already brought a lot of spectacular moments at Zolder during the previous editions, the fans were happy to welcome the Eurocup Megane Trophy on the Belgian track once more. All 35 cars, powered by a 3.5-litre V6 engine, have the same performance and the same state-of-the-art equipment, including a semi-automatic steering-wheel mounted gearbox just like the F1 cars, which always results in spectacular racing.

Francois Duval, the Belgian Rally driver, was one of the drivers on track during the Megane Trophy. Unfortunately for the fans, he wasn't able to finish the race in front of his home crowd. It was Ralph Meichtry who could spray the champagne together with Dimitri Enjalbert and Pedro Petiz.

Historic cars:
This year Renault is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in Formula 1. The Renault Historic & Collection service gave some of its most beautiful models a run on the Zolder circuit this weekend, including the ground-breaking RE01 from 1977.

F1 demonstration runs: Unlike last year, it wasn't one of the ING Renault F1 Team's official test drivers, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Ricardo Zonta, to take the track with the R26. Jonathan Cochet entertained the crowd with 2 demonstration runs. Although most of the people present didn't know who he was, Jonathan won the hearts of the fans as he drove some fast laps and made donuts to complete his run. After his final demo run, Cochet threw his gloves into the crowd under loud and enthusiastic applause from the crowd.