Toronto, Canada (May 11, 2011) – Canada’s Robert Wickens will look to consolidate his points lead as the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series heads to Italy and the renowned Autodromo Nazionale Monza for Round 3’s double-header meeting this weekend, Saturday 14th – Sunday 15th May.
The 22-year-old claimed a win and a second place last time out at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium to move to the top of the Driver Standings, the Canadian assuming a 14 point advantage over his Carlin team-mate, Frenchman Jean Eric Vergne heading into Monza this weekend.
The 5.79km Italian circuit proved kind to the Toronto-born racer last season when he visited as part of the inaugural GP3 Series season. Wickens captured a victory and a second place finish in the double-header event before going on to eventually finish Runner-Up in the final 2010 Driver Standings.
“I really like Monza,” Wickens commented ahead of his trip to the home of the Italian Grand Prix and the famed ‘tifosi’. “Like Spa where we last raced, it’s one of the few remaining old fashioned tracks with lots of history and character. I had pretty good results there last season with the win and second place so I’m hoping things go that well again this weekend.
“It’ll be a little interesting this time around as we’re part of the World Touring Car Championship package in Italy and not the usual World Series by Renault meeting. This means we’ll be skipping our usual mandatory pit-stop in Sunday’s race so it’ll effectively be another full-on sprint race from the get go. Also, because of the low aero levels you run at Monza, they’re lifting the LAC (Low Aerodynamic Configuration) rule for Saturday’s race. This could add a bit of a twist into how we approach the event! The competition is tough in this series but I’ll be aiming to keep the points lead exiting Monza!”
Wickens, who enjoys support from Marussia Motors – a co-owner of the Marussia Virgin Racing Formula One team, has continued to blaze a trail in European open-wheel competition since he first raced on the continent in 2008. With race wins in the F3 Euro Series, A1GP, Formula 2, GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5, Robert has continued to impress while remaining focused on his goal of becoming the first Canadian to reach Formula One since former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve.
The weekend’s Formula Renault 3.5 Series action kicks off in Italy with Race 1 set for 1pm CET on Saturday 14th, while Race 2 starts at 11:30am CET on Sunday 15th May.
2011 FR3.5 Series Top-5 Driver Standings (R2/9): 1st – WICKENS (CAN) 71pts, 2nd – Vergne (FRA) 57pts, 3rd – Rossi (USA) 55pts, 4th – Costa (ESP) 52pts, 5th – Panciatici (FRA) 26pts - www.worldseriesbyrenault.com
About Robert Wickens:
Robert Wickens (22) is recognized as one of the brightest Canadian driving talents to have emerged in recent years with a track record of success forged on both sides of the Atlantic leading him well placed on the path to Formula One. A multiple karting champion in North America, Wickens won the 2006 Formula BMW USA title before graduating, and winning races in the Formula Atlantic Series the following year. Chasing his F1 dream, Robert moved to Europe in 2008 winning races in both the World Series by Renault and the F3 Euro Series.
He raced his way to the runner-up spot in the FIA F2 Championship in 2009, again a multiple race-winner, before tackling the 2010 GP3 Series. Another strong title-challenging campaign saw Robert claim the runner-up position but more importantly, his 2010 efforts attracted the backing of Marussia Motors – Russia’s first supercar manufacturer and an owner in the Marussia Virgin F1 team.
About Marussia Motors:
Founded in 2007 by former racing driver Nikolay Fomenko, renowned brand strategist Efim Ostrovsky and award-winning technology entrepreneur Andrey Cheglakov, the creation of Russia’s first high-performance car company is a remarkable story of vision, focus, innovation and ambition. The dramatic mid-engined B1 design, was first unveiled in Moscow in 2008, followed by the launch of the Marussia B2 in the autumn of 2009 – with these designs, the Russian supercar had arrived. In 2010 the company partnered with Virgin Racing F1 and at the end of the season Marussia Motors acquired a majority stake in the team – now called Marussia Virgin Racing – www.marussiamotors.ru / www.virginracing.com
About Formula Renault 3.5 Series:
The Formula Renault 3.5 Series has been successful in launching several drivers directly into Formula One with the notable stand-outs including 2010 Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel, as well as Grand Prix winner Robert Kubica. Both Vettel and Kubica made their F1 starts graduating straight from successful seasons competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series – part of the ‘World Series by Renault’ package. In 2011 the series sees 26 cars competing in 17 races across 9 of Europe’s leading circuits including the likes of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Monza (Italy), Silverstone (UK) and Monaco – www.worldseriesbyrenault.com
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