News in brief
22 June 2020
A glimpse at other Renault Sport news from both the UK and elsewhere around the world…
Watch: R.S. fun in Monaco!
Renault Sport has released an evocative, fast moving video of its on track activities at the world famous Monaco Grand Prix weekend in recent times.
Although cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event is regarded as the F1 calendar’s ‘jewel in the crown’ and Renault Sport’s video reminds us just how special the fixture is.
In 2019 it was F1 team drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg hurling a pair of the latest R.S. Mégane Trophy-Rs around the street circuit; in 2018 it was Renault F1 legend Alain Prost and son Nico plus then team driver Carlos Sainz Jnr scaring passengers in a trio of mighty R.S.01 sports/GT racers.
Go back to 2017 and the event marked the first public appearance of New Mégane R.S. (in camouflage livery) but also saw Alain Prost and Jean-Pierre Jabouille reunited with their 1983 (RE40) and 1977 (RS01) cars as Renault started celebrating 40 years in F1.
Not to be forgotten, the video ends with a flashback to 2016 and the sensational looking, high performance Clio R.S.16 ‘concept’ in the hands of then team driver Kevin Magnussen.
Quite a read!
A new book – 580 pages in length! – detailing the history of Renault’s famous motor sporting collaboration with petroleum giant Elf has been published.
‘Renault et Elf dans la course’, authored by Benoît Casaert, details how the two companies’ partnership on the track from 1959-1982.
Amongst others, the Elf name was prominent on all of Renault’s first F1 cars (1977-82), cars using its engines in F2 in the mid-Seventies, the R5 Turbos in both rallying and racing, plus the famed A442B machine that won 1978’s Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race.
Click here to purchase from publisher L’Harmattan priced at €45 (print) and at €35.99 (digital).
Bon Anniversaire!
Happy Birthday this month to Patrick Tambay who turns 71 on 26 June.
Tambay, originally from Paris, raced with Renault’s F1 team during its final two seasons in the Eighties – 1984 and 1985.
In ’84, having qualified on pole position, he narrowly missed out on victory in the team’s home grand prix at Dijon in France after an exciting battle for victory between him and that year’s eventual champion Niki Lauda.
In ’85, Tambay gave the Renault squad its final two podium results of the era with back-to-back third place finishes in the Portuguese and San Marino GPs.
FRenault gets Esports Series
Renault Sport has launched a four-event Formula Renault Esports Series ahead of its real-life Formula Renault Eurocup getting under way in July.
Racers are each armed with identical versions of the Formula Renault 3.5 machines used in competition several years back.
All four events will be on current F1 circuits – the first, at Interlagos, Brazil and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Canada, took place in late May/early June.
The remaining races as we went to press were on the Circuit of the Americas, USA (19 June) and finally Suzuka, Japan (29 June).
Watch the opening round action from Interlagos and see for yourself all the action from Circuit Gilles Villenueve.
Meanwhile the Formula Renault Eurocup proper is now scheduled to begin at the Italian GP circuit of Monza on the weekend of 9-11 July…
