Kanamaru joins Pons for Nurburgring
Japanese driver Yu Kanamaru will make his Formula Renault 3.5 debut at the Nurburgring this weekend.
Photo by: XPB Images
Kanamaru, 21, will join forces with Spanish squad Pons Racing, albeit it remains unclear which of the two team regulars he will be replacing.
The Japanese racer has raced in Formula Renault 2.0 in 2012 and 2013, picking up a race win in the NEC series but scoring no points over two campaigns in the Eurocup.
He then moved to Euroformula Open, linking up with the squad run by Emilio de Villota, who also acts as Pons Racing's team manager.
Kanamaru placed fourth in his debut EF Open season and currently sits third with four races to go, retaining slim mathematical chances of winning the title.
"I know Kanamaru really well and we witnessed his growth race by race in the Euroformula Open," de Villota said. "The move to the Formula Renault 3.5 is a natural progression for him, although it won't be easy to line up without an adequate testing program.
"On the other hand, I know that Yu has all the qualities needed to successfully approach a car as powerful and demanding as the [FR3.5 car] Dallara-Gibson."
Formula 1 racer Roberto Merhi and Indonesian Patric Armand have served as Pons Racing's regular drivers for 2015, but both have had to miss rounds - Merhi due to F1 commitments and Armand due to visa issues.
The team currently sits ninth in the championship standings, with a solitary podium courtesy of Merhi at the Hungaroring.
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