Nurburgring: Post-race notes

A well-earned break...

Three meetings in the space of four weeks left the World Series Formula Renault 3.5 teams with barely enough time to catch their breath in July. With two thirds of the season gone, the outcome of this year's title still remains unclear with the top three drivers separated by only two points! Before racing resumes at Donington in September, let's take a quick look at the highlights from last weekend.

63,000 spectators at the Nurburgring
Despite with miserable and changeable weather, 20,000 spectators came to see Saturday's racing. On Sunday, there were 43,000 people with their eyes glued to the action at the circuit. Renault Passion could be felt as far away as the Nordschleife, with many Clio V6 and R5 Turbo going full pelt around the Nurburgring's legendary track!

Go, Robert!
On Sunday afternoon, the Nurburgring press room was also excited by the performance of Robert Kubica. The 2005 World Series champion produced a magnificent performance in his first F1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.

Having qualified in 10th position, he finished in seventh position after an incident-packed race. But the Polish driver was unfortunately disqualified after the race due to the non-compliant weight of his car.

Although an official announcement has yet to be made, BMW look likely to give him further opportunities to show off his driving skill between now and the end of the season.

Prema / Montanari: a real team effort
Sunday saw one of this season's most exciting and unpredictable races. After Aleshin, Maldonado and Parente went out of the race at the first corner, it was left to Montanari, Danielsson and Soucek to fight it out for glory. In fact, the 13th race of the season came down to a contest between the first and third placed drivers. Although Soucek managed to build a 5.6 second lead over his rival on the first three laps, his efforts went to waste when the safety car was called out onto the track.

After being overtaken by McIntosh when the race resumed, Montanari headed for the pits on lap eight for a stop that lasted 27''837. Four laps later, Soucek's pit stop was significantly longer at 28''866. Since the two men were lapping within a tenth of a second of each other, the fact that Prema outperformed Interwetten on the pit stop ended up making all the difference.

Parente and Soucek tied at the top
The World Series Formula Renault 3.5 Drivers' standings issued after the German round included an error. In fact, Alvaro Parente and Andy Soucek share the lead with 73 points each. Pastor Maldonado is third with 72 points. The top 5 is still completed by Borja Garcia (67 points) and Eric Salignon (48 points).

Miguez throws in the towel
Twenty-ninth and last with only a single point won in Istanbul, Celso Miguez has not had the results he hoped for at the start of the season. The Spaniard decided to bring his season to an end after the Nurburgring round. Pons Racing is therefore looking for a new team-mate for James Rossiter.

-credit: renault