EU V6: Monza round one preview

Five months after a fascinating weekend of competition brought the 2003 season of the LG Super Racing Weekend to a close, the teams and drivers will be heading back to Monza, which will host the first round of the latest chapter of the multi-platform series.

This year, the FIA GT Championship, FIA European Touring Car Championship and the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup will be setting off for a ten-round tour, starting at Monza, calling at Valencia, Magny-Cours, Hockenheim, Brno, Donington Park, Spa-Francorchamps, Imola, Oschersleben and finishing the season outside Europe, with a race at the brand-new Dubai Autodrome, in the United Arab Emirates. Missing Hockenheim, the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup will race within the prestigious context of the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix. After Dubai, the FIA GT Championship will head even further east, for a season finale in China.

Eight countries, ten prestigious circuits, three fascinating and varied Championships, joining together GT, Touring Car and Single-Seater racing in a single action-packed weekend : the 2004 LG Super Racing Weekend.

Not only the fastest circuit visited during the season, Monza has a special significance for the LG Super Racing Weekend series, as it hosted the first-ever event in this format, in 2001. The Formula Renault V6 Eurocup's inaugural title went to Argentina's Jose Maria Lopez, ahead of Neel Jani of Switzerland.

So what is Monza likely to hold for the three main series this year?
With the Formula Renault Grand Race on Saturday, the 500 km FIA GT Championship race on Sunday, followed by two FIA European Touring Car 50-km sprint races run back to back, finishing off with the Formula Renault Super Sprint, the weekend is bound to be full of excitement. Other races in Monza will include the European Alfa Challenge, in the first of six races with the LG Super Racing Weekend, and the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup, which will be present during all events except for the season finale in Dubai.

22 V6 CARS READY FOR TESTING !
Renault Sport On March 13th and 14th, 22 Formula Renault V6 cars were in action at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, in Valencia, for two days of intensive testing. Following in the tyre marks of the Formula One cars, the V6 cars were on the track by 9 am on the Saturday, in the rain ! Ten teams attended this official test session. By the end of this very busy week-end, Jani (DAMS), Mondini (EuroInternational), Sharp (Jenzer Motorsport), Shimoda (David Price Racing) and Rojas (Telmex Dams), were the top five fastest drivers, in that order. The full results can be found on www.renault-sport.com.

BLUE IS BEAUTIFUL
Renault Sport New season, new look. The grey, black and red cars have disappeared. This year, it looks as if the fashion is for blue! The David Price Racing cars are "wearing" a very spectacular blue, while AFC Motosport is still very visible in yellow. As for STRS, the yellow has gone, and new driver Danielsson has a white and green car. For Sandstrom, it is white and red. DAMS has replaced the sober grey with a white and blue livery. Van Laggen (WT-Interwetten) will be making its series debut in a dark blue Formula Renault V6.

AN INTERNATIONAL FIELD
Renault Sport 12 nationalities were represented in Valencia. The interest of this championship has crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Rojas (Telmex Dams) and Martinez (Cram Competition) are both from Mexico, and Cicero from the United States of America. The 2004 season will also see a Portuguese driver, (Campanico, Cram Competition) taking part. Marcus Steinel from Austria was also testing in Valencia, for the WT-Interwetten team.

GUERRIERI HOPES TO COMPETE
Esteben Guerrieri, from Argentina, the winner of the Formula Renault 2000 Masters 2003, did a short test during the last day of testing in Valencia. At the moment, it is not certain that Guerrieri will be racing in the V6 Eurocup, due to sponsorship problems. The talented Argentinian, is naturally very disappointed, but he was very happy to do some laps in Valencia, where he showed that he was very quick.

-lgsw-