The Boys are back in town - Nürburgring - Presentation
The Australian Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula) comes to the Nürburgring as Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship leader, where the season reaches its halfway stage. Everything is still to play for, however. Although Ricciardo seems to have a comfortable lead, Andrea Caldarelli (SG Formula), Valtteri Bottas (Motopark Academy) and Roberto Mehri (Epsilon Euskadi) will all be looking to buck the trend.
With four wins in six races and seventy-seven points to his name, Daniel Ricciardo has had an extraordinary first half of the season. Consistently among the leaders since the start of the year, the Australian must now maintain his form to make sure of winning his first ever motorsport title. It is critical for the man from Perth not to become overwhelmed by what is at stake and keep up his momentum. But there's still plenty of racing left before the title is decided.
Daniel's rivals are not about to let him saunter to victory without putting up a fight. With eight races to go this season, anything can still happen! Fellow SG Formula driver Andrea Caldarelli currently lies second in the standings, nineteen points adrift of his team-mate. With four runner-up spots and one third place, the Italian can boast an impressive level of consistency. But he needs to win a race to put some serious pressure on his team-mate!
Young Spanish driver Roberto Merhi is also looking for his first race win. Invariably among the leaders and twice on the podium, he just needs a bit more luck to grab his first victory. Like Caldarelli, Roberto Merhi needs to a good performance at the Nürburgring if he is to keep his title hopes alive.
On the home track, many fans will inevitably take a keen interest in the fortunes of the drivers from the German team, Motopark Academy, who will also be taking part in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. Valtteri Bottas lost a lot of ground in Hungary, after failing to score a single point. A disastrous weekend which will obviously weigh heavily in the end of season points totals. The Finn has no choice but to try and make up the lost ground. Formula Renault 2.0 NEC leader, Bottas will have a very busy schedule this weekend. The Finn, who faces stiff competition on all fronts, must remain icy cool if he is to prevail.
His Motopark Academy team-mate, Tobias Hegewald, is also a potential race winner. With his first podium finish at Budapest behind him, followed by his first race win this season in the NEC at Zolder, Hegewald is clearly in great form. The Nürburgring looks like it could be an ideal hunting ground for the German driver. He knows and likes the circuit, and has already won here it would come as no surprise if he were to do well. The only German to regularly take part in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 will undoubtedly be cheered on by the home crowd.
Among the lineup of forty-four drivers, there are several who have a good chance of coming out on top. Since the start of the season, the BVM Minardi Team drivers Cesar Ramos and Daniele Zampieri or Michel Faccin (Jenzer Motorsport) have been capable of joining the fight for the podium. Also in the cut, Jean-Éric Vergne (SG Formula) and Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) will be there to play their hands, but also to watch their teammates fight for the title.
N° Teams (Home country) Drivers (Home country - ASN) 1 EPSILON EUSKADI 1 (ESP) Jake ROSENZWEIG (USA - USA) 2 EPSILON EUSKADI 1 (ESP) Pablo MONTILLA (ESP - ESP) 3 EPSILON EUSKADI 1 (ESP) Richard CAMPOLLO (DOM - ESP) 4 SG DRIVERS PROJECT (FRA) Ramez AZZAM (CAN - DUB) 5 SG DRIVERS PROJECT (FRA) Anton NEBILITSKYI (RUS - RUS) 6 SG DRIVERS PROJECT (FRA) Jean Eric VERGNE (FRA - FRA) 7 EPSILON EUSKADI 2 (ESP) Albert COSTA (ESP - ESP) 8 EPSILON EUSKADI 2 (ESP) Roberto MERHI (ESP - ESP) 9 EPSILON EUSKADI 2 (ESP) Carlos MUÑOZ (COL - ESP) 10 MOTOPARK ACADEMY (GER) Tobias HEGEWALD (GER - GER) 11 MOTOPARK ACADEMY (GER) Valtteri BOTTAS (FIN - FIN) 12 SG FORMULA (FRA) Daniel RICCIARDO (AUS - AUS) 14 SG FORMULA (FRA) Andrea CALDARELLI (ITA - ITA) 16 PREMA POWERTEAM (ITA) Víctor GARCÍA (ESP - ESP) 17 PREMA POWERTEAM (ITA) Vasiliauskas KAZIMIERAS (LIT LIT) 18 PREMA POWERTEAM (ITA) Patrick REITERER (ITA ITA) 19 KRENEK MOTORSPORT (CZE) Adam KOUT (CZE CZE) 21 BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING (BEL) Nathanaël BERTHON (FRA FRA) 22 TEAM MOTOPARK (GER) Kuba GIERMAZIAK (POL POL) 23 TEAM MOTOPARK (GER) Juan Pablo GARCÍA (MEX MEX) 24 BVM MINARDI TEAM (ITA) Daniel ZAMPIERI (ITA ITA) 25 BVM MINARDI TEAM (ITA) Cesar RAMOS (BRA BRA) 26 BVM MINARDI TEAM (ITA) Adrian QUAIFE-HOBBS (GBR GBR) 27 JENZER MOTORSPORT (SUI) Michele FACCIN (ITA ITA) 28 JENZER MOTORSPORT (SUI) Pal VARHAUG (NOR NOR) 29 JENZER MOTORSPORT (SUI) Christophe ZANELLA (SUI SUI) 30 IQUICK (ESP) Miguel OTEGUI (ESP ESP) 31 IQUICK (ESP) Himar ACOSTA (ESP ESP) 32 AMITER GALUPPO SPORT (ESP) Marcelo CONCHADO (ESP ESP) 33 EPSILON SPORT (FRA) TBC 34 EPSILON SPORT (FRA) TBC 35 EPSILON SPORT (FRA) Stephane RICHELMI (MON - MON) 36 HITECH JUNIOR TEAM (GBR) Richard SINGLETON (GBR - GBR) 37 HITECH JUNIOR TEAM (GBR) Miki MONRAS (ESP - ESP) 38 HITECH JUNIOR RACING (GBR) Luciano BACHETA (GBR - GBR) 39 HITECH JUNIOR RACING (GBR) Juan JACOBO (COL - COL) 40 RB RACING TEAM (CRO) Dino BUTORAC (CRO - CRO) 41 FORTEC MOTORSPORT (GBR) Dean SMITH (GBR - GBR) 42 FORTEC MOTORSPORT (GBR) Daniel MCKENZIE (GBR - GBR) 43 FORTEC COMPETITION (GBR) Gabriel DIAS (BRA - BRA) 44 FORTEC COMPETITION (GBR) Alex MORGAN (GBR - GBR) 45 TCS RACING (FRA) Nicolas MARROC (FRA - FRA) 70 MOTOPARK ACADEMY (GER) Antonio Felix DA COSTA (POR - POR) 71 TEAM MOTOPARK (GER) Vinicius SAMMARONE (BRA - BRA)
