19 year old British racing driver Jack Aitken concluded his Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season with two podiums out of two races at the World Series by Renault finale event at the Circuito de Jerez in the Andalusia region of southern Spain.
An absence of pre-season practice due to completing his 'A' Level education meant the great majority of his points (71 of 86) were won in the second half of the season, after his school commitments had ended. Nonetheless, Jack achieved seventh in his first Drivers’ Championship out of a 30 strong driver field, and was the highest placed British driver.
Running commenced at the 4.428 miles Spanish track on Friday with Jack posting the third fastest time in the afternoon test session in his #8 Fortec Motorsports FR2.0/13 by Tatuus car. He continued to display extremely good pace during a strong qualifying performance on Saturday morning clinching second position in Group A with a lap time a mere 0.05 seconds off 2014 Champion Nick de Vries’ best time.
The London-based driver then lined up on the second row of the grid in fourth position for the start of race one in the afternoon. Jack made a successful move on Hans Villemi to take third and, following a safety car interlude, held station to the chequered flag. Dennis Olsen was excluded post-race for a non-conformity with the technical regulations which promoted Jack one position to be awarded the second place trophy.
On Sunday Jack qualified third fastest in Group A, again with a hair’s width splitting the top three times, and lined-up in P5 for the start of race two. When the lights went out, Jack manoeuvred swiftly past Alexander Albon and was then able to pull away from the rest of the field with the leading pack. The safety car was deployed on lap three following an accident and Jack made a quick get away at the race re-start to overtake Kevin Jörg into turn six for third. His pace in the middle stint enabled Jack to catch up to de Vries, but he was unable to improve on his eventual third place podium finish.
Jack ends his maiden Eurocup 2.0 season in seventh position on the Drivers’ Championship table, only two points behind fifth placed Bruno Bonifacio. The Fortec Motorsports team takes home the third place accolade in the Teams Championship, after a difficult first half of the season for all of its three regular Eurocup drivers.
Jack Aitken, #8 Fortec Motorsport:
“The whole weekend we were up at the front and looking strong, and we've come away with two podiums as a result. The fact that we've jumped up to 7th and 3rd in the drivers’ and teams championships makes it even better, and I have to thank the Fortec Motorsports team for working so hard to give us the car to do it after a difficult start! As for next year, we're still in discussions, so we could end up with any one of a few options."
