Magnussen ready for Russian challengeMcLaren Young Driver Development Programme member, Danish ace Kevin Magnussen is set to race in Russia for the first time this weekend when the Formula Renault 3.5 Championships makes its debut at the new Moscow Raceway.

Designed by renowned Formula 1 track designer Herman Tilke, the 3.995 km circuit will host its first major international event on Saturday and Sunday with World Series by Renault heading outside of Europe for the first time.

Magnussen and Carlin Racing will be aiming to return to the podium after finishing 5th and 8th in the two recent races at the Nuburgring in Germany. In Sunday's Nurburgring event, Magnussen was unlucky after being forced to make three pit stops for tyre changes after the circuit was hit with rain.

At the previous event in Belgium, Magnussen scored pole on both days and won Sunday's race. With five weekends and 10 races remaining in the championship, Magnussen sits in sixth place in hotly contested championship, 29 points off the lead.

For the first time since 2009, Magnussen will have some added support in pit lane with his father Jan attending the race weekend. An ex-Formula 1 racer with McLaren and Stewart Grand Prix, Jan Magnussen races in the American Le Mans Series for Corvette as well as the Danish Touring Car Championship/Camaro Cup.

KEVIN MAGNUSSEN Q&AQ: The Moscow Circuit is new for the entire series.  What do you know about the track?A: Honestly I dont know too much about the track.  Weve seen the track map and theres a few videos on YouTube, but overall theres not much information out there.I think that all the teams and drivers will pretty much start at zero and it will be a matter of who can get on the pace quickly.I am excited to go to Russia though.  Ive never been there before and I think its great that the World Series by Renault is getting outside of Europe and showing Moscow how we race.Q: How do you and your engineer prepare for an unknown circuit like Moscow?A: I think its a little bit of a guess for Paul (Wallace, engineer), as theres no previous year notes or really any notes on the track.  He and the team are working on setting up the car from what theyve learned on the track map.  The track looks to have some slow and fast corners, which suits my driving style. The nice part about the weekend is that we will get an extra 30 minutes of practice time on Friday.  This will allow us to make bigger changes to the car during the sessions and get the car and mebetter prepared for the races.I have confidence in Paul and the whole Carlin team that the car will be as good as we can get to start and will be up to speed very quickly.Q: Is there more technical involvement by you at a new track versus fine-tuning when you go to a track that the team is more familiar with?A: Actually not this year, because our car has never been to any of these tracks before.  There is always technical involvement by me and its something that I enjoy very much.  I think that Paul and the team have a pretty good idea of what to expect, and I really dont believe that were going to have to spend more time figuring out things like gear ratios at this track versus the ones were familiar with. In the end its going to be up to me to learn the circuit quickly.  Im sure Ill be able to do that. Q: Were you pleased to come away with some points at the Nurburgring in Germany after some bad luck with the weather?A: It was a difficult weekend for us because we really didnt have the pace in qualifying or the races.  When we realized that, we focused on getting some championship points from the two races, which I think we did.We were a bit unlucky during the second race because it was raining on-and-off and the track was drying, then wet, then drying and so on. In that race I ended up having to do three pit stops, but some of the other guys took a chance and stayed out and only stopped once.  They got away with it because of the changing weather.But that weekend is over and we are now looking forward to the next race in Russia.Q: The race in Russia will be the only one in 2012 where your father (Jan Magnussen) will be able to attend.  How involved does he get on race weekends?A: No, my dad is actually quite laid back and he is available to me if I have questions or want to talk with him about something. Im very happy that hes coming with me to Russia.  Its been a very long time since hes seen me raceI think the last time was in 2009 when I was racing Formula Renault 2.0 liter cars.Its always great to have family around you at the races and it will be quite an experience for both of us.

Moscow ScheduleFormula Renault 3.5 Series

Friday, July 1310:50 - 12:20: Formula Renault 3.5 Series Test15:40 - 17:10: Formula Renault 3.5 Series Test

Saturday, July 14

09:30 - 10:00: Formula Renault 3.5 Series Qualifying13:30: Formula Renault 3.5 Series Race 1 (44 mins  +1 lap)                         

Sunday, July 15

09:15 - 09:45: Formula Renault 3.5 Series Qualifying13:30: Formula Renault 3.5 Series Race 2  (44 mins  +1 lap)

Formula Renault 3.5 SeriesPoints Standings

86Sam Bird86Robin Frijns76Nick Yelloly71Marco Sorensen61Jules Bianchi57Kevin Magnussen50Nico Muller27Arthur Pic27Alexander Rossi24Kevin Korjus

FORMULA RENAULT 3.5 CALENDAR

July 1415: Moscow, RussiaAugust 2526: Silverstone, EnglandSeptember 1516: Hungaroring, HungarySeptember 2930: Paul Ricard, FranceOctober 2021: Barcelona, Spain