Bristol-based Insurance services specialist B4 Group will be the headline sponsor of the Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin ‘Graduate Cup’ this year, the championship within a championship for young, inexperienced competitors.
B4 Group, which provides a range of legal, insurance and medical solutions to individuals and corporate partners, is already a key player in grass roots motorsport as headline sponsor of the British Karting Championship ‘Super One Series’.
With Renault UK also a class sponsor in the British Karting Championships, the partnership with B4 Group is a natural progression and particularly through the Graduate Cup which was established in 2004 to help identify and promote the best young driver talent in the country’s premier one-make, single-seater series.
Tony Instrall, Group Sales and Marketing Director of B4 Group, commented: “We’re very proud to be associated with Formula Renault UK and to be continuing our support of young drivers as they begin their careers in the tough world of motorsport.
“B4 Group’s support of the Graduate Cup ties in neatly with our headline sponsorship of the British Karting Championships and solidifies our partnership with Renault UK, the class sponsor of Formula A, Formula ICA and Formula JICA.
“We’re very keen, and also very proud, to be actively involved in both supporting and promoting young talent in this country, along with developing our superb relationship with Renault UK which is very important to the B4 Group.”
To be eligible for the B4 Group Graduate Cup, which enters its second year this season, drivers must have been under 19 years of age on 1st March this year and cannot have competed in more than two FR 2.0 races prior to the start of the 2005 championship.
However, competitors whose previous experience of FR 2.0 is restricted to either the Formula Renault UK Winter Championship or Formula Renault BARC Championship will be entitled to score points in the Graduate Cup.
Points will be awarded as per the full championship scoring system, with the exception of Fastest Lap points, and each driver’s B4 Group Graduate Cup total will comprise their best 10 scores from the 20 races contested throughout the year.
The B4 Group Graduate Cup carries a prize of a voucher from Renault UK, which can only be redeemed against the 2006 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin registration fee. In addition, whoever leads the B4 Group Graduate Cup after round four at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire will be invited to an official Formula One test day at Silverstone in June as an exclusive guest of the Renault F1 Team.
At present only three drivers are eligible for the 2005 B4 Group Graduate Cup and therefore in with a chance of winning the great prizes on offer this season – although registrations are continuing to be received ahead of the opening round of the year at Donington Park in Leicestershire on 9th/10th April.
Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt (Adderbury, Oxfordshire), Welch Motorsport’s Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet, Hampshire) and Motaworld Racing’s Dutch driver Dave van den Heuvel will be aiming to follow in the wheel-tracks of Canadian star Sean McIntosh, who won the inaugural Graduate Cup in 2005.
Speaking on the agreement with B4 Group, Renault UK Motorsport Manager Tim Jackson said: “I’m delighted to welcome B4 Group to Formula Renault UK and particularly the Graduate Cup which, in its first year alone, uncovered some tremendous drivers who will this season be aiming for full championship honours.
“Renault UK understands the importance of supporting and nurturing young driver talent, hence our sponsorship of the three top classes in the British Karting Championships, and we’re confident whoever wins the Graduate Cup this year will have the makings of a successful career in motorsport.”
For all the latest Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin news visit the official Renault Sport UK website www.renaultsport.co.uk built by Racecar
