MEDIA GUIDE GRAVITY-CHAROUZ RACING WORLD SERIES BY RENAULT 2011 SEASON
z u o r a h C n Ja don Hartley Bren
MEDIA GUIDE CONTENT • Gravity-Charouz Racing Team • Main Team partner introduction • Racing Drivers • World Series by Renault introduction • Racing calendar for 2011 season • Format of the race weekend • Technical specification of the racing car – Formula Renault 3,5 • Gravity-Charouz Racing Team partners • 2011 season • Media & contact information
GRAVITY-CHAROUZ RACING TEAM INTRODUCTION
The Gravity-Charouz Racing Team will premiere in the World Series by Renault– Formula Renault 3.5 with the Jan Charouz – Brendon Hartley driver team behind the wheel this season. The Luxembourg/Czech team is relying on the technological background of DAMS, the French team that is preparing the black-and-gold Dallara-Renault single-seaters for Charouz Racing System. The union of the two companies will ensure professionalgrade equipment for the Czech/New Zealander team of drivers. Both drivers are expected to take leading positions in the World Series by Renault – Formula Renault 3.5 with the Gravity-Charouz Racing cars.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF BOTH COMPANIES… Charouz Racing System has raced formula cars for years. Formula 3000 cars prepared by Charouz Racing System Junior were among the best in the Italian F3000 championship and also in the F3000 International Masters. The latter series saw the triumph of cars tuned by the Czech team in 2006 as Jan Charouz won overall in the driver and newcomer categories and Charouz Racing System Junior reigned supreme in the team category. Charouz Racing System is also behind the tuning of cars for the Czech national A1GP team, which used to be a regular participant in the World Cup of Motorsport. The team has prepared cars for races on five continents in three seasons (2005–2007) and its greatest success came when Tomáš Enge’s won in Shanghai, China in 2006. www.racing.charouz.cz
After twenty years on the formula and endurance races scene, DAMS can boast of extensive experience, three victories in the international F3000 championships, one title in Formula Renault V6, and two A1GP World Cups won during four seasons in the A1GP series. DAMS also won the Asian GP2 series and two titles in Formula Le Mans, and in 2010 the team’s drivers took the entire podium in the AutoGP series. www.dams.fr Gravity Sport Management was set up in Luxembourg in 2008 with the purpose of identifying, supporting and promoting young talent in the motorsport arena. The company began its activities in the GP2 Series, the Formula BMW Europe series, ADAC Masters, and the Moto GP 125 cc class. Gravity Sport Management works with talented young people who have the prerequisites – the willpower, talent and discipline – to become champions. In addition to other talented racers, Gravity Sport Management represents Jerome d’Ambrosio who joined the Marussia Virgin Racing Formula 1 team this year and Romain Grosjean who was a member of the Renault F1 team in 2009 and won the Auto GP series last year. The owner of Gravity Sport Management is Genii Capital, which is also the majority owner of the Lotus – Renault F1 team. www.gravitysportmanagement.com Genii Capital is a private equity company based in Luxembourg. Eric Lux is the CEO. Gerard Lopez, the Chairman of the Lotus Renault GP team, is also the key member of the Board at Genii Capital, which owns a majority interest in the UK-based Formula 1 team. Genii Capital has launched the Lotus Renault GP Academy campaign in Formula 1, which involves Jan Charouz as well as Gravity Sport Management drivers. www.genii-capital.com
MAIN TEAM PARTNER INTRODUCTION
Interwetten.com, an international betting provider, is the new partner to the GravityCharouz Racing team. Interwetten has been actively involved in the top rank motoring sport as part of the Moto GP and the World Rally Championship series. Interwetten is coming to the Czech market this year. This is why the betting company has joined forces with Charouz Racing System, the most successful Czech motoring team, which will sport Interwetten’s yellow colours in the Czech Republic and on European circuits as part of the World Series by Renault and the European FIA GT3 championship under the GravityCharouz Racing name. About Interwetten Interwetten has been satisfying the desires of gamers for 20 years. Founded in 1990 as a sports betting provider, the company went online in 1997 with the website www.interwetten.com. In 2010 Interwetten presented itself to the world as an online entertainment company and in addition to the classic sports betting it served up a comprehensive live betting offer, live streams, a casino and a range of exciting games. Last year at Interwetten bets were placed on over 100,000 different sports events in over 70 countries. More than 5,000 sports events were streamed live at Interwetten.com and over 30,000 customers visited Interwetten’s Online Casino or tried their luck at one of the many Online Games. More on www.interwetten.cz
JAN CHAROUZ Date of birth: 17 July 1987 Place of birth: Prague, Czech Republic Nationality: Czech Lives: Prague Family: Single First race: 1995 - F1 Renault test and reserve driver for 2010 season - „Golden wheel“ Jiri Sedlar Award 2009 (the best driver under 23 years) - The Best Racing Driver of the City of Prague 2009 - Official works driver of Aston Martin Racing at Le Mans Series and 24H Le Mans 2008 and 2009 - 2009 FIA Talent of the Year - 2009 BRDC Le Mans – Silverstone Challenge Award - Winner of Le Mans Series 2009, 4th overall at 24 Hours of Le Mans 2009 - The winner of F3000 International Masters 2006 and the winner of rookies championship
Jan Charouz switched over from prototypes to single-seaters in 2010. He participated in the World Series by Renault – Formula Renault 3.5 as a P1 Motorsport member; the series is an “anteroom” to the Formula 1 World Championship; he also participated in the Auto GP series with Charouz-Gravity Racing and finished fourth overall in the driver category. The Czech racer also became the official substitute and test driver for the Renault F1 team. In 2010, Jan Charouz also participated in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. He drove a less powerful LMP2 OAK Racing prototype, coming in second with colleagues Guillaume Moreau and Mathieu Lahaye. This year is his second season in the World Series by Renault. More on www.jan-charouz.cz
BRENDON HARTLEY Date of birth: 10 November 1989 Place of birth: Palmerston North, New Zealand Nationality: New Zealand Lives: Milton Keynes, UK Family: single First race: 1995 - Test and reserve Red Bull Racing driver in 2009 and 2010 - Test and reserve Scuderia Toro Rosso driver in 2008 - Four victories in Formula Renault 2.0 Italia in 2007 season
New Zealand native Brendon Hartley is in for his third Formula Renault 3.5 season this year, but he has not completed the full World Series by Renault to date. As a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, he raced for the Tech 1 Racing team in 2009 and 2010. Brendon Hartley shone in 2009, taking second in Monaco during a season when he switched between his duties in the World Series by Renault and as the test driver for Red Bull Racing. In 2010, Brendon Hartley scored fifty points in total, finishing tenth. The New Zealander’s greatest success was 2nd place in Saturday’s race in Brno. Towards the close of the season, he stood in for the injured Jan Charouz in the P1 Motorsport team. More on www.brendonhartley.co.nz
WORLD SERIES BY RENAULT
The World Series by Renault – Formula Renault 3.5 came into existence in 2005 as the result of the merger of Eurocup Formula Renault V6 and the World Series by Nissan. Renault Sport Technologies together with RPM took the organisational reins, and the series’ twenty six-position grid spawned future Formula 1 drivers Robert Kubica, Markus Winkelhock, and Sebastian Vettel. The Formula Renault 3.5 single-seater is designed using the latest aerodynamic insights gleaned from Formula 1. The aerodynamic down-force was optimised by raising the car’s nose and radically modifying the front wing. The entire Dallara chassis was tested in a wind tunnel in order to materially improve the car’s overall performance. Renault has joined forces with Solution F and developed a new version of the 3.5 24V six-cylinder engine that is unique in one respect. In addition to standard 98 octane petrol, it can also run on the E85 bio-ethanol, effectively boosting its power to as high as 500 HP without any reduction of the unit’s service life. The engine should take 4,500 km without the necessity of repair. Formula Renault 3.5 is intended as a transition phase for drivers who aim for Formula 1, which is why the two categories share certain elements. These include carbon brakes, semi-automatic transmissions, left foot-controlled brakes (no clutch pedal), diverse variants of the chassis and aerodynamic settings, and pit stops. More on www.worldseriesbyrenault.com Racing calendar – 2011 season 16. – 17.4. Motorland Aragon (Spain) 30.4. – 01.5. Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) 14. – 15.5. Monza (Italy) 28. – 29.5. Monte-Carlo (Monaco) 18. – 19.6. Nürburgring (Germany) 02. – 03.7. Hungaroring (Hungary) 20. – 21.8. Silverstone (Great Britain) 17. – 18.9. Paul-Ricard (France) 08. – 09.10. Catalunya (Spain)
RACING WEEKEND FORMAT
Qualification Every racing day includes a twenty-minute qualification run. The drivers’ positions on the grid in both races of the weekend are determined based on their results in the respective qualification runs. Race Each race takes 44 minutes plus one lap. The first race is without pit stops and the cars use less aerodynamic down-force. Pit stops are obligatory in the second race. It is defined firmly when a driver has to make a pit stop, and mechanics must replace at least two wheels. Different car settings for the two races The Saturday race takes place with the cars set up for lower down-force. Each driver uses a smaller rear wing and certain other selected aerodynamic items are banned. Overall, the cars feature 20% less down-force compared with the Sunday race. As a result, the drivers drive two significantly different cars within one weekend. Points The first ten drivers to finish a race receive points in both of the weekend’s races, and the point allocation scheme is 15 -12 -10 -8 -6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 -1.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FORMULA RENAULT 3.5
Chassis: Body work: Engine: Ignition: Maximum power: Maximum torque: Maximum engine speed: Clutch: Gearbox: Differential: Brakes: Wheels: Tires: Fuel tank: Weight:
carbon fibre monocoque Dallara carbon fibre VQ35 - V6 - 24V, 3498 ccm Magnetti-Marelli Marvel 6R 480 bhp at 8 500 rpm 441 Nm at 7 000 rpm 8 500 rpm carbon, three disc clutch 6-speed sequential gearbox with interchangeable ratios + reverse gear Limited slip, auto-locking differential 4-piston callipers with 270x28 mm carbon ventilated discs O.Z. 13� Michelin 110 L 628 kg (unladen) / 703 kg (with driver on board)
GRAVITY-CHAROUZ RACING TEAM PARTNERS FOR 2011 SEASON WORLD SERIES BY RENAULT
2011 SEASON In 2011 season, the company Charouz Racing System s.r.o. together with BPA sport marketing a.s. and Gravity Sport Management is cooperating on another motorsport projects. Mercedes SLS - FIA GT3 Championship project Two Mercedes SLS GT3 racing cars / Gravity-Charouz Racing Team One Mercedes SLS GT3 racing car / Heico Motorsport Team Racing drivers: Leonid Machitsky, Tomáš Kostka Jakub Knoll, Jan Šťovíček Filip Sládečka, Patrick Hirsch (Heico Motorsport) www.fiagt3.com Blancpain Lamborghini Super Trofeo project Three Lamborghini Gallardo racing cars / Gravity-Charouz Racing Team Racing drivers: Gerhard Tweraser, Petr Charouz Jan Stovicek, Jakub Knoll Filip Sladecka, Stepan Vojtech www.lamborghinisupertrofeo.com
2011 SEASON International Czech Championship in circuit racing One Mercedes Benz C AMG DTM racing car / Cars.cz Charouz Racing Team Racing driver: Tomáš Kostka Other racing drivers under BPA sport marketing a.s. / Charouz Racing System s.r.o. in 2011 season: Tomas Enge GT1 World Championship / Aston Martin DBR9 – Young Driver AMR Team www.tomas-enge.com, www.gt1world.com, www.youngdriver-amr.com Vaclav Pech international Championship of the Czech Republic v rally / Mitsubishi Evo IX. – tým Charouz Racing System Team www.vaclavpech.cz DAMS Team in 2011 season with the support of Charouz Racing System and Gravity will be competing in AutoGP series with Lola-Zytek racing car and Adrien Tambey (racing driver).
MEDIA & CONTACT INFORMATION TV BROADCASTS CZECH REPUBLIC & SLOVAKIA EUROPA Great Britain
Sport 5 Motors TV / Eurosport / Eurosport 2 Sky Sports / Eurosport UK
INTERNET Charouz Racing System s.r.o. BPA sport marketing a.s. DAMS Gravity Sport Management Jan Charouz Brendon Hartley Sport5 World Series by Renault
www.racing.charouz.cz www.bpa.cz www.dams.cz www.gravitysportmanagement.com www.jan-charouz.cz www.brendonhartley.co.nz www.sport5.cz www.worldseriesbyrenault.com
FACEBOOK / TWITTER Jan Charouz Facebook Jan Charouz Twitter Brendon Hartley Facebook Hartley-Fan-Page/175400015805371 Brendon Hartley Twitter
http://www.facebook.com/#!/JanCharouz http://twitter.com/JanCharouz http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Brendonhttp://twitter.com/Brendonhartley
CURRENT PHOTOS IN HIGH-RESOLUTION PLEASE VISIT THE MEDIA WEB SITE OF BPA SPORT MARKETING AGENCY – MEDIA.BPA.CZ CONTACT INFORMATION • Charouz Racing System s.r.o., technical provision of motorsport events. • BPA sport marketing a.s., the owner of the marketing and advertisement rights in the motorsport events and the satellite and cable TV focused only on motorsport within the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Milan Bydzovsky, press releases bydzovsky@bpa.cz / motorsport@bpa.cz
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