(Motorsport News) Tuesday, 2nd April 2013
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| Jazeman's latest ride in Formula Renault 3.5 |
JAZEMAN JAAFAR PREPARES FOR FORMULA RENAULT 3.5 RACE
DEBUT
After a long off-season, the waiting will be
over for Jazeman Jaafar this weekend as he takes the next step in his motor
racing career and makes his debut in Formula Renault 3.5 (FR3.5), the headline
championship in the World Series by Renault.
The Monza circuit in Italy will host the
season-opening event of the nine-round Series, a track which Jazeman has raced
at in British F3 and prior to this in Formula BMW Europe. With three top-five
finishes, including a podium placing on his last visit to this popular formula
One track, Jazeman is pleased to be starting his assault on FR3.5 on familiar
territory.
Jazeman, a PETRONAS Talent Programme driver,
says, “I enjoy racing at Monza and have had some good results there, so it will
be a good starting place for my first weekend of FR3.5 racing. The track is
quite challenging, but I think the weather could make it very unpredictable and
if it rains it will be very slippery. I’m very excited about the prospect of
racing again, as it will have been nearly six months since my last one. I have
been out testing in recent weeks and that’s been going well, so I’m getting more
familiar with the car and understanding its capabilities.”
Of his hopes for the first round Jazeman
expects a tough weekend, “The grid will be a mix of drivers with previous
experience of this series and others, like me, who are new to it and I’m sure
that the runners from last season will be the ones to watch. However, by the end
of testing I was running comfortably in the top five and I’m not racing to make
up the numbers, I’m there to win, so I’ll be going all out for quick laps,
consistent pace and strong racing to bring home the best results
possible.”
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| Jazeman during Formula Renault 3.5 testing recently |
One of the British Racing Drivers Club Rising
Stars, Jazeman finished as Vice-Champion in the British F3 International Series
in 2012 and after this success and the continued support of PETRONAS has made a
move to the Renault FR3.5 Series, a category which features more powerful and
technically advanced cars than British F3, with longer races and mandatory
pitstops, as preparation for the ultimate goal of Formula One.
Jazeman
previews the season ahead commenting, “I’ve had a busy off season, not only with
FR3.5 testing with my team – Carlin – who I’ve raced with for the last three
seasons, also busy prepping with my fitness programme. Of course I’m still on a
high from driving an F1 car for the first time after being given the opportunity
by PETRONAS to be part of the demo run event held prior to the Malaysian F1
Grand Prix at Sepang. It’s been a hectic couple of months, but now I’m only
focused on one thing and that is my FR3.5 campaign.”
The
Formula Renault 3.5 Series features 17 races at nine tracks, including a support
race to the Monaco round of the Formula 1 championship. The timetable for the
Monza round of the Series includes two final test sessions on Thursday and
Friday which replace a loss of running due to bad weather at an earlier
test.
Monza FR 3.5 Timetable
Saturday 6 April
9h00 – 9h30:
Qualifying 1
13h00: race 1 (44’
+ 1 lap)
Sunday 7 April
9h00 – 9h30:
Qualifying 2
13h05: race 2 (44’ + 1 lap)
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