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ARTA Engineering was one of the most competitive
teams in the F.Renault ALPS championship, with
William Vermont, above all, but also the rookies
Simon Tirman, Simon Gachet and Joffrey De Narda,
who grew in stature as the season progressed, and
Leo Roussel. Arnaud Tanguy, the owner of the
French outfit (hence the name AR TA) spoke to Fast
Lane Magazine about the 2013 season.
Team ARTA has been involved with ALPS since its
earliest stages? How do you view its development?
“ARTA has remained faithful to ALPS right from the
start. Together with Jenzer, we were signed up for
the MEC championship, before it became ALPS in
2011 with the merger between Hefti and Porfiri.
Thanks to the quality of the teams and the circuits,
and the high level of organisation ALPS has already
built up a reputation to rival the Eurocup. Thirty cars
on the grid and the best drivers to come through
Renault 3.5 or GP3, what more could you ask?”.
How would you at ARTA judge the level of
organisation in ALPS?
“The organisation is very professional, and impartial.
There’s constant attention on what are the best
moves to make, and what moves should be avoided.
Domenico Porfiri and Barbara Petrivelli are not new
to this game! They’re always prepared to listen to the
teams’ requirements, for example regarding the
amount of time allocated to free testing, in a
calendar that is always perfectly coordinated with
the Eurocup schedule. Moreover, I would say that,
together with Eurocup the level of media presence at
ALPS events is one of the highest I’ve seen at any
time during my career. All the races are broadcast in
live streaming, which is really incredible, both for the
sponsors and for the fans”.
And what would you say is the main strength of the
ALPS championship?
“The duration of free testing on the Friday of race
weekends, which is twice a much as the time
available in Eurocup. This means that ALPS is the
ideal competition for rookies since it provides them
with the opportunity to learn and acquire extensive
driving experience over the course of the weekend”.
The calendar for the coming season is allready out:
do you like it?
“It’s perfect to have another international calendar,
just like in 2011 and 2012. It’s also great to get back
to some of the more historic circuits, such as Monza
and Imola. ARTA loves Italy!”.
What’s your opinion about Prema's domination of
the championship this season?
“If it hadn’t been for the red flag that cost Vermont his
win, ARTA would’ve have been the only to beat Prema
in a race this year. Rosin’s team is very strong in
Eurocup too, although they weren't in the running for
the title. They’ve got a lot of experience on Italian
circuits and their drivers had already competed on
those tracks in Formula Abarth. Before founding ARTA,
I worked as an engineer on SG Formula, under the F.
Renault umbrella, together with various drivers,
including Grosjean. At SG we found ourselves in a
dominant position, but I know as well as anyone that
these things go in cycles, and sooner or later someone
