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In the last few weeks, Renault Sport
presented their new racecar, the star of a
new closed-cockpit championship part of
the World Series environment. The
Renault RS01 immediately attracted the
attention of the racing fans and insiders.
Not only because of its flowing and
aggressive lines, but also for the amount
of technology that turned it in one of the
most awaited contenders for the 2014
season. Teams and drivers are looking
with interest at the new championship
and, among them is Oregon Team, an
historic presence in the single-make
Renault championship that has
established its name with many titles in
the Eurocup Mégane Trophy.
What was the reaction of Oregon Team
when the new car was introduced?
“It's definitely beautiful. We expected an
high-quality work, but this goes beyond
our best expectations. It's more than we
imagined, but we believe this is the right
evolution for the Mégane project which
was 10 years old".
Will Oregon Team buy the
new RS01?
“Oregon already decided to line-up at the
start of the new championship and
provided the deposit for two cars. That's
because we know that the start of a new
series with new cars needs a training
period. Everything must be understood
and metabolized. And in order to
accomplish the goal you should have a
limited number of cars on which focus
on. Even if the starting project is healthy,
some mechanical issues could arise and
it's normal not to disperse the effort at
the start".
How the motorsport world reacted?
There seems to be lots of interest. Did
you notice that too?
"Yes, absolutely. Many asked us for info
and want to understand if there's a
chance to line-up. All the classic contacts
that arise when a new series is born. In
this case though, we were contacted by
many people that are seriously interested
in going on and race".
With professional and amateur
drivers, there will be separate
standings?
"For how I see it, I don't think this is a
championship for amateur. I see it as a
stepping stone for drivers coming from
single seaters. Drivers who don't have the
budget to continue anymore or who said
goodbye to the dream of Formula 1 and
want to become professional in other
environments".
Were you contacted by drivers?
What are your next moves?
"We are beginning to put together a test
program to make open-wheel drivers
understand what driving a silhouette car
means. We will run them with the
Mégane cars we have at our
headquarters as with them we have all
the instruments needed to evaluate the
skills of a driver, both in technical and
speed terms".
