Alguersuari and Turvey on Carlin home ground
01 July 2009Carlin's Formula Renault 3.5 team will be racing on familiar territory this weekend, as the World Series circus arrives in Silverstone for the UK round of the 2009 championship. Carlin's star rookies Oliver Turvey and Jaime Alguersuari will once again be representing the team and will be aiming to repeat Carlin's World Series win at Silverstone last year with Robert Wickens.
Both Turvey and Alguersuari have been amongst the front runners throughout the first four events of the season, with Turvey taking a stunning pole position and victory around the winding streets of Monaco in May. Having won both races in British F3 at Silverstone last year, Turvey is keen to add another win to his World Series tally at his home circuit.
Consistently at the front and on the rookie podium, 19 year-old Alguersuari will have even more of a spring in his step this weekend, having just been announced as reserve and third driver for the Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso F1 teams. Alguersuari replaces another Carlin driver in the role, Brendon Hartley, who will now concentrate on his own racing having faced a busy start to the year attending F1, F3 Euro Series and World Series races.
Alguersuari, who has an F1 superlicence due to his British F3 title with Carlin, is looking forward to returning to Silverstone this weekend, "I like Silverstone, the first corner there is brilliant and the complex section at the end of the lap is very challenging. This will be the first time I've raced on the GP circuit, so it will be important to learn the additional parts of the track quickly. I'm very proud to have been given the role of reserve and third driver for Red Bull and Toro Rosso, but this weekend I will be focusing on World Series and doing a good job at Silverstone. "
Team mate Turvey is also aiming high, "I'm really excited to be racing at Silverstone again, I won there twice in British F3 last year, so it's a circuit I like. This weekend will be the first time I have raced on the GP circuit though, which I'm really excited about as it looks like a great track; very fast and challenging. Obviously it's a boost that this weekend is my home race and I really want to do well there in front of a home crowd. I'm confident we can have a strong weekend."
Team principal Trevor Carlin added, "Silverstone is always a special event for us and after winning here last year, we are more determined than ever to win again. Oliver and Jaime are incredibly closely matched and it is their equal talent and extreme competitiveness that helps push the team forward. I believe we head to Silverstone with one of the strongest World Series team's we've ever had, so I'll be expecting to see both drivers on the podium this weekend."