Carlin finish second in Formula Renault 3.5

26 October 2009

Following a stunning season by rookies Oliver Turvey and Jaime Alguersuari, Carlin Motorsport finished the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 season second in the teams' championship while Turvey and Alguersuari dominated the rookies standings. It was a race of mixed fortunes for the team however, as a pit stop problem for Alguersuari relegated the young Spaniard down the order on track and in the championship standings.

Having qualified fifth and eighth on Saturday, Alguersuari and Turvey were both in contention for second in the drivers' championship and fighting for the rookie title as race two got underway on Sunday afternoon. As the lights went out, Alguersuari made a lightning start to make it up to third place, but a few corners later had dropped down to fifth. By the time the drivers crossed the line to complete their first lap Alguersuari was seventh while Turvey was ninth. The Carlin drivers still had a championship battle on their minds however and by lap two, Alguersuari had moved up to sixth, with Turvey eighth.

Alguersuari was one of the first drivers to make his mandatory stop, but a problem in the pit stop delayed his return to the track, pushing him down the order. Team mate Turvey meanwhile was on a mission and after a quick in and out lap and a fast pit stop by the Carlin crew had made up three places.

Lying 18th after the pit stop window, Alguersuari was on a charge to claw his way back into the points. The Toro Rosso F1 racer put in every effort, but ran out of time to make it back into the top ten and took the chequered flag in 12th.

Turvey meanwhile was 6th and made up another place on lap 17 and to cross the line fifth. Turvey's points haul was enough to claim fourth overall in the drivers' championship and take the rookie crown. In one of the most competitive seasons in recent years, the close standings resulted in Alguersuari dropping to sixth in the championship, despite his consistent front running form throughout the season.

Carlin remains one of the most consistent teams in the series and is the only team to have won a race in every season of World Series. Competing with the 2008 British F3 champion and vice champion, Carlin were the only team to get both of its drivers through to every Super Pole session this season.

Team Principal Trevor Carlin commented, "We're reasonably satisfied with the team's performance this year, with two rookie drivers in the top six overall. Second in the teams championship is a great achievement but it has to be said that we're desperately disappointed not to have finished as the top team and not to see the drivers a little further up the finishing order, as we feel this was possible. We're obviously gutted that a mistake in the pit stop dropped Jaime down the championship table, but we know that Jaime and Oliver will go on to very big things and we're very proud to have worked with them both for the last two seasons."