STEADY PROGRESS FOR KIRILL
OVCHARENKO IN OSCHERSLEBEN
OSCHERSLEBEN, OCTOBER 01 2007 -
Kirill Ovcharenko showed true
potential and raw speed in last
weekend's Northern European Cup
Formula Renault 2.0 races in
Oschersleben. On German soil the
Russian
racing
driver
claimed his
first race finish on Sunday, after
having debuted in this series a
month ago in the previous event at
the Nurburgring (Germany). By
finishing eighth, Ovcharenko again
gained valuable experience, but even
more important, also added 13 points
to his championship tally.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The NEC Formula
Renault 2.0 has
attracted 25 regular participants (and
up to 35 for some race weekends)
from more than 10 countries,
representing 14 teams. Its 2007
calender contains eight double-header
events, in Germany, The Netherlands
and Belgium. Formula Renault has
been an important career step for
many renowned drivers, like Formula
1 stars
Kimi
Raikkonen and
Felipe Massa (both Ferrari), Robert
Kubica (BMW-Sauber), Vitantonio
Liuzzi (Toro Rosso).
Last weekend's event in
Oschersleben was the sixth round of
the season. After having made his
racing debut at the Nurburgring in
August, Kirill Ovcharenko was eager
to get back in the car in Friday's
free practises. At both a dry and
wet track, Ovcharenko used the
available time in the two sessions
as useful as possible. Step by step,
Kirill acclimatised with the circuit
and his car in these conditions. In
the two qualifying sessions on
Saturday morning Ovcharenko and his
Motopark Academy team got the best
out of the treacherous wet
conditions by grabbing the eighth
and sixth starting position for
respectively the races on Saturday
and Sunday.
Though having zero visibility
because of the rain pouring down at
the 3,667 meter long track,
Ovcharenko enjoyed a good start of
his first race on Saturday afternoon,
climbing up to P5 after the first
corner. Just like many of his
colleagues, the track conditions
sometimes seemed to be too harsh. A
spin in the third corner threw him
temporarily back to sixteenth
position. In the following laps,
Ovcharenko fought his way back
through the pack, overtaking 8
cars to be back in
eight position. Another small
mistake at the end of the 12-lap
race however forced him to retire
prematurely.
Sunday's second race brought a
far more positive outcome. After
having started from P6, Ovcharenko
kept his head cool on the drying
track, made no mistakes during the
course of the race and scored his
first race finish. By taking the
chequered flag in eighth position,
Ovcharenko not only gained valuable
experience but also scored his first
13 points for the championship.
KIRILL OVCHARENKO: "A good way to
end another interesting weekend.
Especially finishing the race on
Sunday is important for me. As I
haven't got much mileage under my
belt yet, I'm happy to have made no
mistakes and maximise my efforts at
the same time. Eighth position is
good for the moment. Next stop is
Spa-Francorchamps, a really
challenging circuit. I can't wait to
get out there!"
TIMO RUMPFKEIL, team manager:
"I'm happy for Kirill to have
finished the weekend on a high. He
showed us pleasing speed and steady
progress. I think if he keeps on
progressing like this and at the
same time gain more experience, he
will soon be able to fight for top
positions."
FRANCESCO FREITAS, data engineer:
"It's a pleasure to work with Kirill
for the second race weekend now.
During our previous race meeting at
the Nurburgring we got to know each
other a bit better, so here in
Oschersleben things are running more
smooth. Kirill definitely has raw
speed and an excellent car control
but just needs some more experience.
I'm looking forward to up our game
together in the upcoming events."