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23RD MAY 2013
RAPID RAMSAY TOPS THE TIMES IN MONZA TEST
Gregor Ramsay set the fastest time as many of the leading contenders tested at the historic Monza circuit on Tuesday this week.
The 16-year-old Scot placed his Euronova Racing car at the top of the timesheets in both the morning and the afternoon sessions to end the day as the best of the 17 Formula Renault competitors present.
In an unbelievably international Renault ALPS field, the top 10 drivers represent nine different countries, with East Kilbride-based star Ramsay heading drivers from Italy, Poland, Venezuela, Japan, Canada, Singapore and India!
It puts Gregor in very good shape before the Monza round of the Renault ALPS series. The competitors race at the Italian Grand Prix on the weekend of 6th/7th July.
“Euronova had the car set up very well,” he said. “I like Monza and pushed very hard all day. I did 92 laps, which equates to almost 525 kilometres around Monza. I was really pleased with my speed through the Lesmo bends and Parabolica, which was very good and crucial for the long straights that follow.”
Before racing Monza, Ramsay has two successive weekends on another very famous circuit – Belgian Grand Prix venue Spa-Francorchamps – coming up. First he competes as a wild-card entry in the Formula Renault Eurocup round on 1st/2nd June, before contesting the Formula Renault ALPS event at the same track on 8th/9th June.
Gregor, who is loyally backed by lottery winners Colin and Chris Weir, will be bidding to add further championship points to those he scored in the opening round at Vallelunga.
To read about the testing story on the official Formula Renault ALPS website, click here: www.renaultsportitalia.it/art/news_20130521_alps_2.html
13TH MAY 2013
RAMSAY THWARTED BY RED FLAGS AND SPINNING RIVAL AT IMOLA
Up-and-coming Scottish racer Gregor Ramsay was cruelly denied points in the second round of the Formula Renault ALPS series at Imola.
On the former San Marino Grand Prix circuit, 16-year-old Ramsay was unlucky to be placed down in 16th on the enormous 37-car grid for the first race. Due to the size of the field the entry was split into two for qualifying: Ramsay was eighth in his group, but this was by far the most competitive half and Gregor was actually 11th quickest overall.
He set to work in the race, and was up to 12th place when rain started falling. While other cars ahead fell off the track, Ramsay kept going but a top-10 points finish was denied when the race was halted prematurely and the race results backdated one lap.
The qualifying split also hampered Gregor’s starting position for race two, but he charged through from 18th to 13th by the end of the first lap. He then moved up to 11th on lap two and started hunting down Estonian driver Hans Villemi. On the final lap, Villemi lost control and spun at the final chicane, and Ramsay was forced onto the grass in avoidance, taking the flag in 13th place.
It meant that Gregor was unable to add to the points he scored with his Euronova Racing car in the opening round at Vallelunga, where he was seventh. But still he was satisfied with an encouraging performance that could have been rewarded with much more.
“Team strategy meant I was sat in the pits for the first 15 minutes of qualifying,” said Ramsay. “That gamble didn’t pay off, because on my single set of tyres there was a red flag so I didn’t get the laps I wanted. Nevertheless, had I been in the other group that would have been good for the second row!
“I was held up in the first race for the first few laps, but I kept my composure and passed two cars around the outside of the Piratella! It feels good to be pretty much the only driver in the top half of the field doing any overtaking.”
Gregor, who is backed by Colin and Chris Weir, now has two race weekends coming up at the revered Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. First of all he will be contesting the Formula Renault Eurocup round as a wildcard runner on the 1st and 2nd June, before returning to the Belgian Grand Prix venue one weekend later for the third round of Formula Renault ALPS.
Check out Gregor’s website – www.gregor-ramsay.com – which has been updated with a great new look to keep you on the pace with news about East Kilbride’s star of the future.
7TH MAY 2013
RAMSAY IN TOP THREE IN IMOLA TEST
A fantastic top-three performance in testing at Imola has put 16-year-old Scot Gregor Ramsay in a strong position heading into next weekend’s second round of the Formula Renault ALPS series.
With 30 cars present at the former home of the San Marino Grand Prix, Ramsay set the third-fastest time overall in his Euronova Racing car and was among the quickest drivers throughout the two-day test on Thursday and Friday.
Teams are still in the early stages of development on the new Tatuus Formula Renault racers, but Euronova ran through data collection and aerodynamic options, with Gregor going second fastest in the Friday morning session.
For Ramsay this was a return to the circuit on which he scored his first podium finish in cars, in last year’s Formula Abarth European Series. “I like Imola,” he said. “The car felt really good so I was able to push that bit harder.
“Things are developing well with my engineer Gianni Reggiani, and we went through many aero combinations. We only ran with a short-ratio seventh gear, so changing to the long for the race weekend should provide an extra two or three tenths! I’m looking forward to the races.”
The test came after Gregor scored strong points in the opening Formula Renault ALPS round at Vallelunga, followed by a good test at the Red Bull Ring. The Imola race weekend provides two races, with the first on Saturday 11th May and the second on Sunday 12th May.
17TH APRIL 2013
16-YEAR-OLD RAMSAY ON FORM IN RED BULL RING TEST
After a superb points-scoring Formula Renault ALPS debut at Vallelunga, Scotland’s Gregor Ramsay has given himself even more momentum for the season with an excellent performance in the two-day test at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.
Against all the leading names from the top-notch Formula Renault Eurocup – the continent’s most-competitive series for junior drivers – Ramsay set the 13th fastest time of the 36 runners on the first morning of the test, and was quickest of the five drivers from Britain who were present.
As lap times continued to tumble, Gregor and his Euronova Racing Tatuus were firmly in the tight midfield mix on the second day. He decided not to run in the afternoon, in order not to aggravate the wrist injury that saw him sit out the final tests in the build-up to the opening Renault ALPS round.
“It’s been a great two days of testing with Euronova at the Red Bull Ring, on my debut outing with the Eurocup teams and the best young drivers in Europe,” said Ramsay. “To be placed in the top 15 drivers on day one was special and the second day was very good also.”
Gregor has managed to secure a coveted ‘wildcard’ entry for the Eurocup races at Spa-Francorchamps (home of the Belgian Grand Prix) and Barcelona (venue of the Spanish Grand Prix) in June and October respectively, in addition to his main programme in Formula Renault ALPS, which continues at Imola on 11th/12th May.
After his Red Bull Ring test performance, Ramsay recognised the help and assistance of Euronova team boss Vincenzo Sospiri – a former top international racing star – and lottery winners Colin and Chris Weir, whose backing has been invaluable to his career. Furthermore, help from Fernando Alonso’s trainer Fabrizio Borra has been crucial in getting him back to racing fitness after his injury.
“A big thankyou to Vincenzo and all at Euronova,” he said, “and the help from Fabrizio has been exceptional. I’m looking forward to Imola and the second round of the ALPS championship. Colin and Chris Weir have been super in their support of me this year. I hope to continue in bringing them good news and I can’t thank them enough!”
From Austria, Gregor is heading straight to Forli in Italy for more physio with Borra, before a flying visit home to Scotland and then a crucial test at Imola at the beginning of May.
9TH APRIL 2013
RAMSAY SHINES AFTER HELP FROM ALONSO’S TRAINER!
Scottish teenager Gregor Ramsay bounced back from injury to finish seventh on his debut in the ultra-competitive Formula Renault ALPS series – thanks in part to help from Fernando Alonso’s personal trainer!
With under four weeks remaining before the opening race at Vallelunga near Rome, 16-year-old Ramsay was testing at the Mugello circuit when he dislocated his wrist and fractured two fingers when they got caught in the steering wheel in a minor impact with the barriers.
Thanks to the expertise of Alonso’s trainer Fabrizio Borra, Ramsay – whose career has been followed by Ferrari – bounced back with the Euronova Racing team of former international racing star Vincenzo Sospiri.
On the same Vallelunga circuit where he took his maiden win in car racing last September (in the Formula Abarth European Series), Ramsay qualified his Euronova Formula Renault machine on the sixth row.
From this starting position, he was eighth by the end of lap two before overtaking Estonian Hans Villemi for seventh. By the finish he was challenging Brazilian Guilherme Silva – who like Villemi is already an experienced FRenault racer – before settling for seventh position.
Unfortunately, Ramsay was given a grid penalty for race two due to being slightly out of position from his grid box at the start of the first race. He lost his front wing in a collision after the start, but returned after a pit-stop to be one of the fastest drivers in the race.
“I am delighted to finish seventh on my Formula Renault debut,” said East Kilbride racer Gregor, “especially with the injury to my wrist and fingers. A big thankyou to Fabrizio Borra and Vincenzo Sospiri for their help in my very fast recovery.
“In the last quarter of the race I settled for seventh and took no risk with Silva, although I’m sure I was quicker! I was disappointed with my grid penalty for race two, but I’m happy to get strong points first time out.”
It was an intensely competitive field at Vallelunga, with 36 drivers – including McLaren protégé Nyck de Vries – in the field. Ramsay ran strongly despite his injury meaning he had to sit out official test sessions both at this track and at the Barcelona circuit. He ended the weekend in one of the top-10 championship positions, and was one of several of last year’s Formula Abarth front-runners to be ultra-competitive in the Formula Renault field, along with Brazilian Bruno Bonifacio and Italian Luca Ghiotto.
Like the Formula Abarth, the Formula Renault uses a carbon-composite monocoque chassis built by the Italian Tatuus company, but is regarded as a step up as it uses a two-litre 210bhp engine and seven-speed sequential gearbox.
The next round is at the former San Marino Grand Prix circuit of Imola on May 11th/12th, although in the meantime there will be testing, with Gregor out at Misano this week and at Austria’s Red Bull Ring next week.
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