Fortec Motorsport

Fortec News

08/06/2008

2 wins 2 fastest laps 2 pole positions 1 lap record and a driver of the day, this is how the Fortec UK Formula Renault team finished their weekend at the World series by Renault meeting at Silverstone. Adriano Buzaid set the two fastest laps in qualifying to take pole position in each of the races on Sunday. James Calado had his best qualifying so far with 2 front rows in second for both races. Riki Christodoulou set the fastest last two sectors but lost out in the first sector so could only manage 4th in each of the races. Oli Webb set two impressive laps to put him 7th on the grid in each race. Adriano led both races from lights to flag, the first race he won by 2.5 seconds setting the fastest lap of the race with a new lap record, in Race two he won the race by 8 seconds gaining an award for driver of the day and going second in the drivers standings. James finished race one with another podium in third place, in race two he damaged his front wing in a first lap incident so dropped down to ninth, this is where he finished after some hard battling to keep position. Riki dropped to fifth on the start in the first race, he battled with Alex Sims and passed him for 4th place, in the second race a first lap incident with James caused him to have a puncture, he had to pit for a replacement tyre, he immediately left the pits to set the fastest lap of the race. Oli in the first race had a fantastic start and got onto the back of Riki in fifth place but a mistake whilst under pressure caused Oli to spin and drop down the order to finish twelfth. In the second race Oli drove well to finish sixth. Our next round is at the quick Norfolk circuit Snetterton with a two day test the week before we are looking to improve our cars even more as we did for Silverstone.

07/06/2008

The Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup team scored points in both Silverstone races at the weekend with top-ten finishes for both Gabriel Dias and Alex Morgan. The qualifying sessions saw all four Fortec cars go through to the final Superpole stage. Alex Morgan qualified 10th and 5th for the two races with team-mates Gabriel Dias 13th and 10th, and Daniel McKenzie 17th and 16th. Dean Smith secured 2nd and 13th places on the grid but a technical infringement in post-qualifying scrutineering would see him moved to the back of the grid for both races. For Race 1, Alex Morgan made a strong start and moved up to 7th position followed by Dias 9th and McKenzie 19th. Dean Smith charged through the field, passing over twenty cars during the 27-minute race to come home in 18th position. Race 2 brought another great start from Morgan with him retaining his 5th position on the grid where he would stay until a mistake a few laps later would put him out of the race. Gabriel Dias raced well to maintain his 10th position with Daniel McKenzie finishing 14th and Dean Smith in 16th from the back of the grid. The Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup now travels to Hungary for rounds 5 & 6 on the 5/6 July.

26/05/2008

The Monaco GP supporting Formula Renault 3.5 race produced great results for the Fortec team with both drivers finishing in points-scoring positions. Fairuz Fauzy qualified second in group and third overall, scoring two points. James Walker qualified fourth in group and started on the fourth row in eight position for the race. The drivers were faced with a rain-soaked track on Sunday morning with the race started behind the safety-car. After two-laps, the safety-car was brought in and the race underway. Both drivers performed well under the pressure of difficult conditions for the duration of the 45-minute race and finished where they had started with Fairuz Fauzy taking ten points for third position and James Walker in eight position with three points. The series visits the UK for next two rounds at Silverstone on 7th and 8th June.

19/05/2008

Fortec Motorsport is pleased to confirm that Fairuz Fauzy has joined the team and will participate in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series (World Series by Renault) for the remander of the season, starting at the Monaco GP support race next week. Following a successful test with the team at Valencia at the end of the 2007 season, Fairuz has participated in both the GP2-Asia Series as well as A1GP. Fortec Team Principal, Richard Dutton commented: - "It's a great boost for the team to have Fairuz with us for the 2008 season. He showed last year that he has a great talent and a wealth of experience and we hope to capitalise on this from the start. We were keen to see Fairuz in our car following his test last year and I believe he can be incredibly competitive with us." Fairuz Fauzy commented "I am glad and it is good to be back in the championship with the team that I had driven for during my Formula 3 days. It feels like home as Richard (Dutton) is no stranger to me and he is familiar with my driving technique. I did some testing with them at the end of last year and I believe we stand a good chance of challenging the front runners. I look forward to a wonderful start in Monaco."

18/04/2008

Marcus Ericsson continued the strong start to his debut Formula 3 season by topping the official series test at Rockingham on Thursday (17/04) The 17-year-old Fortec Motorsport driver finished the day two tenths of a second ahead of second-placed Max Chilton (Hitech Racing). "I feel really confident and I hope we can continue making progress," Ericsson said. "We're in good form and I'm really looking forward to the next race at Croft." Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2008 British F3 International Series take place at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire on 27 April.

26/02/2008

Fortec Motorsport is pleased to announce that Alex Morgan has joined the team to contest the 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. The british driver who finished in the top 10 of the UK championship in 2007 had set his sights on a Eurocup drive in 2008 after a 5th at Magny Cours in September, and 2 top-10 finishes at Barcelona in October with Fortec. Morgan joins Dean Smith, Daniel McKenzie, and Gabriel Dias at the team. Alex said “It has been my objective to compete in a championship winning car and in a championship winning team for 2008 and I am absolutely delighted to have signed for Fortec for this championship. Whilst there will be a lot of new tracks to learn our experience at Magny Cours and Barcelona in 2007 were very encouraging.” Fortec team principal Richard Dutton commented “It's great to have Alex join the team for the Eurocup. I know he'll bring a great-deal of experience and talent to an already strong line-up. We started testing this week at Valencia and have already shown ourselves to be serious about succeeding in this category".

18/02/2008

Fortec Motorsport is pleased to announce that Sebastian Hohenthal will remain with the team to fight for the 2008 British Formula 3 International Series title. Hohenthal stays within the Fortec family after winning the 2006 Formula Renault UK championship with the team before going on to finish 9th in the British F3 International series in 2007. Fortec team principal, Richard Dutton commented "It's great to have Sebastian back with the team for another season. He really is a phenomenal talent and a fantastic personality to have within the team. I'm sure he'll be fighting for race-wins from the start and is certain to be a championship contender".

12/02/2008

After a successful debut season in the 2007 World Series by Renault, James Walker will continue to race with Fortec Motorsport in 2008. The Jersey racer fits in well with the British team and is delighted with this news as he believes a continuation of the partnership will give him the best chance of further success in the Series. “I had a good rookie season in the World Series by Renault,” said James. “The highlight was definitely the win at Donington but I enjoyed the whole season as we made steady progress as we went through the races. I know I still have more to give and I have continued to train hard over the winter to make sure I am ready for the new season. I know that the team will continue to push me hard and I am ready and willing to put the work in. I think we have some exciting times ahead of us.” “James is the right choice for Fortec,” said Technical Director, Chris Gorne, who was James’ race engineer in 2007. “He did a good job for us last year and made significant improvements as the season went on. Staying with us for his and our second season in WSR, gives both James and the team a sound platform to capitalise on. All the teams have changes with the new car, so working with the same driver reduces the variables and enables us to hit the ground running. I am sure James will be a much stronger and confident competitor from the first race, his application and feedback are exemplary so it's just a matter of time.”

21/01/2008

Fortec Motorsport is pleased to announce Dean Smith (GB), Daniel McKenzie (GB), and Gabriel Dias (Brazil) as three of it's drivers for the 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and Western European Cup programmes. After several winning seasons in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship including driver and team championships in 2006 and 2007, the team expands into Europe where it hopes to emmulate it's national success. Dean Smith stays with Fortec Motorsport after finishing runner-up in the 2007 Formula Renault UK championship to team-mate Duncan Tappy. Daniel McKenzie is another name to stay within the Fortec family after a strong first season with the Formula BMW team. Gabriel Dias comes to the team after several highly-successful seasons in karting, and following a testing programme with Fortec at the end of 2007. Team Principal Richard Dutton commented: - "It's great to have such a brace of talent for our first year in the Formula Renault Eurocup. I think each driver will bring a lot to the team and I'm sure we can continue our winning ways from the past seasons in the UK series".

07/12/2007

The Fortec Motorsport Formula 3 team completed a successful day of testing with the new Dallara F308 formula car today (07/12/07). 2007 Formula BMW UK champion and 2008 Fortec F3 driver Marcus Ericsson completed over fifty laps of the Silverstone GP circuit without trouble in the predominantly damp conditions. Race engineer to Marcus Ericsson, Andrew Scott commented "The test was incredibly valuable to us at this time of the year in preparation for next season. It ran faultlessly all day and generated a lot of valuable feedback from Marcus. It's a step forward in many ways but presents a considerable development from the aero-package of F307". The team will complete a further four days of testing next week at Oulton Park and Rockingham before the winter testing ban.

26/11/2007

Following three days of competitive tests, eighteen year-old James Calado from Pershore, Worcestershire, is to take the Racing Steps Foundation (RSF) backed Fortec Motorsport seat in the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship. In a very close contest against four top racers, Calado, a former Martin Hines ‘Young Gun’, won the opportunity after succeeding first in a race simulator session at Fortec Motorsport then at a two-day track test at Rockingham involving runners-up Tom Arme and Matthew Hamilton. "This has been a very revealing exercise on a number of levels. We have seen some remarkable talent both on the V1 simulator at Fortec, and at Rockingham. The final decision was agonising as all three were so close, but in James we feel we have the right combination of talents: speed, car control, valuable engineering feed-back and personal chemistry." said RSF Ambassador John Surtees MBE: Calado, who had barely sat in a single-seater car before this week, impressed the RSF consultants and the Fortec Motorsport team with his all round capability. "The transition from karts to Formula Renault is a giant step," said Richard Dutton, Team Owner of Fortec Motorsport. "But James managed it in just two days of testing to the extent he narrowly saw off the opposition. With the Racing Steps Foundation, we have an exciting year ahead." For 2008 the RSF will help a small number of young drivers at three levels: Karting, Formula Renault UK, and Formula 3. The Racing Steps Foundation believes it will enable these drivers to progress up the racing ladder instead of having to abandon their ambitions because of a lack of funds.

26/11/2007

Canadian driver Philip Major will compete with Fortec Motorsport in the 2008 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series. Major has been in the UK since the early autumn and has completed a significant testing programme over the recent months both in the UK and Europe. “Everything has gone very well so far,” Major, who is 18 years old, and a veteran of two seasons of FBMW USA competition, said of his pre-season testing. “Fortec is a very good team with very good people, and we have been working hard to get ready for the upcoming season. It’s a huge jump in competition from FBMW to F3, but it is one I am really looking forward to.” Team Owner Richard Dutton is very excited about having the young Canadian driver join the team for 2008. “Philip has shown very well in his testing so far. The biggest challenge for him is learning all the new circuits that he will compete on next year. We at Fortec are delighted that he has joined us for the 2008 British F3 Championship”.

09/11/2007

The World Series by Renault team completed three days of testing at the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit in France this week (6-8 Nov). Edoardo Piscopo, Craig Dolby, Yelmer Buurman, and Xavier Maasen all sampled the Formula 3.5 car, joined by Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium champion Karline Stala.

08/11/2007

Fortec Motorsport are pleased to announce that reigning Formula BMW UK champion Marcus Ericsson will step up to the British Formula Three championship with the team next year. Following his championship success, Ericsson has completed several test days as part of his winter programme in preparation for the 2008 championship season. "I am really excited about next year. For me to be able to continue my close relationship and go into F3 with all the people at Fortec is just perfect. I know I have a lot to learn, but appreciate how lucky I am to be in such an excellent team where I can continue to grow as a driver and have the best possible chance to be competitive" commented Ericsson. Ericsson is backed by former Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, who knows the Fortec team very well. "This is the right and next logical step for Marcus," said Brack. "Fortec provides a very good platform for a driver to develop his skills."

16/10/2007

Fortec’s Formula Renault squad ended its 2007 season on a high by securing the Formula Renault UK Drivers Championship title. Duncan Tappy and Dean Smith went into the final round of the series seperated by just seven points. Duncan took a win and fastest lap in race one, enough to secure the title. With one race remaining it was a great result for the remainder of the Fortec drivers with Riki Christodoulou taking his first Formula Renault win and Ryuji Yamamoto taking his highest finish – an impressive 5th place. From the twenty races this season, Fortec Motorsport scored 35 podium finishes including 13 wins and taking the Entrants title with 1078 points ahead of AKA Cobra (786 points) and Apotex Scorpio (621 points).

13/09/2007

The Fortec Formula Renault UK team had it’s best ever weekend at Donington Park and made history at the same time by becoming the first team to clinch 1-2-3 finishes for both races of the day. The weekend also saw Duncan Tappy take two pole positions and a fastest lap, the other going to Fortec team'mate Dean Smith. This confirmed Fortec’s Entrants Championship title with three races remaining on the calendar. The results were the same for both races with Duncan Tappy winning followed by Riki Christodoulou and Dean Smith. In both races Riki made Duncan work hard for his win but it was Dean Smith that had the biggest battle to get his trophy. In race one Dean started from third with Alexander Sims managing to pass him through the first corner. Dean pushed hard and by the mid-point of the race regained his position after what has been described as the best racing of the season. From there he couldn’t pass Riki but put in the fastest lap of the race. Race two had the same 1-2 for Duncan and Riki, with Riki pushing even harder and crossing the line just over a second behind the new Championship leader. Starting from fourth, Dean Smith again battled with Sims for third place on the opening lap. This time Dean came out ahead but in the process lost part of his front wing giving him handling problems for the remainder of the race. He hung on to third and the Fortec trio made history as they crossed the line. No other team can challenge Fortec for the team honours but the Driver’s Championship is still open with two races at Thruxton to decide the title. Duncan Tappy currently has a seven point advantage on Dean Smith but with a maximum of 68 points left it could easily go to either of them. Dave Moore, Team Manager “I’m really pleased for the whole team. We’ve worked very hard and it’s great to have a result that rewards everyone’s efforts. All of the drivers have conducted themselves extremely well both on and off track and that combined with the hard work from the engineers and mechanics has paid off.”

09/09/2007

James Walker scored a fantastic first win in the World Series by Renault Championship in Race 2 at Donington Park. After finishing 10th in Race 1, James lined-up on pole-position as a result of the reverse-grid system. His only threat during the 31 lap race was from Michael Aleshin (Carlin) who took the lead at the start before spinning off at the Saftey Car restart. Yelmer Buurman, taking the place of Richard Philippe following his injury at Spa, scored two excellent points positions in only his second race in the series. After finishing fifth in Race 1 from eighth on the grid, Yelmer started from sixth for Race 2 coming home in fourth position taking valuable drivers and team points. The series now travels to Magny-Cours in France on 22-23 September.

04/09/2007

The Formula BMW team celebrated winnning the Drivers, Teams, and Rookie titles of the 2007 Formula BMW UK Championship at Knockhill. Marcus Ericsson sealed both drivers trophies with 676 points from Josef Kral (Double-R) with 636 points and Henry Arundel with 595 points, also driving for Fortec. Ericsson domiated the weekend taking two wins, both from pole position. "It was an amazing feeling, the whole weekend has been perfect, the team has done a brilliant job and I'm very happy" said Ericsson following Race 2. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs and Daniel McKenzie finished 5th and 6th respectively in Race 1 with Henry Arundel being forced out after an accident on lap 19 before coming back to finish a solid 9th in Race 2.

30/08/2007

The Formula 3 team recently completed the first of two pre-race event tests at the Rockingham circuit near Corby. Following recent developments to the Fortec Dallaras, rookie drivers Greg Mansell and Sebastian Hohenthal completed the morning session in second and fifth positions respectively. The afternoon session saw Sebastian move up to this position with Greg eighth. The team will now prepares for the forthcoming British F3/GT meeting at Croft, North Yorkshire next weekend.

29/07/2007

ANOTHER FORTEC 1,2 at Snetterton The Formula Renault team had another great result at the weekend. Duncan Tappy winning both races after qualifying 1st and 2nd. Dean Smith also qualified on the front row but too much grip on pole position caused him to bog down at the start and lose places, he fought his way back to 11th place, in the second race Dean set the fastest lap of the race finishing less than a second behind Duncan. Ryuji starting from 14th in both races wasn't his best qualifying to date but to fight his way up to 7th and 9th in each of the races should have given him driver of the day. Riki's qualifying was good with a 3rd and a 4th in each of the races. In race 1 he got hit by Alex Sims into the esses which punctured his tyre and put him out of the race. In race 2 he had a great start and was leading the race until a missed gear caused him to drop to back into the pack, he rubbed wheels with Will Bratt and damaged his suspension, and wasn't able to carry on. We have a test on the 8th August at the super fast Thruxton circuit then on to Brands Hatch on the 18th 19th August to see if we can extend our championship lead.

18/07/2007

The Fortec Formula Renault team enjoyed a successful Donington weekend starting with two pole positions from Dean Smith. Duncan Tappy qualified 3rd and 4th with Riki Christo 4th and 3rd in each of the races. Ryuji Yamamoto did a good job, putting his car 11th and 15th on the grid. The first race started in very heavy rain with Dean dropping a place to Alex Sims. The race was then stopped after 4 laps and the results declared final with Dean finishing 2nd followed closely by Riki and Duncan who swapped positions on the opening lap. Race 2 lasted 11 laps until it was red flagged, again due to weather conditions with Dean taking the win by 5 seconds. Duncan finished 2nd on the road but because of the countback was classified 3rd setting the fastest lap by two-tenths of a second. Riki ran wide at Coppice and touched Paul Rees's stricken car that was beeched on the kerb, damaging his car too much to continue. Ryuji went off in the very greasy conditions attempting to overtake. The next race is at Snetterton on the 29th July where we will be looking to be on the top step of the podium once again.

17/07/2007

Rounds 6 and 7 of the 2007 World Series by Renault saw the Fortec Motorsport team travel to Budapest in Hungary, home of the Hungaroring circuit. Race 1 saw James Walker start from 15th on the grid with team-mate Richard Philippe joining him on the 8th row in 16th position after both drivers suffered with red-flags in Qualifying. Both drivers made solid starts with James moving up to 10th position and Richard 12th. Daniil Move (Interwetten) then made contact with Richard forcing him to slow and lose several positions, leaving him 22nd. An incident on the start/finish straight then brought out the Safety-Car while the damaged cars were cleared. During this time, James suffered a temporary gear-selection problem. This forced him backwards in the race-order until he was able to select gear and follow the field for the re-start. Once racing resumed, James made his mandatory pit-stop on Lap 7 with Richard stopping 2 laps later. On the final lap, contact was again made with Richard's car, this time by Pippa Mann (Cram) causing considerable damage to his car. He was able to recover and finish in 20th position with James finishing in 12th. James and Richard started 12th and 20th on the grid for Race 2. James made an impressive start moving up to 7th place before making a small mistake under braking while battling with Piccione (RC) and dropping back to 12th. Richard Philippe made steady progress throughout the race and following several battles with other drivers, came home 14th. James moved up the field during the race to finish in 10th position, taking one championship point. The World Series now travels to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for Rounds 8 and 9 on the 18th and 19th August.

05/06/2007

The Formula Renault team recently enjoyed another 1,2,3 at the super quick Thruxton race circuit. Qualifying went well with Fortec drivers lining-up 1st,2nd,4th, and 9th on the grid for Race 1. Dean Smith won the first race with Riki Christo and Duncan Tappy following him home. Ryuji Yamamoto was hit by another racer at the chicane, damaging the suspension although he was able to continue and finish 16th. Qualifying for Race 2 also went well for the team with Dean Smith starting 2nd and Duncan Tappy in 3rd, Smith missing out on pole position by less than a one-tenth of a second. A mistake in Qualifying 2 left Riki Christo 8th on the grid in front of Ryuji in 9th. Race 2 was won by a very jubilant Dean with Duncan in 2nd place. Riki made a flying start from 8th but put a wheel off the track, forcing him to the rear of the field. He then raced hard to finish 11th setting the fastest rookie lap of the race. Contact between Ryuji and another racer, forcing him to pit and retire from the race. A strong weekend with high points finishes puts Fortec in the lead of the championship with Duncan leading, followed closely by Dean in second.

04/06/2007

The World Series by Renault team scored their first points of the 2007 season at the recent Nurburgring race with replacement driver Yelmer Buurman finishing 9th in Race 2. Qualifying saw James Walker line up in 16th position on the grid with Yelmer Buurman, standing-in for Richard Philippe who was unable to race following a broken-hand sustained at Monza starting an impressive 21st. Race 1 saw James run as high as 13th position before being taken-off by Julian Jousse (Tech-1) to finish in 24th position. Yelmer driver a solid race to finish 14th and line-up on the 7th row of the grid for Race 2. Yelmer made an impressive start to the 2nd race and made up several places to 8th position. He would eventually be overtaken by Charlie Kimball and finish 9th. The events of Race 1 meant that James would sit behind several slower cars in Race 2, limiting his chances of moving up the order to finish in the points. He would go on to finish 18th.

24/04/2007

FORTEC 1,2,3. The Formula Renault team enjoyed a very successful weekend at Rockingham with a 1-2 in the first race and a 1-2-3 in the second race with both races won by Duncan Tappy. 1st Qualifying went well with Dean Smith on pole, Duncan second and Riki Christo 3rd, the top three being over two-tenths clear of the 4th place driver Jeremy Metcalfe (AKA). 2nd qualifying was much of the same but with Duncan on pole followed by Riki and Dean, all three being clear by nearly three-tenths of a second. Ryuji Yamamoto had a better second qualifying session starting from an impressive 9th place. The Fortec cars dominated both Rockingham races and also set fastest laps. The team now looks forward to the next round at the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

23/04/2007

Donington park saw the first podium for Greg Mansell and another solid points scoring 4th place for Sebastian Hohenthal with Leo Mansell having a very unlucky accident in the first race. The second race began with good starts from all three drivers but things quickly went wrong after the first corner with Seb being hit by another car resulting in him having to pit for repairs. He then rejoined to take the fastest lap of the race by over 0.5 second. Greg and Leo also had trouble with Leo having to pit with rear wing damage. Greg managed to carry on after he was hit by another car to score a point for 10th position

01/04/2007

The Formula Renault team made a great start to the season taking a win and several strong points finishes during the first race weekend of the year at Brands Hatch. Saturday Qualifying went well with a pole position and a second place for Duncan Tappy, missing the top slot by five-hundredths of a second. Riki Christodoulou managed 2nd and 5th in only his first Formula Renault qualifying sessions. Dean Smith secured 5th and 6th place grid slots for the two races only eight-hundredths from qualifying third. Ryuji Yamamoto, with very limited testing at Brands Hatch managed a respectable 10th and 15th place. In the two races, Duncan took a 2nd place in Race 1 before winning Race 2 with Dean 3rd and 4th. Riki took 4th and 7th place finishes with Ryuji 11th in Race 2 after failing to finish the first race when he damaged his car while avoiding a spinning competitor at the start.

29/03/2007

World Series by Renault drivers Richard Philippe and James Walker completed two days of testing with the team at Nurburgring yesterday. Both drivers evaluated set-up options in preparation for the first race event of the year at Monza (14/15 April).

28/03/2007

The Fortec F3 team ended their pre-season testing programme in high spirits after continuing their recent pace at the Oulton Park test yesterday. Fortec drivers Sebastian Hohenthal, Greg Mansell and Leo Mansell ended the day 3rd, 5th, and 13th respectively. The team now look forward to the first race at the Cheshire circuit on the 9th of April were they hope to turn their testing pace into valuable Championship points.

15/03/2007

Fortec Motorsport’s first outing of the year on the 2007 specification Avon tyre for the British F3 International Series was a great boost to the team. With only three hours of testing available on the Silverstone National circuit, the team’s drivers: - Sebastian Hohenthal, Leo Mansell, and Greg Mansell finished the day in 3rd, 12th, and 8th positions respectively, proving the ability of both team and drivers amongst an experienced field. Fortec now look forward to the upcoming Croft test on 20/21 March where they will be looking to continue their strong start to the year.

05/03/2007

James Walker and Richard Philippe completed a succesful shakedown of their World Series by Renault cars at Pembrey today. Both drivers completed several runs in the wet conditions and now look forward to the first official collective test of the season at Barcelona on 14/15 March.

04/03/2007

The Fortec Formula Renault team are pleased to announce their drivers for the 2007 season with Riki Christodoulou, Dean Smith, Duncan Tappy, and Ryuji Yamamoto completing the line-up. Christodoulou joins Fortec as a newcomer to the series with Smith and Tappy competing in their second Formula Renault UK seasons. Ryuji Yamamoto comes to the team as part of the Nissan Driver Development program after competing in Japan last year.

16/02/2007

Fortec Motorsport is pleased to announce that Formula Renault UK champion Sebastian Hohenthal will stay with the team and graduate to their Formula 3 programme for this years British F3 International Series. The 23 year old from Sweden, joins Leo and Greg Mansell to complete Fortec’s three car line-up. A successful two years in Formula Renault with the team culminated in championship victory last season thanks to an impressive record of seven wins, five poles and 13 podiums. Sebastian will be once again be aiming for success when the British F3 season starts at Oulton Park on 7-9 April.

12/02/2007

Fortec Motorsport are pleased to announce that 17 year old Richard Philippe will be joining their World Series by Renault team for the 2007 season. Richard will partner James Walker as the team aims to deliver strong results in it's maiden World Series by Renault season. "I'm ecstatic about the move to Europe and to the very competitive Renault World Series! I can already sense a great atmosphere within the team and I look forward to learning a lot this season," commented the French driver. After being the youngest Formula BMW USA Champion in the History of the series following his 2005 season and competing in the Champ Car Atlantic series in 2006, Richard continues his rise up the motorsport ladder choosing to change continents with his move into the Formula Renault 3.5 category.

13/01/2007

Fortec Motorsport are pleased to announce the signing of James Walker to their World Series by Renault programme for 2007. James re-joins the team after a successful year of British Formula 3 in 2005, during which he took his maiden Formula 3 victory. Having already tested the World Series by Renault car during the winter, James and team hope to hit the ground running when official testing commences in March. To find out more about James Walker, visit www.jwalkermotorsport.com

20/12/2006

The Formula BMW team completed it's driver line-up for the 2007 season with the signing of Henry Arundel, Marcus Ericsson, Daniel Mackenzie, and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.

16/12/2006

Fortec Motorsport has been confirmed as one of the teams to compete in the World Series by Renault Championship for 2007. The progression follows the team's success in Formula 3, Formula 3000, Formula Renault, and Formula BMW in recent years.

30/11/2006

Greg and Leo Mansell will contest the 2007 British Formula 3 International Series with Fortec Motorsport. The announcement follows their successful test programme throughout 2006 and participation in the final two races of the season at Thruxton in October with the team.

Leo Mansell: "British F3 was the right choice for us because, one, it is our home formula and two, we have a great relationship with Fortec, working with them through testing and the race at Thruxton. We're also visiting some great tracks next year Spa, Monza, Silverstone GP, Brands Hatch GP and the street race in Bucharest. It's a schedule we're really excited about."

Greg Mansell: "British F3 is highly respected amongst the other F3 series and next years calendar is fantastic with four tracks from the old F1 calendar and as a driver you couldn't wish for any more. There are fantastic cars and we have a great team in Fortec supporting us and I'm just really looking forward to it, it was the right choice for us."

Richard Dutton, Team Principal Fortec Motorsport: "It's a great honour for Fortec to be involved with Leo, Greg and Nigel. We've worked hard over the last few years in Formula 3 and it's great to have drivers signed and organised so early. We've got the test programme coming up and it is nice going into the season fully ready and organised. It's a great honour to work with Nigel and the boys. I certainly wasn't surprised by their pace at Thruxton because of the speed they were showing in testing. They both amazed me how fast they were developing. The progress was amazing, so I was not at all surprised to see them go so well at Thruxton. If you had to choose which circuit would be the hardest to have your first race it would be Thruxton and I know if it had been anywhere else they would probably have done a better job. Having said that they still did a great job that weekend and we were all very proud."

Stephane Ratel, SRO Chairman: “We are very pleased to welcome Leo and Greg to British Formula 3 for 2007. British F3 has been the traditional career path for young drivers from all over the world looking towards Formula One. I’m very happy to see that Leo and Greg have decided that Britain’s premier single seat racing championship is the right place for the next step in their career development and have chosen to drive with Fortec Motorsport, a team that has tasted the victory champagne twice this year.”

20/11/2006

Yelmer Buurman concluded a highly-successful visit to the Macau F3 Grand-Prix 2006 with an 8th place finish in the feature race. Facing the challenge of drivers from several F3 Series' with previous experience of the Macau circuit, Yelmer had to learn the track quickly in the limited sessions. After becoming involved in an incident with Jonathan Kennard in the Qualifying race, Yelmer was forced to start from 30th position close to the back of the grid for the main FIA Intercontinental Cup race. After a first corner tangle between Marco Asmer (Hitech), Paul di Resta (ASM), and Kamui Kobayashi (ASM), the field headed by Mike Conway (Raikonen-Robertson) continued the 15-lap race. Yelmer sustained a strong pace throughout the race and gained several positions to finish in 8th position as the third of the 2006 British F3 Series drivers behind Mike Conway in 1st and James Jakes (Manor Motorsport) in 6th.

16/11/2006

Fortec Motorsport Formula Renault UK driver Sam Bird has been selected as one of the finalists for the coveted McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. The six finalists will need to impress a panel of motor racing experts via a series of tests in three thrilling racing cars all demanding different skills and disciplines. These are the 3.5 Litre 450Bhp World Series by Renault, 450bhp rear wheel drive Mercedes Benz DTM, and the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car. Further evaluation will take place during a series of interviews at McLaren’s Technology Centre. The winner of this prestigious award will be announced at a star-studded dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on December 3rd. Everyone at Fortec wishes Sam well at this exciting time in his career.

16/10/2006

The Formula Renault and Formula BMW teams concluded their respective seasons at Silverstone this weekend. Fortec won the Formula Renault UK Teams Championship with Sebastian Hohenthal winning the Drivers Championship and Fabio Onidi taking the Graduate Cup title. The Formula BMW UK Championship Team Trophy was retained by Fortec for the second year running with Niall Breen winning the Formula BMW UK Drivers Championship and Henry Arundel taking Rookie Cup honours.

02/10/2006

The Formula 3 team ended the 2006 British F3 International Series on a high with a win in Race 2 for Yelmer Buurman at Thruxton. The win saw Yelmer pass Maro Engel (Carlin) in the points table to secure 4th place behind Mike Conway, Oliver Jarvis, and Bruno Senna.

26/09/2006

The British Formula 3 Series will see Greg and Leo Mansell graduate to the Championship at Thruxton this weekend (30 Sept-1 Oct). Fortec Motorsport will field two Championship cars in the Invitation class for the pair who step-up from the Formula BMW UK Championship. The outing follows a successful official test at the Hampshire circuit in August.

25/09/2006

The Formula 3 team continued it's run of strong points finishes with a 5th in Race 1 and 4th in Race 2 at Silverstone for Yelmer Buurman. This moves Yelmer closer to Maro Engel (Carlin), currently 4th in the championship with only four points between them. The British F3 International Series concludes at Thruxton this weekend (30 Sept-1 Oct) where Rounds 21 and 22 will be held.

24/09/2006

Yelmer Buurman lines-up 5th and 4th on the grid for the two Formula 3 races at Silverstone today. After originally qualifying 5th for the Race 2, Yelmer was promoted to 4th on the grid after Oliver Jarvis (Carlin Motorsport) had his fastest lap cancelled for speeding in the pit-lane. Yelmer, currently 5th in the championship will be aiming to close the 18-point gap on Maro Engel (Carlin) in 4th position.

18/09/2006

The Fortec Formula 3 team travelled to the Mugello circuit in Italy for rounds 17 & 18 of the championship. Yelmer Buurman produced two excellent qualifying results, lining-up 5th for Race 1 and 3rd for Race 2. Yelmer's strong start moved him up to 2nd position on the opening lap of Race 1 before a move from Stephen Jelley pushed Yelmer wide allowing both Jelley (Raikkonen-Robertson) and Alberto Valerio (Cesario) through. This left Yelmer in 5th position at the chequered flag. Starting from 3rd on the grid for Race 2, Yelmer lost out at the start and found himself pursuing James Walker (Hitech Racing) for position. Yelmer followed Walker for several laps before the two cars made contact on the final corner of Lap 6 putting them both out of the race. The British F3 International Series moves to the Silverstone circuit next weekend (23-24 Sept) for Rounds 19 & 20.

10/09/2006

The Fortec Formula Renault Team dominated once again as Sam Bird and Sebastian Hohenthal won Rounds 15 and 16 at Donington Park. Sam Bird also set a new lap record of 1 minute 29.3 during Race 1. Due to a clash with Paddy Hogan at the first corner of race 1, Sebastian Hohenthal was excluded from the first race results but due to his pace and Race 2 win, he only dropped 1 point from the Championship leader. Fabio Onidi finished 8th and 9th on the road claiming second in the Graduate Cup in each race. James Sutton finished 10th in the first race but suffered a puncture after a clash with Pippa Mann during Race 2. The next rounds of the Championship will be at Brands Hatch (23-24 Sept)with the championship title still to be decided.

28/08/2006

Rounds 17 & 18 of the British Formula 3 series held on the Brands Hatch Grand-Prix circuit saw Yelmer Buurman score a number of strong qualifying and race results. Starting third on the grid for the first race, Yelmer drove a solid 22 lap race and held position until the chequered flag. Race two saw Yelmer starting from third on the grid once again after an excellent run in qualifying, unfortunately halted by red flags. Yelmer made a good start but lost a place to Mike Conway at Druids on the first lap. The order would then remain the same with Yelmer coming home in fourth position. The series now moves to Mugello in Italy for rounds 19 & 20 (16-17 September)

15/08/2006

The Fortec Formula Renault team now leads the entrants championship by 110 points following the latest rounds of the championship at Snetterton. Sebastian Hohenthal had an impressive weekend with a win and a second place starting from 3rd and 4th on the grid. Sam Bird having to start the weekend running in a brand new car, finished an impressive 6th and 4th. James Sutton visited the podium once again with a great drive to third place. Fabio Onidi leads the Graduates now with an 8th and 10th place finish.

14/08/2006

The Fortec BMW team this weekend became Team Champions for the second year running following two races at Snetterton. Niall Breen extended his championship lead with his eighth win of the year and a second place. Euan Hankey had a sixth and a fourth place to consolidate third in the championship. Henry Arundel took two class wins to head the Rookie Cup Championship but more impressively, an overall third in race one.

14/08/2006

Yelmer Buurman once again visitied the Formula 3 podium with a third place finish at Silverstone this weekend. Starting from 11th on the grid, Yelmer fought off James Walker and Oliver Jarvis throughout the 14 lap race to finish behind Mike Conway and Bruno Senna in 1st and 2nd respectively.

31/07/2006

The Formula BMW team had another strong weekend with Niall Breen taking two pole positions, a win and a third to extend his championship lead to 66 points, with 6 races remaining. Euan Hankey was back on form to take 2nd in the first race. He was quicker than the race leader but unable to find a way past. He finished 5th in race two. An impressive drive back through the field after being forced off on lap one and down to 15th place. Henry Arundel took a third and fastest lap in race two. Now only 12 points off the lead in the Rookie Cup.

30/07/2006

The Fortec Formula Renault winning spree continued at Donington Park this weekend with Sebastian Hohenthal winning rounds 11 and 12. Starting from Pole Position in both races, he drove a superb lights to flag victory, moving to only 2 points behind the championship leader. James Sutton came home 5th and 8th. Fabio Onidi finished 12th in the first race but an incident with Marcus Niemela at the old hairpin halted his second. Putting a dampener on the weekend was Sam Bird's huge crash. He was hit by Jeremy Metcalfe at Hollywood, putting Sam in to the barriers. Sam badly bruised his knee in the crash but he will be completely fit for the next round at Snetterton. The AKA driver causing Sam's crash received 4 points on his licence and was excluded from the last round of the weekend.

29/07/2006

Yelmer Buurman scored his first Formula 3 Championship victory in Race 1 at Spa Francorchamps, Belgium this weekend. Yelmer drove through the challenging conditions from 10th on the grid to take the lead from Maro Engel on the last lap. In Race 2, Yelmer started from 11th position on the grid after a difficult second qualifying session. He moved up through the field to come home in sixth position, picking up more valuable points. Yelmer retains 5th position in the Championship for the next race at Silverstone (12-13 August)

17/07/2006

Fortec’s Formula Renault team completed an excellent weekend at Croft (July 15/16). In race one, Fortec’s drivers completely filled the podium for the first time. Starting from second on the grid, Formula Renault rookie Sam Bird stormed into the lead in race one, gaining each lap to finish 11.2 seconds ahead of team mate Sebastian Hohenthal, while Graduate Cup contender Fabio Onidi joined the podium for the first time. James Sutton came in fifth, gaining valuable points. Sam Bird also took the fastest lap of the race. Fortec’s drivers now lie 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the main championship, while Fabio leads the Graduate Cup. In race two, Seb enjoyed another second place, while Sam, James and Fabio came in 6th, 7th and 8th respectively, with James winning driver of the day award for his charge through the field from his 14th place start. The team is now leading the entrants’ points table by 83 points.

16/07/2006

The Formula 3 team returned from Snetterton with points scores for both Yelmer Buurman and Stuart Hall. Yelmer qualified 5th and 7th for the two races with Stuart 12th and 11th. Race 1 saw Yelmer chasing Oliver Jarvis for the duration but he was unable to find a way past him to finish 5th. Stuart came home 8th picking up 3 valuable points. Race 2 saw Yelmer move up to 5th position after fighting with Stephen Jelley and Maro Engel while Stuart gained a place to finish 10th, putting him 10th in the Championship standings. Yelmer's points put him 5th just two points behind Maro Engel.

08/07/2006

Yelmer Buurman scored a 10th place finish in the first of the Formula 3 Euro-Series races at Brands Hatch. Yelmer qualified 15th for the race but started from 14th on the grid after Esteban Guerrieri (Manor Motorsport) had his times from qualifying dissallowed. Yelmer made a strong start before holding 11th position for the remainder of the 57 lap race. As Richard Antinucci (HBR Motorsport) was racing under appeal following a technical infringment during qualifying, he is excluded from the race results giving Yelmer 10th position.

03/07/2006

Fortec completed their F3 Euro-Series weekend at Brands Hatch with a solid 9th place finish for Yelmer Buurman in race 2. Yelmer, starting from 11th on the grid held position before moving up the field when a number of drivers were penalised for jumping the start. With overtaking difficult on the short Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Yelmer drove consistently on the pace to complete the 42 lap race.

27/06/2006

The Fortec Motorsport Formula 3 team will compete in the F3 Euro-Series rounds at Brands Hatch this coming weekend. Driving for the team will be Yelmer Buurman who also competed in the Euro-Series at Hockenheim earlier in the year. The races on Saturday and Sunday will be held on the short Indy circuit at Brands Hatch, supporting the DTM Series. Yelmer hopes to add to the points he scored at Hockenheim and gain further experience of the Brands Hatch circuit which will host rounds 15 and 16 of the British Series in August.

18/06/2006

FORMULA RENAULT The Fortec Formula Renault team locked out the first 3 places in qualifying at Knockhill. Sebastian Hohenthal winning an event packed rain sodden race from pole position with James Suttton coming home in second. Sam Bird starting third on the grid had a bit too much wheel spin and dropped back the order eventually fighting his way back to 10th for valuable points. Fabio Onidi coming home in 8th just behind Roos to claim second in the Graduate cup. The second race was as eventful as the first. Sam bird starting on pole had an awesome start making up for his first race error pulling out a comfortable lead. Sebastian Hohenthal starting third attempted a pass for second place but ended up being pushed on to the grass on the opening laps redeeming himself by setting the fastest lap of the race by nearly half a second. Fabio finishing a respectable 5th and winning the graduates race.

31/05/2006

All three of the Fortec teams are in action this weekend with the Formula 3 team travelling to Southern France to contest rounds five and six of the British Formula 3 Championship at Pau street circuit. Yelmer Buurman is hoping to build on his third place finish at Donington which put him sixth in the driver's championship. The Formula Renault and Formula BMW teams travel to Thruxton, Hampshire where Niall Breen aims to strengthen his Formula BMW championship lead.

22/05/2006

Niall Breen scored two third place finishes at Brands Hatch this weekend to put him in the lead of the Formula BMW UK Drivers Championship. Euan Hankey lies fourth in the Championship after a fourth place finish was his best result of the weekend with Henry Arundel in twelfth position.

22/05/2006

The Fortec Formula 3 team scored it's best result so far this season with a third place for Yelmer Buurman in race 2 at Donington Park. Varied weather conditions throughout the weekend lead to an exciting final race which saw Yelmer come from ninth on the grid to take the podium place. Yelmer now holds sixth position in the championship with only four points between him and Maro Engel who lies third in the standings. Stuart Hall is currently ninth while Charlie Hollings is in joint eleventh position after a successful Donington race which saw him finish seventh in class in the second race.

24/04/2006

Niall Breen won both races at Mondello Park this weekend, putting him firmly in the lead of the Formula BMW drivers championship. Euan Hankey finished 4th in Race 1 with Henry Arundel 6th in Race 2. The championship now heads to Oulton park for Rounds 5 & 6 on the 13th & 14th May.

17/04/2006

The F3 team completed a successful first British Championship race weekend with all three of it's drivers scoring points. In Race 1, Yelmer Buurman came home 6th with Stuart Hall and Charlie Hollings 9th and 11th in class respectively. Stuart Hall finished 6th showing strong race pace from lights to flag in Race 2 with Yelmer 8th and Charlie 9th. The event was dominated however, by Bruno Senna in the Raikonnen Robertson Dallara Mercedes who won both races putting him firmly in the lead of the championship. Fortec drivers Yelmer Buurman, Stuart Hall, and Charlie Hollings hold 7th, 8th, and 11th in the championship standings.

13/04/2006

The Fortec Formula BMW team also had a good start to the season with a win and several strong points finishes. Euan Hankey finished third in the first race and claimed pole for the second race which he transformed into a win. Niall Breen scored a second place in Race 2 with Henry Arundel 7th and 9th in the two races respectively. Euan Hankey now leads the drivers' championship from Oliver Oakes and Michael Meadows with Niall Breen 4th and Henry Arundel 9th.

13/04/2006

The Formula Renault team got off to a strong start at the first race of the year at Brands Hatch. James Sutton won the first race from pole and finished 2nd in race 2 putting him in the lead of the championship. Sebastian Hohenthal also had a good weekend with a 4th and 5th place finish. Sam Bird scored 7th and 12th place finishes with Fabio Onidi 9th and 19th.

09/04/2006

Yelmer Buurman had a dissapointing end to the Hockenheim Euro-Series weekend following the second race on Sunday. Starting from pole, Yelmer got away well putting several car-lengths between himself and the following pack. Technical problems then caused him to drop back to 8th place before a bold move from Sebastien Buemi up the inside of Yelmer put him out of the race and left Buemi with a drive-through penalty. The team now returns to the UK for the firt race of the British championship at Oulton Park, Cheshire this weekend.

08/04/2006

Yelmer Buurman finished 8th in Race 1 of the Formula 3 Euro-Series at Hockenheim today. The reverse grid system means that he will start Race 2 from pole position on Sunday. After qualifying 16th, Yelmer made up several places on the first lap and then worked his way through the field in an action-packed race.

30/03/2006

The Formula 3 team today completed a successful two day test at Hockenheim with Yelmer Buurman in preparation for the first round of the Formula 3 Euro-Series. Yelmer ran well in mixed weather conditions gaining valuable experience for the race event.

28/03/2006

Charles Hollings will drive for Fortec Motorsport in the 2006 British Formula 3 Championship. The 2005 National-Class race winner had his first taste of the Mercedes-Benz powered Dallara at Oulton Park today which will host the first round of the British series. Although presented with varying weather conditions, both Charlie and the car ran well setting respectable times for a first outing.

17/03/2006

The Formula 3 team will be competing in the first round of the F3 Euro-Series with Yelmer Buurman. The event takes place at Hockenheim, Germany on the 8th and 9th April and will be used to prepare for the start of the British Championship.

03/03/2006

Experienced Consultant Race Engineer Chris Gorne is dovetailing his duties at DPR Direxiv in GP2 and A1GP Team France, with a role at Fortec Motorsport for 2006. His involvement will primarily be, but not limited to, assisting and co-ordinating on their Formula 3 programme.

22/02/2006

Fortec’s Formula BMW driver line-up is now complete following the signing of Euan Hankey, Niall Breen, and Henry Arundel. The first official championship test will be at Silverstone on the 1st March.

17/02/2006

Fortec has now completed its Formula Renault team for the 2006 season following the signing of Sam Bird, James Sutton, Sebastian Hohenthal, and Fabio Onidi. Official championship testing begins on the 1st March at Silverstone.

14/02/2006

Two of Fortec’s Formula Renault drivers will graduate to compete in the British Formula 3 Championship with the team for 2006. Yelmer Buurman and Stuart Hall will race the Mercedes-Benz powered Dallaras after testing with the team throughout the winter. Official testing begins at Pembrey, South Wales on the 15th and 16th February.

06/01/2006

Fortec returned from the Formula BMW World Final held in Bahrain as the top British team. Sam Bird finished fourth overall after being held up in the final by another competitor who was racing under appeal.

26/11/2005

The team recently contested the Formula Renault winter series with drivers: - Patrick Hogan, Fabio Onidi, James Sutton, and Bradley Ellis. Patrick finished 3rd in the overall standings following a series of wins and strong points finishes.

22/10/2005

The Formula 3 team are conducting an intensive testing programme over the coming weeks where it will look at drivers for the forthcoming season. Scheduled to test are Mike Conway, James Jakes, Sam Bird, Stuart Hall, and Stian Sorlie.

12/03/2005

The Formula BMW team travel out to Bahrain in the coming days where they will contest the world finals. Sam Bird and Stian Sorlie will be representing Fortec.