Junior Open Wheel Talent

I've been falling behind on my World Series by Renault updates and for that I apologize. There are quite a few news items to hit on, especially with Round 1 being completed last weekend in Barcelona.

First off, congratulations to Marcos Martinez who swept the opening round at Barcelona in his Pons entry. A very nice run by the 23-year-old Spaniard, who now sits in first place in the 2009 standings. He is followed by Adrian Valles and Christopher van der Drift, both of which are driving for Epsilon.

Secondly--Sten Pentus and Adrian Zaugg--both deserve some press after improving the most positions over the weekend in Cataluyna. Pentus had the best drive of the weekend by improving 17 positions, charging from 19th on the starting grid to finish 2nd. Adrian Zaugg also had a nice run on Saturday, finishing 10th after starting 22nd.

Roster Updates

• Most of us knew this one was coming,.. but Pasquale Di Sabatino joined RC Motorsport. This will be his third season in the series. His best finish last year was 2nd at Monza.

• Mihai Marinescu and Adrian Zaugg joined Interwetten. Former IndyCar/Indy Lights driver Franck Perera was also rumored to be eyeing a seat after completing a test with the team. Marinescu joins the team after spending last year, focusing on the Formula BMW series---Europe, Americas, and Pacific. He won a race in the Formula BMW-Pacific series at Macau. Adrian Zaugg has already proven a nice addition to the team with his run last weekend (see above). He is also running in the A1GP series for Team South Africa--so he may have a few schedule conflicts limiting his points later in the year.