Oliver Turvey is set to race in next year’s World Series by Renault championship after talk of challenging for the GP2 title failed to translate into a drive.
The Carlin Motorsport racer tested with ART Grand Prix and iSport International over the winter – but his team has recently announced that he will pair up with 2008 British F3 International Jaime Alguersuari in its 2009 WSR line-up.
It won’t be his first venture into Renault’s development series – according to the team, he competed in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2007, where he finished eighth out of a 40-strong driver field.
Turvey, who is backed by the Racing Steps Foundation driver funding scheme, says he is confident about his chances: “I’m very excited to be racing in World Series this year and grateful once again for the support of the Racing Steps Foundation.
“The World Series car requires a completely different style of driving compared to the F3 car, but in the final stages of winter testing I really began to understand how to get the best from the car, and I can’t wait to get back out on track again.
“I’m very pleased to be staying with Carlin after such a successful season with the team last year and I expect us to be achieving the same level of results in World Series as we did last season in F3”.
Team principal Trevor Carlin added: “Oliver was a huge asset to the team in 2008. He is a very talented and intelligent driver and we’re delighted that the Racing Steps Foundation have entrusted us with taking Oliver to the next step in World Series by Renault.
“Oliver’s performance in testing so far has been extremely encouraging and I expect to see the same great performance from him in the World Series car as we saw in F3.
“It’s a testament to the team that Oliver and Jaime will continue their careers with Carlin, and I know that their healthy and competitive relationship will push them and the team forward. We have a very strong driver line-up and it’s our full intention that Carlin win the World Series title this season.”
Our view: this is a much more positive development for Turvey than the pressure-cooker of a top-flight GP2 team would have been.
We wrote a piece back in November suggesting he’d be better off slowly consolidating his impressive achievements so far than burning out and wrecking his reputation in a single GP2 season as so many others have done.
World Series by Renault seems just the ticket to us – and we wish him all the best for a successful 2009 season there.