Arden Motorsport are aiming to start the 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup season on the front foot as the team arrives at the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the first event (10-11 July).
There’s a different look for Arden in Europe’s premier single-seater competition this season, with Ugo de Wilde, Reshad De Gerus and Jackson Walls fronting an all-new driver line up.
Monza holds special memories for de Wilde, with the Belgian victorious around the high-speed 3.6-mile circuit on his debut in the series last year.
The trip to Italy marks the first step on de Wilde’s push for championship honours, whilst Arden enter the campaign looking to build on a strong third in the Teams’ standings last term.
De Gerus will also make his debut at this level in Italy, with a strong track record in the junior categories.
He was crowned vice-champion in French F4 in 2019, taking four victories and eleven podium finishes.
Walls will unfortunately be absent for the opening two events of the season, with COVID-19 travel restrictions making it impossible for the Australian to travel across to participate.
However, the team is delighted to confirm that long-time Arden driver Alex Quinn will stand in for Jackson until he can return.
Quinn impressed on his debut in Formula Renault during a similar three-event run in 2019, scoring a podium apiece at Nurburgring and Barcelona and running consistently at the front throughout.
With the season delayed due to the global pandemic, getting up to speed quickly will be crucial for all three drivers, with pre-event testing starting on the 6th July.
The competitive action kicks off with qualifying on Thursday (16:40 BST) and Friday morning (08:00 BST) respectively.
The two races are set to get underway at 12:00 (Friday) and 08:45 (Saturday), with live coverage available on Renault Sport’s platforms.
Quotes:
Ben Salter, Arden Formula Renault Team Manager said:
“It feels fantastic to be preparing to set off for the opening event of the 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup season at Monza.
“All of our drivers have worked hard to maintain their fitness and continue to absorb as much information as possible during the extended break, so I’ve no doubt we’ll arrive in competitive shape.
“Ugo surprised the entire paddock by winning on debut here last season, but it won’t be a shock to anybody to see him put a championship challenge together in 2020.
“Likewise for Reshad – he has an enviable record in the lower categories and I’ve no doubt he’ll rise to the challenge in a very competitive field.
“Whilst it’s disappointing for Jackson to miss out on the opening two rounds, travel restrictions because of COVID-19 are something we have to respect and work around, and I’m sure he’ll arrive on the front foot later in the year.
“At the same time, we’re very grateful to Alex for stepping in at the last minute to fill the seat, and we’re confident he’ll be able to show the same performance as in 2019.
“A word too for our engineering and backroom staff who’ve come back in and worked tirelessly to get the cars ready to go – hopefully we can reward the hard work with some strong results from the very start.”
Alex Quinn (#20) said:
“It’s been an eventful week behind the scenes, I’m very happy to be able to fill in for Arden Motorsport until Jackson can return to his seat.
“I just need to go out there this weekend and do my best to prove what I’m capable of and what I can achieve.”
Reshad De Gerus (#21) said:
“I’m very happy to be working with Arden Motorsport for the 2020 season.
“We started working together in the Rookie tests at Abu Dhabi last year; that went very well and the team has helped me to adapt and progress quickly with the Formula Renault car, which is a new step in my career.
“I can’t wait to be in Monza and get back in the car after this long time. My main goal this season is to fight for the Rookie championship, but I’ll do my best to be at the top of the overall standings.
“I know the team has the capacity to do this, so it’s up to me to work to achieve my goals.”
Ugo de Wilde (#27) said:
“I’m super excited to be back racing after such a big break.
“This was a really difficult period for everyone and I can’t wait to be back on track. It will be strange and really exciting to be back in the car, especially in Monza where I won the race last year.
“The tests in Valencia went quite well, we worked productively with the team and my engineer so we’ll keep working hard and we’ll wait and see what we can do on track!”