Britain’s Owens Ready To Make Big Impression On Monza Debut

Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup (NEC) racer Raoul Owens is aiming to make a big impression at Monza in Italy this coming weekend, 12th/13th April, when the 2014 season begins in support of the prestigious Blancpain Endurance Series.
Although marking the British 19-year-old’s race debut at the world-famous Grand Prix venue, Raoul is targeting podium success from the off in his second year at European level and having delivered a series of highly competitive showings in pre-season testing, his confidence is rightly justified.

Over the course of four days at the end of March, two at Hockenheim in Germany and two more at Assen in The Netherlands, the talented single-seater racer from Pembury finished inside the top two during six of the test sessions and was a consistent front-runner at both venues.

At Assen, in particular, the Bright Spark Ventures-backed driver was a major force and after lapping second fastest in the opening two sessions at the Dutch track, he mirrored that performance on day two at the wheel of his Mark Burdett Motorsport-engineered FR 2.0 car to firmly state his intent.

Featuring one of the most competitive grids in European one-make single-seater racing this year, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC looks set for some sensationally close competition and Raoul is certain he has what it takes to be in the thick of the action at the sharp end all year.

“We’re in good shape ahead of Monza, pre-season testing went very well and we were consistently competitive at both Hockenheim and Assen during the officially timed days”, he commented, “I’ve got a full year of experience in NEC under my belt now, I know most of the tracks and we have the continuity of staying with the guys at Mark Burdett which is a major plus.

“Monza will be a new challenge but one I’m really looking forward to. It’s an incredible track, with immense heritage, and I’m confident we can make a strong start to the season there. Slip-streaming is going to be so important on the long straights and it should deliver some fantastic racing.”

Ending his rookie NEC season last year ninth overall in the championship, and becoming a podium finisher at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Raoul made significant progress over the course of the season and is targeting a top three championship finish this time around in the seven event series.

Free practice and qualifying for the opening two rounds of the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC season at Monza will take place on Friday, 11th April, with race one getting underway at 14.05 (local time) on Saturday, 12th April, and round two following at 09.55 (local time) on Sunday, 13th April.