This time we are going to make a bit detailed presentation of the remaining three events of this year’s edition of the World Series by Renault, entered by Filip Salaquarda and his team, ISR Racing. It is necessary to point out that all of these races will take place at famous circuits – some of the current venues of Formula One Grand Prix.

The first of them will be held at Hockenheimring in Germany on September 4–5. The formerly high-speed track went through a major reconstruction under the control of architect Hermann Tilke in 2001, which resulted in leaving out the dangerous forest section and reduction in length by almost two kilometres to the present-day 4,574 metres. The capacity of the racing circuit grandstands is 120,000 spectators, and now a full house is expected.

The World Series by Renault is going to visit Hockenheimring for the first time (although its events have already been run in Germany before: at Nürburgring and Oschersleben).

Filip says: “It’s still possible to drive like hell along the Baden circuit, which is why I’m in my element there. In many cases, the entry into the first curve after the start is decisive.”

A fortnight later, the Series will move to Silverstone in Great Britain, which, by contrast, has belonged to the mainstays of the calendar for a long period. All the same, the former Royal Air Force war base, where races have taken place since 1948, is supposed to prove a hard nut to crack even for old warhorses. The track has undergone rather radical construction changes to the second sector, which has met with ambiguous reactions so far. Dramatic moments are to be expected in the first corner after the start, Copse, as well as in the subsequent legendary combination of curves called Maggots, Beckets; and Chapel.

Last year, it was Marcos Martínez and Charles Pic that stood on the top of the rostrum there with second-placed Albert Costa in the Eurocup F Renault 2.0 race being the best out of the present-day participants in the World Series.

Filip says: “This is a matter of the heart for me. It’s a superfast while at the same time technically difficult track that will make you give all of yourself – thanks, in part, to an enormous G-force. The icing on the cake is cornering through the Maggots curve.”

The final round will traditionally take place in Spain on October 9–10, this time at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. The site near the village of Montmelo, situated thirty kilometres from the centre of the city of 1.6 million souls, came into existence in 1991, and since then, it has been the scene for Formula One Grand Prix as well as a popular location for Formula One teams’ testing sessions. The one kilometre long finish straight has witnessed many fantastic battles, especially a duel waged between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell.

The Circuit de Catalunya has hosted the World Series by Renault events since 2006. In 2009, the most successful driver was Marcos Martínez there with Salaquarda’s current big rival, Sten Pentus, taking a surprise second place at that time.

Filip comments: “I prefer the longer version of the circuit. Qualifying will be demanding pretty much because the car works no more than one or two laps.”

This time, we want to pay attention to two technical aspects that play an important role in this year’s edition of the World Series by Renault.

First up is the so-called light-weight setup. This one is used for Saturday races (when there are no mandatory pitstops). In practice this means that the rear wing is smaller and aerodynamic downforce drops by about twenty per cent. This makes the importance of engine power increase significantly at the expense of aerodynamics. “It is necessary to find two different setups during the weekend. Many teams have experienced no small problems especially with the light-weight setup up to now. Of course, we also have to modify our driving style as it is more difficult to handle the car in a light configuration,” Filip Salaquarda explains.

As is the case with all the other formula series, the World Series by Renault has also seen tyres or, in case of uncertain weather forecast, the correct tyre choice determining the results. Understandably, the French company Michelin is the sole supplier of tyres for the series. The competitors have the choice of dry compounds (designated FR 3.5) and wet-weather compounds (FR 3.5 R). Like any other team, Salaquarda’s ISR Racing Team can use a total of four sets of tyres per driver and event. Two sets are available for Friday free practices (two 75-minute sessions) while the other two sets must endure two qualifying sessions and two races. Besides, it is necessary to pull into the pits and have at least two tyres changed during the Sunday races. These pitstops are allowed to be made only within the span of prespecified laps (any pitstop outside this “window” may result in a 20-second penalty or, when ignored, even a 60-second penalty). No more than six mechanics are allowed to work on the car during the pitstop.

The present mid-summer holiday break in the World Series by Renault does not mean that the participants in the series may enjoy pleasant idleness. For example, the two ISR Racing Team drivers, Filip Salaquarda and Esteban Guerrieri, have made the most of the break staying in the Formula Medicine specialized centre in Viareggio, Italy for a week.

“Ninety per cent of the clients are racing drivers,” said Filip Salaquarda after his return. “The colleagues we met there included Robert Kubica who lives in Viareggio and is a regular visitor to the centre. The training itself consists of two parts: the first one is aimed at the driver’s mental condition while the second one, at his stamina. As part of our mental training, we have completed a number of stress tests focussing, above all, on examination of our reflex capacity, but also our memory. As far as fitness is concerned, attention was focussed particularly upon those areas that are most strained, which means the back, shoulders, and especially neck and the back of the neck. We’ve also undergone a general medical check-up.”

The number-one priority was to get methodical instructions on how to precisely proceed when further developing and strengthening the drivers’ mental and physical abilities. But this does not mean that Filip and Esteban did not get a hard workout. “I will remember how we were crossing the local river as a practice. We’d been trying to scramble up its steep bank for about three hours; we had to swarm up a rope in some sections. And the temperature was thirty-five degrees in the shade!”

In spite of this horrible experience, Filip Salaquarda was extremely happy as he returned home from the Apennine Peninsula. “I brought a training plan, which I’m going to follow in coming months. I’ve also received valuable advice as regards the general regimen. That’s why I’d like to go to Viareggio at least once more during the course of this year.”

“That’s really infuriating,” said Igor Salaquarda, the Czech ISR Team Principal, commenting on the decision taken by technical scrutineers on Friday evening. The team’s drivers, Filip Salaquarda and Esteban Guerrieri, were not admitted to the start of the Saturday and Sunday races of the World Series by Renault 3.5. What was the reason? Allegedly it was because of some cracks on the monocoque of each of the two cars. It is difficult to argue with the race control. “It’s impossible to repair something like that overnight. The only solution to this problem is to buy a new monocoque and rebuild everything. This is what you can’t complete over a race weekend,” Igor Salaquarda sadly reviewed the situation that had unexpectedly occurred. His team decided not to improvise unnecessarily and instead, to carefully get ready for the remaining races of the World Series by Renault 3.5. This is why they left Hungaroring for home ahead of schedule.

But in fact, the Friday free practice sessions entered by the two drivers turned out very well for the team. In the morning, Esteban Guerrieri of Argentina was second fastest, and his team-mate, Filip Salaquarda, finished sixth in the competition among twenty-four drivers. They were doing in a similar vein in the afternoon session. “We’re satisfied for the time being,” Filip Salaquarda said before the jury’s decision although he was not much content with the track. “I’m disillusioned with the track surface. It’s bumpy and gutted in some places. Moreover, it’s dirty off line.” Esteban Guerrieri had the same feelings. In addition, like anyone else in Argentina, he loves football, so he looked forward to the quarterfinal match between Germany and Argentina apart from the races.

Such an absence from racing is a very unpleasant complication for the ISR team. The team and Esteban Guerrieri fought for second place in the constructors’ championship and the drivers’ championship respectively. As far as Filip Salaquarda is concerned, he moved up to the top ten in the provisional classification after two consecutive podium finishes and had a real chance of further advancement.

Now the drivers have a two-month break before them. The next race will take place at Hockenheimring early in September.