Fortec Motorsport
Encyclopedia
Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series
, the British Formula Three Championship
, and several junior formulae categories at a British and pan-European level. The team was established in 1996 by current owner Richard Dutton.
Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya
, Gianmaria Bruni
, Danny Watts
, Jamie Green
, James Rossiter
, Mike Conway
, Fabio Carbone
and Heikki Kovalainen
.
Fortec has enjoyed great success since its inception. In 2002 Danny Watts
won the British Formula Renault Championship
for the team, with team-mate Jamie Green
following close behind in second. In the same year, Fabio Carbone
won the prestigious Marlboro Masters
Formula Three
race, held at Zandvoort
in the Netherlands
. The team's next championship win came with another British Formula Renault title in 2004, with Mike Conway
finishing over 90 points clear of his nearest rival, Comtec Racing
's Westley Barber. Fortec added further team championships in the Formula BMW UK championship, taking three successive titles between 2005 and 2007
, also taking drivers' championship titles with Niall Breen
and Marcus Ericsson
.
After a barren year for the team in Formula Renault in 2005, 2006 saw the team regain both championship titles, with Sebastian Hohenthal
just clinching the drivers' title on countback, after he and Team A.K.A. driver Patrick Hogan ended the season on the same number of points. Duncan Tappy
and Dean Smith
finished in the top two placings in 2007. Another teams' title followed in 2008
. More recently, the team has seen great improvements in its Formula Renault 3.5 Series results, finishing fifth in the Teams' Championship in 2009, fourth in 2010 and finishing as runners-up in 2011 season with driver Alexander Rossi
finishing third overall and best rookie.
Fortec were also crowned Team Champions in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship with Alex Lynn clinching the drivers' title with a record-breaking twelve wins in one season. Oliver Rowland secured second in the Championship, as well as winning the Graduate Cup. William Buller
was Fortec's top finisher in the British Formula Three Championship
, as he finished fourth in the Championship. In club-level racing, the new-for-2011 InterSteps Championship saw Jake Dennis win the Championship from teammate Alex Walker with Ed Jones finishing in fourth place, while in Formula Renault BARC, Josh Webster narrowly missed out on the drivers', after a close battle with eventual champion Dino Zamparelli.
and Alexander Rossi
, both drivers joining the team ahead of the 2011 season. In British Formula Three, Fortec runs a four-car team with drivers Harry Tincknell
, William Buller
, Lucas Foresti
and Fahmi Ilyas. Alex Lynn, Mitchell Gilbert, Pedro Calbimonte and Oliver Rowland are this year's Formula Renault 2.0 UK
drivers for Fortec while Will Stevens
and Felix Serralles race in the pan-European Formula Renault series
.
World Series by Renault
The World Series by Renault, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, is a motor racing series. The series consists of the flagship Formula Renault 3.5 Series , the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Eurocup Mégane Trophy...
, the British Formula Three Championship
British Formula Three Championship
The British Formula Three Championship is an international motor racing series that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is...
, and several junior formulae categories at a British and pan-European level. The team was established in 1996 by current owner Richard Dutton.
Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint...
, Gianmaria Bruni
Gianmaria Bruni
Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni is an Italian racing driver who in 2004 drove in Formula One with the Minardi team, and is now racing in the Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup....
, Danny Watts
Danny Watts
Danny Watts is a British racing driver.Danny Watts started racing in 1993, when he began karting. After five seasons of karting, he stepped up to single seater racing in 1998 in the UK Formula First championship, in which he dominated with 12 wins...
, Jamie Green
Jamie Green
Jamie Green is a British professional racing driver. He is currently employed by Persson Motorsport in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters touring car championship.-Early career:...
, James Rossiter
James Rossiter
| style="float:right; background:transparent;"|James Rossiter is a racing driver from England. He has participated in Karting, Formula Renault, British Formula 3 and European Formula 3...
, Mike Conway
Mike Conway
Mike Conway, born 19 August 1983, is a British racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.- Biography :Conway who was born in Bromley, Kent, England attended Sevenoaks Prep School from 1986 to 1996....
, Fabio Carbone
Fabio Carbone
Fabio Carbone is a Brazilian race car driver.-Racing career:Carbone began his career in karting at the age of nine and won the Brazilian national championship at 15 years of age, in 1995....
and Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....
.
History
Danny Watts
Danny Watts is a British racing driver.Danny Watts started racing in 1993, when he began karting. After five seasons of karting, he stepped up to single seater racing in 1998 in the UK Formula First championship, in which he dominated with 12 wins...
won the British Formula Renault Championship
British Formula Renault Championship
The United Kingdom has two Formula Renault championships: Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault UK championship and the British Automobile Racing Club's BARC Formula Renault championship. Generally, the UK series is recognized as the British Formula Renault.-History:The "British Formula Renault...
for the team, with team-mate Jamie Green
Jamie Green
Jamie Green is a British professional racing driver. He is currently employed by Persson Motorsport in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters touring car championship.-Early career:...
following close behind in second. In the same year, Fabio Carbone
Fabio Carbone
Fabio Carbone is a Brazilian race car driver.-Racing career:Carbone began his career in karting at the age of nine and won the Brazilian national championship at 15 years of age, in 1995....
won the prestigious Marlboro Masters
2002 Masters of Formula 3
The 2002 Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 was the twelfth Masters of Formula 3 race held at Circuit Park Zandvoort on August 11, 2002. It was won by Fabio Carbone, for Fortec Motorsport.-Drivers and teams:-Group A:-Group B:-Race:...
Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
race, held at Zandvoort
Circuit Park Zandvoort
Circuit Park Zandvoort is a motorsport race track located in Burgemeester van Alphenstraat 108, 2041 KP in the dunes north of the town of Zandvoort, in the Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line.- History :...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The team's next championship win came with another British Formula Renault title in 2004, with Mike Conway
Mike Conway
Mike Conway, born 19 August 1983, is a British racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.- Biography :Conway who was born in Bromley, Kent, England attended Sevenoaks Prep School from 1986 to 1996....
finishing over 90 points clear of his nearest rival, Comtec Racing
Comtec Racing
Comtec Racing is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It competes in two championships — Formula Renault and World Series by Renault.-History:The team started out in Formula Ford before moving to Formula Renault UK...
's Westley Barber. Fortec added further team championships in the Formula BMW UK championship, taking three successive titles between 2005 and 2007
2007 Formula BMW UK season
The 2007 Formula BMW UK season was the fourth and final Formula BMW season based in United Kingdom whose mission was to develop talented young drivers and introduce them to auto racing using full-size cars. The series was part of the support race package for the BTCC.-Teams and...
, also taking drivers' championship titles with Niall Breen
Niall Breen
Niall Breen is an Irish racing driver. He has competed in such series as Formula Three Euroseries and the British Formula Three Championship. He was champion of the 2006 Formula BMW UK season for Fortec Motorsport, taking nine wins in all and finishing 95 points ahead of runner-up Oliver...
and Marcus Ericsson
Marcus Ericsson
Marcus Ericsson is a Swedish race car driver. After a successful début in car racing in 2007 which saw him take the British Formula BMW title with Fortec Motorsport, he moved up into the British team's British Formula Three squad...
.
After a barren year for the team in Formula Renault in 2005, 2006 saw the team regain both championship titles, with Sebastian Hohenthal
Sebastian Hohenthal
Sebastian Hohenthal is a former racing driver from Sweden.-Karting:Hohenthal competed in kart racing from 1995 to 2000...
just clinching the drivers' title on countback, after he and Team A.K.A. driver Patrick Hogan ended the season on the same number of points. Duncan Tappy
Duncan Tappy
Duncan Tappy is a professional racing driver from the United Kingdom.-Career:Tappy began his racing career in 2003 in the Zip Formula Great Britain series....
and Dean Smith
Dean Smith (racing driver)
Dean Smith is a British racing driver, who was the 2009 champion of the British Formula Renault Championship and winner of that year's McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.-Formula BMW:...
finished in the top two placings in 2007. Another teams' title followed in 2008
2008 Formula Renault UK season
The 2008 Formula Renault UK season was the 20th British Formula Renault Championship season. The season began at Brands Hatch on March 29 and finished at the same venue on September 21, after twenty rounds...
. More recently, the team has seen great improvements in its Formula Renault 3.5 Series results, finishing fifth in the Teams' Championship in 2009, fourth in 2010 and finishing as runners-up in 2011 season with driver Alexander Rossi
Alexander Rossi (racing driver)
Alexander Rossi is an American racing driver who competes in single seater formulae. He is currently competing in in the 2011 World Series by Renault with Fortec Motorsport.-Skip Barber:...
finishing third overall and best rookie.
Fortec were also crowned Team Champions in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship with Alex Lynn clinching the drivers' title with a record-breaking twelve wins in one season. Oliver Rowland secured second in the Championship, as well as winning the Graduate Cup. William Buller
William Buller (racing driver)
William Buller is a British racing driver.-T Cars:After successful spells in both karting and mini stocks, Buller made his circuit racing debut in the 2007 T Cars championship; the series designed for aspiring racing drivers between fourteen and seventeen years of age...
was Fortec's top finisher in the British Formula Three Championship
British Formula Three Championship
The British Formula Three Championship is an international motor racing series that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is...
, as he finished fourth in the Championship. In club-level racing, the new-for-2011 InterSteps Championship saw Jake Dennis win the Championship from teammate Alex Walker with Ed Jones finishing in fourth place, while in Formula Renault BARC, Josh Webster narrowly missed out on the drivers', after a close battle with eventual champion Dino Zamparelli.
Current team drivers
In Formula Renault 3.5, César RamosCésar Ramos
César Altair Zanetti Ramos is a Brazilian racing driver.-Formula Renault 2.0:Ramos began his car racing career by driving in the Italian Formula Renault Championship with the BVM Minardi team in 2007...
and Alexander Rossi
Alexander Rossi (racing driver)
Alexander Rossi is an American racing driver who competes in single seater formulae. He is currently competing in in the 2011 World Series by Renault with Fortec Motorsport.-Skip Barber:...
, both drivers joining the team ahead of the 2011 season. In British Formula Three, Fortec runs a four-car team with drivers Harry Tincknell
Harry Tincknell
Harry Tincknell is a British auto racing driver.-Karting:Tincknell made his karting début in 2001, finishing in the top five of both the Dunkeswell Club Championship and the South West British Championship series...
, William Buller
William Buller (racing driver)
William Buller is a British racing driver.-T Cars:After successful spells in both karting and mini stocks, Buller made his circuit racing debut in the 2007 T Cars championship; the series designed for aspiring racing drivers between fourteen and seventeen years of age...
, Lucas Foresti
Lucas Foresti
-Karting:After a previous career in junior motocross, Foresti made his karting début at Brasília's Kartodromo Waltinho Ferrari in June 2006, where he finished in fourth position in the Novice category. He moved into karting full-time in 2007, and immediately won four different state championships...
and Fahmi Ilyas. Alex Lynn, Mitchell Gilbert, Pedro Calbimonte and Oliver Rowland are this year's Formula Renault 2.0 UK
British Formula Renault Championship
The United Kingdom has two Formula Renault championships: Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault UK championship and the British Automobile Racing Club's BARC Formula Renault championship. Generally, the UK series is recognized as the British Formula Renault.-History:The "British Formula Renault...
drivers for Fortec while Will Stevens
Will Stevens
William Stevens, known as Will Stevens, is a British racing driver. He is a part of the Mercedes GP Young Driver Programme. He has competed in such series as Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Toyota Racing Series and the British Formula Renault Championship.-External links:* *...
and Felix Serralles race in the pan-European Formula Renault series
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 is a Formula Renault 2.0 championship with a presence of many Formula Renault championships drivers. It serves as a support series to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault....
.