As the 2015 World Series Renault kicked-off this weekend at Alcaniz, AVF by Adrián Vallés made their full-time debut in the F.Renault 2.0 Eurocup. After some wild-card appearances last year, the Spanish squad fielded three cars with British regulars Matther Graham and Harrison Scott partnered for the occasion by Portuguese Henrique Chaves, who will have his main focus on the NEC series.
The weekend spent at Motorland Aragón also brought news in terms of the event format with the introduction of triple races, the same condition experienced by AVF in the 2014 Northern European series. 19-year-old Scott won the rookie competition in race 1, before capping his weekend with a points finish (8th place) in race 3. Graham also made it to the points zone by scoring two top-10 finishes in race 2 and 3. Chaves, who was at his second ever single-seater experience and will be back in the Eurocup 2.0 at Spa-Francorchamps, delivered a consistent improvement throughout the weekend.
Harrison Scott (#27) Race 1 P12. Race 2 P11. Race 3 P8
“The balance of my weekend shows some constantly-improving results. I’m satisfied with the work done with the team, and with what we collected in terms of points. I also snatched a win in the rookie class and that’s a great satisfaction considering how competitive this series is. Race 3 was tough, but despite a wrong tire choice in qualifying, the event turned out to be pretty hectic and we even managed to get a points finish. I think we have all what it takes to do well in Belgium too”.
Matthew Graham (#28) Race 1 P15. Race 2 P10. Race 3 P10
“We got some points, and I think this is a positive result. I hadn’t drive a racecar in a while because I didn’t run in winter testing, and I was forced to shorten the re-adaptation process in Friday’s practice. I have good chemistry with the team, and we also have a strong baseline. Overall it’s been a strange weekend, especially with the rain on Sunday, but I think we’ll be able to fight for the top-5 at Spa-Francorchamps”.
Henrique Chaves (#42) Race 1 P26. Race 2 P19. Race 3 P16
“It was my second race ever. Adrián Vallés and his team are doing their utmost to put me at ease, and we did well right from the start in the NEC championship at Monza. Here at Alcaniz we were in a top-notch context, but we performed at a good level. Unfortunately, in race 1 I was hit by another car and got a puncture, so I had to change it, taking one from another set. That made the car less balanced also on race 2. On Sunday I was really careful in trying to avoid mistakes or incidents”.
The next round for the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 will be on the 30th and 31st of May at Spa-Francorchamps.