Raikkonen Robertson Racing
Raikkonen Robertson Racing , also known as Double R Racing , is a British motorsport team that was founded in November 2004 by racing drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Steve Robertson . The team has competed in the British Formula 3 championship since 2005 . In 2007 the team was active in the British and in 2008 and 2009 in the European Formula BMW . The team is based in Woking .
history
Raikkonen Robertson Racing was founded in November 2004 by Kimi Raikkonen, who was then active for Team McLaren in Formula 1 , and Steve Robertson, a former racing driver who managed Raikkonen together with his father. The team is based in Woking , which is also where the McLaren factory is located. Anthony Hieatt became team manager.
In November 2010 it was announced that Hieatt had taken over the team from Räikkönen and Robertson and will start again under the name Double R Racing from 2010.
British Formula 3 Championship (since 2005)
In 2005, Double R Racing took part in the British Formula 3 Championship for the first time. They competed with a chassis from Dallara and engines from Mugen-Honda . Dan Clarke , the British Formula Ford runner-up , and Bruno Senna , the nephew of the late Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna , who had taken part in a few British Formula BMW races in the previous season, were hired as drivers .
Clarke won the first race for the new team at the Castle Combe Circuit and finished the season in fifth place overall. Senna achieved two second places as the best results and was tenth in the drivers' championship. At the Formula 3 Masters in Zandvoort and the Macau Grand Prix you only competed with Senna, who did not finish in both races.
In 2006, Clarke left the team for North America in the Champ Car . Räikkönen got Robertson Racing Mercedes-Benz as a new engine partner . Senna remained loyal to the team and received two new team-mates: Mike Conway , who had finished third in British Formula 3 with Fortec Motorsport the previous year , and Stephen Jelley , who had finished twelfth in British Formula 3 for Menu F3 Motorsport in 2005 . In addition, Danny Watts , a former Räikkönen team-mate, was a guest starter at the season finale . Conway achieved ten victories and won the British Formula 3 championship. Senna won five races and was third in the overall standings behind runner-up Oliver Jarvis . Jelley was the only driver without a win and ended the season in seventh place overall. Watts was the first pilot to cross the finish line on his guest start, but received no points. The Formula 3 Masters started with Conway, Jelley and Senna, who was the best driver of the team with a seventh place. At the Macau Grand Prix, Raikkonen Robertson Racing only competed with Conway and Jelley. Conway won the race ahead of Richard Antinucci, ensuring the team another success in its second season.
In 2007 the team fielded a total of eight drivers in British Formula 3. Jelley kept his cockpit. Jonathan Kennard , who had finished twelfth in British Formula 3 for Alan Docking Racing last year , and Atte Mustonen , who was previously active in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup , were signed up as further drivers for the championship . In addition, Johnny Cecotto jr. a guest starter in a race. In the national class one put Albert Costa , Alistair Jackson , Mihai Marinescu and Ernesto Otero , whereby no pilot completed the entire season.
In the championship, Jelley won two races and Kennard and Mustonen each won one. At the end of the season, Jelley finished third overall as the team’s best driver. Kennard finished sixth, Mustonen seventh. Cecotto was unable to start both races when he was a guest. In the national class, a second place in this classification by Otero was the best result. In the Formula 3 Masters, which was held in Zolder this season , Jackson, Jelley, Kennard and Mustonen competed. All pilots reached the finish and Mustonen achieved the best result with eleventh place. Four cars were also represented at the Macau Grand Prix. The regular Raikkonen Robertson pilots Jelley and Kennard were reinforced by Senna and Sébastien Buemi . Jelley was the best pilot of his team with a ninth place.
In 2008, the team consistently fielded three cars and on three race weekends another car in the British Formula 3 championship. Mustonen stayed with the team, the two other permanent cockpits went to Henry Arundel , who came from the British Formula BMW, and John Martin , who previously worked for Alan Docking Racing in British Formula 3. The fourth car was shared by Alistair Jackson and Clemente de Faria Jr. With Mustonen, who finished the season in sixth place, only one driver of the team was able to win a race and achieve podium finishes this season. Martin was 13th, Arundel 15th. In the Formula 3 Masters, Raikkonen Robertson Racing relied on the three regular drivers and Mustonen was the best driver with a sixth place. In Macau, alongside Mustonen, who was the best pilot of the team with an 18th place, Michael Ho and Roberto Streit were fielded .
In 2009 , Raikkonen Robertson Racing only used two permanent racing cars. The regular drivers were Carlos Huertas , who represented the team in Formula BMW for the last two seasons, and Daisuke Nakajima , the son of the former Formula 1 driver Satoru Nakajima and smaller brother of Kazuki Nakajima , who this year for Williams in Formula 1 drove. The third car was driven by Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Chen (three times each) and Storey (once) on seven race weekends . While the regular drivers finished seventh (Nakajima) and eighth (Huertas) each with second place as the best result, Ericsson won two races and ended the season in eleventh place overall. In the Formula 3 Masters, they relied on Huertas and Nakajima. Huertas was the team's best pilot with 18th place. At the Macau Grand Prix, the team cooperated with the City of Dreams and Champ Motorsport racing teams . Renger van der Zande achieved the best result with a seventh place. The other two pilots were Alexander Sims and Chen.
In 2010 , Huertas and Nakajima stayed with Raikkonen Robertson Racing. The third cockpit for the entire season went to Felipe Nasr , who won the European Formula BMW last year. Nasr won a race and finished the season as the team's best pilot in fifth place in the championship. The other two pilots remained without a win and finished tenth (Huertas) and eleven (Nakajima). After failing to compete in the Formula 3 Masters , they will be represented in Macau with four cars. Sims and Ho, who had already started for Raikkonen Robertson Racing in Macau, as well as Nasr and Rio Haryanto will start.
Formula BMW
British Formula BMW (2007)
In 2007 Räikkönen Robertson Racing expanded its involvement and also competed in the British Formula BMW . Three cars were used. As pilots we undertook Josef Král , who came from the German Formula BMW, and Carlos Huertas , who was active for the first time in Formula racing. The third car was only used in a few races by Dominic Storey or Doru Sechelariu . While Huertas finished 13th without a podium finish, Král won six races and was runner-up behind Marcus Ericsson . At the world finals of Formula BMW, Huertas, who was the best driver with fifth place, and Sam Abay were fielded .
European Formula BMW (2008-2009)
After the merger of the German and British Formula BMWs to form the European Formula BMW, Raikkonen Robertson Racing competed in this series. In 2008 Huertas stayed in the team. Michael Christensen made his formula racing debut for the team and Rupert Svendsen-Cook came from Team Loctite . No pilot has been able to win a race this season. Christensen achieved the best result for the team with second place and sixth overall. He also became the best newcomer. Huertas also took second place and finished ninth. Svendsen-Cook finished the season in 13th place. The team did not compete in the world finals.
In 2009, Svendsen-Cook only used one pilot continuously. Grégoire Demoustier , who was active in formula racing for the first time, was only not used in the season finale. Gary Thompson and Ollie Millroy each took part in two race weekends. While Svendsen-Cook finished sixth with two third places as the best results, Demoustier finished 22nd overall. At the end of the season, the team's involvement in this championship ended.
Individual evidence
- ^ "Raikkonen has sold the Formula 3 team" (Motorsport-Total.com on November 25, 2010).