Yelloly returns to Formula Renault 3.5 for Barcelona season finale

Nick Yelloly

Nick Yelloly will make a welcome return to Formula Renault 3.5 this weekend to contest the final season rounds at the Circuit de Catalunya with Pons Racing.

Preparing for only his third World Series by Renault (WSR) race weekend after joining the premier single-seater category at Silverstone, the Solihull star has set the bar with impressive pace and performance that underlines his ability as one of Britain’s brightest young racing talents.

The 20 year-old proved his potential from the moment he got behind the wheel of the Pons Racing Formula Renault 3.5 at Silverstone in August. Setting the second fastest time in only his first practice session was followed with a sixth place finish in his inaugural race, but unfortunately the result was disallowed when the car was deemed to be underweight owing to a suspected faulty re-fuelling machine.

Nick Yelloly at Paul Ricard

Undaunted, Yelloly went one better to finish fifth with an equally impressive performance at Paul Ricard last month, and secure his third podium finish in the rookie category. Now the former Formula Renault 2.0 race winner and 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Winter Cup vice-champion is fully focused on securing double top eight results to conclude his 2011 season in style after recently completing his first GP3 season with Atech CRS GP.

While continuing to evaluate his options for 2012, following the World Series by Renault season showdown the Williams de broe and Merito-backed driver will stay on in Spain and head straight into the official two-day series test running with ISR, the operation behind the Red Bull Junior Team.

Yelloly commented: “The Pons team had always indicated that if I could deliver the results at Silverstone and Paul Ricard they would want me to do the final round, and thankfully we had two good strong performances. And so, thanks to my father and my sponsors, we've been able to commit to Barcelona and I can't wait to get there.

“I have raced at the Circuit de Catalunya before, in GP3 this year and of course testing, but never in anything as powerful as a Formula Renault 3.5. It would be nice to finish the 2011 season on a high and if I can get two top eight finishes I'll be over the moon.

“Qualifying will be critical as overtaking in such high-powered cars is going to be pretty difficult. There are only two main overtaking areas as the track features a lot of mid-speed corners.

“This year's championship is particularly competitive so I'm very happy with the results so far – to beat a current Formula One driver is pretty cool. There are several F1 test drivers out there, many of whom have three or four years experience in WSR, so it's always a tough challenge but I'll aim to pull together another strong result."