Podium visits for RSF stars at Renault Silverstone Festival

Both Racing Steps Foundation drivers Oliver Turvey and James Calado stood on the podium twice each at the Renault ‘motor sport festival’ at Silverstone last weekend. James came second in each of his Formula Renault races while Oliver scored two thirds in the World Series by Renault races.

In front of a record 135,000-strong crowd, both RSF drivers qualified tactically and drove well to achieve these results, all the more impressive in Oliver’s case as he had not previously driven the Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone. These podium results place both drivers fourth in their respective Championships and Oliver is leading rookie by 22 points.

RSF Mid-Season Silverstone Gathering
The excellent Renault Festival results follow a mid-season gathering at Silverstone of all five RSF drivers, the first such meeting since the Foundation’s inception eighteen months ago. The young RSF drivers together with their race cars and karts, had a mid-season celebration of their achievements this year. Each of the beneficiaries has visited the podium at least once in 2009 and working with their respective teams, has consistently demonstrated the special talent which first attracted them to the RSF.

Also at the mid-season gathering, Tim Harvey the Director of the BRDC’s ‘Superstar’ programme, announced that the RSF’s ‘newboy’ 16 year old Jack Harvey, had been added to the Club’s prestigious ‘Rising Stars’ programme. Oliver Turvey and James Calado are already members of the Club’s ‘Superstars’ programme.

From Oliver Turvey’s great victory on his first ever visit to Monaco driving his Carlin-entered RSF World Series by Renault contender, to James Calado’s multiple wins with Fortec in Formula Renault, to Zipkart’s Jacob Stilp’s second place in the Rowrah round of the KF3 BRDC Stars Championship, all five have tasted the glory that spurs them on to greater things – see details below.

John Surtees OBE, RSF Ambassador: “What we are out to achieve with the RSF is exactly as the name suggests: a programme to help young financially-strapped talent to take steps toward the top. We have a very fair and well-judged procedure to select the beneficiaries and once they have been chosen, they are subject to the best training procedures both on and off the track. But, no one is guaranteed unquestioning support, they have to earn it by their results. Oliver Turvey for example, would not be where he is today were it not for the Foundation and he has delivered very good results.”