Draco Racing closes an era
Draco Racing announce their retirement from the Formula Renault 3.5 championship and from the world of Motorsport.
Photo by: Marc Fleury
After becoming one of the brightest stars in racing, capturing the last title with Belgian racer Bertrand Baguette in 2009, the Italian squad is interrupting their program. The round at Jerez also marked the final race for the series in the Renault-promoted race package, with Andrè Negrão prevented to grab his second straight podium finish by a contact with Roy Nissany which jeopardized the results of both of them in the closing stages.
After setting the 11th fastest lap of qualifying, Andrè had started a prompt recovery up to seventh place thanks to a quick start and a great pit-stop. Unfortunately, the front wing damage forced him to an unscheduled stop which brought him fown to 12th place. The modern era of Draco Racing featured as drivers Nico Mueller, Andrè Negrao, Pietro Fantin, Luca Ghiotto and Bruno Bonifacio.
Andrè Negrão (#20) Qualifying 2: P11 1’47”702 – Race 2: P12 +16”959
“I could not have done better. Qualifying this morning has been weird because the track was constantly improving. The start has been good and I was able to recover, but in the opening laps I made a mistake, going off the track and losing one spot to Jaafar. In the final stages, the contact with Nissany forced me to an unscheduled pit-stop to replace the front wing. Luckily, the safety-car enabled me to regain the tail of the pack”.
Guto Negrão, Team Principal
“The last four years have been incredible. Draco had a long history even before my arrival, and for me it has been an honour to be part of it. Unfortunately, the social and economic conditions changed dramatically over the last few years and the prerequisites for me to continue in this role are not there anymore. I will always remember the win we scored at Monte Carlo in front of the Formula One fans and insiders. It has been a privilege for me to be the first owner of a Brazilian team to accomplish the job”.
Simone Giglio, Team Manager
“I want to thank all the people who contributed to this project, and for everything that has been done. I thank the everybody who followed me with total commitment from the first to the last day. I am proud of the fact that the team of people who started this adventure is the same that followed it until its closure. There were ups and downs of course, as it always happens, but we were always united. I think we will always remember the win scored by Mueller in Monte Carlo, but there are plenty of great moments we will cherish forever”.
Draco Racing
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