19.03.09 TURVEY TO COMPETE IN WORLD SERIES BY RENAULT Oliver Turvey will step up to the Formula Renault 3.5 series with Carlin Motorsport this year. The Racing Steps Foundation driver and 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC winner raced for Carlin in the 2008 British F3 International Series and in his first season was a regular visitor to the podium, finishing the season as vice champion. Despite the pressures of combining a season of F3 with his final year of study at Cambridge University, 21 year-old Turvey took four wins and 13 podiums in 2008, more than any other driver. Turvey was leading the championship in the final stages of the season, only to lose out to team mate Jaime Alguersuari at the final round. However 2008 was an extremely successful year, as alongside his remarkable performance in his first year of Formula 3, he successfully completed his Engineering degree at Cambridge University. Oliver was selected as part of the BRDC Superstars and was awarded both the Dunhill Future Champions award and the first ever Cambridge Full Blue for motorsport. At the Autosport Awards in December Oliver received the accolade of 'National Driver of the Year'. With previous seasons blighted by lack of funding, Turvey's obvious talent was rewarded with a place on the Racing Steps Foundation initiative in 2008, a new programme established to give under-funded young British drivers the opportunity to progress up the motorsport ladder. Racing once again with the backing of the Racing Steps Foundation in 2009, Turvey is confident about his chances for the forthcoming season, "I'm very excited to be racing in World Series this year and extremely grateful once again for the support of the Racing Steps Foundation." "The World Series car requires a different style of driving compared to the F3 car, but in the final stages of winter testing I really began to understand how to get the best from the car, and I can't wait to get back out on track again. "I'm very pleased to be staying with Carlin after such a successful season with the team last year and I expect us to be achieving the same level of results in World Series as we did last season in F3." Team boss Trevor Carlin said he was pleased to have been able to promote drivers from within his line-up, and is confident that his squad will be title contenders this season. "Oliver was a huge asset to the team in 2008," said Carlin. "He is a very talented and intelligent driver and we're delighted that the Racing Steps Foundation have entrusted us with taking Oliver to the next step in World Series by Renault. "Oliver's performance in testing so far has been extremely encouraging and I expect to see the same great performance from him in the World Series car as we saw in F3. << back to news