2011 GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough will take advantage of the increasing motorsport co-operation between Nissan and Renault on 3 November when he tests a Formula Renault 3.5 racing car at the Motorland Circuit in Spain. 23 year-old Mardenborough will drive the single-seater at the invitation of Renault Sport Technologies.
An invitation from Renault Sport to test a Formula Renault 3.5 machine is usually reserved for the winners of various racing series but special invitations are sometimes made to drivers who have shown high levels of potential.
Widely considered as one of the final stepping-stones ahead of Formula 1, Formula Renault 3.5 is the ideal training ground for the F1 stars of the future.
Since winning GT Academy in 2011, Mardenborough has competed in a variety of racing series, from British GT to the Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula 3 and now the GP3 Series. He is a winner, pure and simple, discovered by GT Academy and developed by Nissan’s own driver development program.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to test the Formula Renault 3.5 and I’m grateful to Renault and Nissan for this opportunity,” said Mardenborough. “These cars have a lot more power and downforce than a GP3 car – more than a GP2 car too – so they are a lot of fun to drive. The tyres they have are good and the racing is flat out. In many ways it is very similar to F1, with things like DRS and carbon brakes. I will make sure I make the most of this test.”
“Jann’s potential has become very apparent to us over the last two seasons, since he has been racing in single-seaters,” said Jean-Pascal Dauce, Motorsport Director of Renault Sport. “With our close ties with Nissan it has been good for us to collaborate with NISMO’s Darren Cox to offer opportunities to talented drivers like Jann.”
“This is what having an alliance is all about,” said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO. “ We are already collaborating with Renault – there is a NISMO engine in the Renault Sport R.S. 01 and the winners of the new Renault Sport Trophy will be given opportunities to drive our cars in Super GT and LM P2. Future collaborations could include using GT Academy to help get more drivers onto the single seater ladder without having to rely on karting.”
Mardenborough will take the wheel of the Formula Renault 3.5 single-seater at the Motorland Test on 3 November.
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I don’t disagree with you Johnny. But this is just a test session at Renault. I am simply enjoying the opportunities afforded to him because I once had simular dreams… lol, waaay back in the 70’s when I was good at the dime store Formula One Circus arcade game.
Wherever Jann winds up as a professional driver, he’ll have a fan in me. The fact that he has made it this far makes him a winner in my book. He doesn’t have to win any championships to be heralded as such. The world’s grids are full of drivers who’ll never see a professional trophy, plate or plague. I don’t see winners and losers out there. I see champions and winners.
… JohnnyPenso.
stupid phone
I never knew who to cheer for when watching F1, but if hes there, its an obvious answer…
“I was sittin’ on my couch playin’ a little GT5…& next thing you know…I’m in F1”.
Ain’t fussin’, just spittin’ that real homie!
The more you guys fuss over GT6 patches, the worse the wait is going to be.
There are PLENTY of games to play that you don’t need to be losing hair over GT6. Grab a copy of Driveclub, play some other genre’s. If you have a great gaming PC, buy Assetto Corsa.
There may be no substitute for GT6, but that doesn’t mean you gotta fuss over it 24/7
“variety of racing series, from British GT to the Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula 3 and now the GP3 Series”
Formula 3 isn’t GP3?
Nope. Though they looks pretty similar and have similar regulations – though GP3’s chassis and engine are controlled Dallara/Renault rather than spec like F3 – they’re different series. There’s also national level F3 (Jann drove in British F3 in 2013) and regional level F3 (Jann also drove in European F3 in 2013), whereas GP3 is a full F1 support series, like GP2.
Good luck Jann!
I don’t have the talent or youth to win GT Academy, but I would love to drive the Formula Renault 3.5 in the game – hopefully PD could give us that car.
WSR would be a good step for Mardenborough. GP3 only really works if you are a member of the Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams or McLaren driver program, and GP2 hasn’t really produced many F1 drivers in recent years, let alone many decent ones. Formula Renault on the other hand has produced Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo and so many big names in recent years. You can also make a really good name for yourself there too as Roberto Merhi has done this year.
This looks amazing so far. Maybe in f1 2015, who knows…
It’s worth noting that Jann has already tested an FR3.5 last year. Obviously that earlier test was much less publicized but he was setting top 10 times which is highly commendable for someone who only had a seasons worth of F3 and TRS prior. I hope this opens up doors for the rest of us who would give so much to follow in the same path that Jann is treading on right now!
Is he actually the best GT Academy driver? I was still under the impression that Lucas Ordonez is the best of the bunch
Awesome Jann!
Normally pay drivers being pushed towards F1 by corporate sponsors would be met with groans and complaints, but because he’s a gamer, we should celebrate it? I don’t buy it. His record in single seaters is simply not good enough to merit these promotions and I don’t want to see him in F1 because of Nissan’s marketing program and at the expense of more talented drivers. Jann is a good driver, but he should be looking at sportscars because that’s where he has shown a knack of speed, not climbing the single seater ladder almost solely because of his backing.
Hope you took your flame suit out of storage buddy!!!!
Agreed JP.
He is a part of Nissan’s young driver program. The only ways that you can fund the climb up the motorsport ladder is to either be part of a young driver program or have massive backing. I’m not really sure what your point is, because he is backed by a racing team to go and climb this ladder. The fact that he is backed by somebody like Nissan shows that they have the belief that one day, he may end up being a World Champion in one way, shape or form. They wouldn’t back him for no reason whatsoever, and he is absolute proof that the GT Academy works. He is currently the top points scorer in his team and considering that this is his first season in GP3, he has been far from useless.
What about what he enjoys? Perhaps he realizes there is another side to all this, but he still is having the time of his life. No racing driver for a second should really think otherwise that there isn’t going to be some sort of business promotion going on at their expense. Doesn’t change the driving, the rules & regs do that.
CraigHyphen0, most young drivers backed by manufacturers (with the aim of F1) have strong results (ie race wins, contending for championships) before they are promoted up the ladder. If they don’t, they eventually get dropped. Best feature race results of 4th (in a race of tremendous attrition no less) and 6th and a placing of 9th in the championship in a mediocre field is not good enough. If Nissan was serious about letting Jann prove himself, he would stay in GP3 for a second season to show better results. That he’s being aggressively rushed up the ladder seems to indicate that Nissan wants to use Jann for marketing benefits, not that they particularly believe in him. If they believed he was that good, they would be patient and let him show it. That said, he’s a good driver and he could end up good enough for a factory LMP1 drive, even though it’s unlikely he’ll ever merit an F1 drive.
To the nay sayers; Ever heard of ‘striking while the iron is still hot’. Jann is as deserving as any other promising young professional. Sponsered or not. How many winners do haters hate because another wasn’t afforded the same opportunity? All winners have their own story on how they overcame obstacles on their journeys. Jann will have his too, F1 title or not.
If Nissan waits around for Jann to win the GP3 championship – as the old motorsport adage goes – they’re not staying in one place, they’re going backwards. They’ve already given him a test in the FR3.5 last year and with Renault/Nissan being under one roof it would make sense for them to drop him in the series next year. Results from the collective test last year: http://wsr.alkamelsystems.com/Results/17_Post%202013/01_BARCELONA-CATALUNYA/45_FORMULA%20RENAULT%20SERIES%203.5/201310231745_COLLECTIVE%20TEST/90_Classification_COLLECTIVE%20TEST_FORMULA%20RENAULT%20SERIES%203.5.PDF
I think if you look through motorsport history Phil you’ll find a trend. Most drivers that are successful at higher levels were champions at lower levels or nearly so almost all the time. You’ll also find that just about every driver that was pushed through sponsorship or personal money to the upper echelons of motorsport they had little success, especially in the modern world of motorsports. If you can’t win consistently at lower levels the odds are you won’t at higher levels either. Jann has proven he’s a very talented driver, but so far hasn’t really proven he shines brighter or even as bright as those at his current level. Moving up a series, if indeed he does do that, could actually be detrimental to his career.
I hope that isn’t true. Promoting a driver up the ladder for marketing purposes should never be allowed. I see what is happening with Lotus putting a horrible driver in their car just because he has money. Doing that is ruining their reputation and overall the performance of the team. Let’s hope that Jann is doing this on his own merit and that he is truly considered the best driver for the opportunities he is being given.
Be careful about calling Maldonado a “horrible driver”. For all his faults, his record and speed in lower formula is far better than anything Jann Mardenborough has done/shown so far. Ditto with Marcus Ericsson. But that’s simply the nature of the beast, F1 is still as much the “pinnacle of motorsport” as it has ever been. The likes of Giedo van der Garde, Charles Pic and Lucas di Grassi were competitive at all levels of single seaters below F1 and people still thought they weren’t deserving of F1 seats. Jann still has a long way to go and I’m not sure if he’s capable of it. And if it came down to it, I think I’d rather see Mardenborough being the next Brendon Hartley than being the next Max Chilton.
Excellent work Jann! Congratulations on all your success and good luck at the test!
Awesome progress.
Good luck Jann! Hope to see you on TV soon!
Bravo!
Go Jann!
Go go go Jann! You’re doing us gamers proud :P I can’t believe you’ve come so far, it’s great to see!
I can though. I had a feeling from the start and it was a surprise when Jann said he didn’t think he had it for F1 – I’m glad he’s found whatever it took to get him closer still.
Once more – good work man.