International championship

From now on, the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC is an international championship, authorized by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The change in the status of the championship is a result of the newly imposed rules by the worldwide federation. The change implies that all participants should be in the possession of the International Grade C licence. All other aspects and organization of the series remain the same.

Over seventeen different nationalities

The international status is not only recognized by FIA these days, but NEC has emerged to be one of the most international series in the world. Drivers from more than seventeen different countries have found their way to the Northern European Cup. Although the name suggests participants from the northern half of Europe, the series welcomes drivers from the USA, Venezuela, Mexico, Indonesia and Thailand as well.

New teams

In addition to the new nationalities, the grid also sees a number of new teams this year. Italian JD Racing is back to join the field with two cars. The NEC also has Spanish AV Formula on the entry list and British JTR Racing. Of course last year’s championship winners Fortec Motorsport (NEC) and Josef Kaufmann Racing (EUROCUP) are both well represented as well. On top, NEC is proud to have received from registrations from long-term partners such as SL Formula and Inter Europol Competition.

Calendar

Collective testing starts on the 21^st and 22^nd of March at Assen and continues a week later on the 26^th and 27^th of March at Hockenheim. The series kicks off on the 7^th of April at the Formula One track in the south of Germany, the Hockenheimring. Just two weeks later, the series visits the other German F1 site at the Grand Prix track of the Nurburgring. After that it is time for the English premiere of the series at Silverstone (2^nd of June). Returning to Spa Francorchamps, the series is this year part of one of the largest events at the world famous track: the 24 hours of Spa. The Gamma Racing Day at Assen forms another annual highlight of the calendar in August. On the first of September the 210 bhp formula cars join the Truck Prix at Most in the Czech Republic. The finale will be held in the second weekend of October at Zandvoort racetrack, the Netherlands.