Following the successful 2018 Volant Winfield, and with winner and reigning French F4 champion Caio Collet earning a spot within the Renault Sport Academy, the 25th edition will once again be a reference for the detection of young talents (most from karting) at the prestigious Circuit Paul Ricard.
More than 70 registration requests were received, but just 18 candidates have been selected to participate in the 2019 Winfield Racing School’s detection programme on 23-25 February. A high level of competition is expected, with six different nationalities represented, and all will hope to benefit from the comprehensive training provided by the highly qualified experts to reach the finale.
Many of the entries arrive from karting and already have experience of international races. Others will make their motorsport debuts and plan to use this event to kick-start their careers.
Amongst these 18 candidates, Winfield Racing School is especially proud to welcome two karting world champions, three talented young girls and four junior drivers. A strong believer in the concept of Sim Racing as a legitimate route into motorsports, Winfield Racing School with esports consultant Jérôme Coupez, has also decided to give a chance to one participant from virtual racing, who has no on-track experience, but boasts a strong record in his field.
Comprised of several well established motorsports personnel, the Winfield jury members are to be announced soon, and will have the responsibility of selecting the Volant Winfield winner, who will earn a full season in the FFSA Academy’s 2019 FIA French F4 Championship.
With the French F4’s junior class continuing this year, Winfield is yet again offering the Trophée Winfield to drivers aged 14. The most deserving junior driver of the programme will receive two F4 test days, as well as an entry into French F4’s final race at Paul Ricard.
Stay tuned on the evening of 25 February to find out who will be crowned the 2019 Volant Winfield and Trophée Winfield winners.
The list of selected drivers is as follows (in alphabetical order):
- Victor Bernier* (France), 14 years old
- Mari Boya (Spain), 15 years old
- Callum Bradshaw (England), 17 years old
- Loris Cabirou* (France), 14 years old
- Hadrien David (France), 15 years old
- Tara Eichenberger (Switzerland), 16 years old
- Ugo Gazil (France), 16 years old
- Nicky Hays (USA), 17 years old
- Gillian Henrion (France), 15 years old
- Enzo Joulie* (France), 14 years old
- Hugo Le Henaff (France), 16 years old
- Emily Linscott (England), 16 years old
- Jules Mettetal (France), 15 years old
- Kobe Pauwels* (Belgium), 14 years old
- Doriane Pin (France), 15 years old
- Clayton Ravenscroft (England), 16 years old
- Evan Spenle (France), 15 years old
- Joe Turney (England), 17 years old
*2019 Trophée Winfield participants
Winfield Racing School is also delighted to confirm the renewal of its partnerships:
- Bell Helmets, whose helmets are available for all Winfield Racing School participants.
- Facom France, which allows Winfield technical teams to work in excellent conditions and with the best tools, in order to prepare the F4 Mygale-Renault in the greatest possible way.
- Pirelli, tyre supplier who also assist in the training of our young drivers by explaining the details of how to best use tyres on a single-seater car.
- Eaux de Zilia, which recently won the bronze medal for the best still waters in the world and that hydrates all the Winfield participants.
The 25th winner of the 2019 Volant Winfield will be announced on 25 February in the evening.
The 24 previous winners of the Volant Winfield at Circuit Paul Ricard are:
1972 – Patrick Tambay
1973 – Didier Pironi
1974 – Richard Dallest
1975 – Sergé Ménard
1976 – Alain Prost
1977 – Gérard Choukroun
1978 – Denis Morin
1979 – Pascal Fabre
1980 – Philippe Renault
1981 – Philippe Paoli
1982 – Olivier Grouillard
1983 – Paul Belmondo
1984 – Eric Bernard
1985 – Erik Comas
1986 – Ron Emmick
1987 – Ludovic Faure
1988 – Olivier Panis
1989 – Richard Combes
1990 – Stéphane Ortelli
1991 – Richard Hearn
1992 – Jason Engle
1993 – Steeve Hiesse
1994 – Sébastien Alberto
2018 – Caio Collet
In bold: Winfield drivers who reached Formula 1