Professional race car driver, and Niverville native, David Richert has signed with Cram Motorsport to race in the Eurocup Formula Renault Championship. Cram Motorsport has a long history of creating high-pedigree drivers, including F1 stars Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado, and Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan.
“We are happy to have David driving for Cram Motorsport,” says Gabriele Rosei, owner and co-founder of Cram Motorsport. “We want to give David the opportunity to succeed and it’s clear he is doing everything possible to maximize the resources he has available.”
Helping to make this season happen, one of Richert’s new corporate partners for 2016 is Diabolica Wines, located in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Other new sponsors include Karma Property Development, Loewen, and R.R. Dobel Insurance.
Returning this year is long-time supporter Silver Jeans Co.
The first three races of the season were held April 15 in front of 51,000 spectators in initially dry, sizzling conditions at the Motorland Aragon race circuit in Spain, home to the Moto GP, FIM Superbike World Championship, and the Championship of Speed of Spain.
Richert’s weekend got off to a rough start after a 160 kilometre per hour high-speed spin during the qualifying round caused damage to his tires. After battling through the resulting vibration, Richert managed a twentieth-place finish.
The second race proved to be a daring one as rain began to fall on the circuit, catching many teams and drivers off-guard. Richert moved up the grid to eighteenth place after the second race.
The final race of the weekend saw Richert finish twenty-second after an exhilarating battle with American driver David Porcelli. The two drivers exchanged swift laps, with Porcelli eventually edging across the finish line just eight-tenths of a second ahead of Richert.
Richert is confident that with the support of his sponsors, and friends and fans back home, he can continue to improve.
“Obviously the spin in qualifying was not ideal,” says Richert, “but I’m very happy with the steady progress we made throughout the event.”
He now sets his sights on the next race, to be hosted May 26–29 in Monte Carlo, one of the grandest and most extravagant events in the world: the Monaco Grand Prix.
“I have had the opportunity to visit Monaco on several occasions, but I have always refused to go,” says Richert. “I wanted my first trip there to be for the purpose of driving a race car. I’m excited that this year I will finally have the chance to live that dream.”
Check back with The Citizen next month for an update on Richert as he represents Canada across the globe.
