AVF completes F.Renault 2.0 line-up with Geerts, Graham and Zaruba

With the North European Cup opener in Monza underway, AVF is glad to announce that the team have completed the line-up for their 2014 F.Renault 2.0 campaign. The Spanish outfit, owned and managed by Adrián Vallés, has opted for a four-car programme in the F.Renault NEC enriched with one-off appearances in selected rounds of the Eurocup throughout the season. The squad’s ambitious plan will be supported by the talent provided by the four young guns who will seat behind the wheels of the orange-painted AVF cars: Roy Geerts, Matthew Graham, Josef Zaruba and Nicholas Surguladze.

A 21 year-old from Holland, Geerts is coming from an amazing 2013 season that saw him being crowned NEC F.Renault 1.6 champion after clinching 3 wins and six podium finishes: considering that, graduating to F.Renault 2.0 comes as a natural step for him.

The same goes for Graham: Matt was one of the stars in last year’s British F.4 championship, taking the Winter Series title and finishing 4th in the championship after bagging two wins and finishing on the podium a further four times. At 17 years old and with such an impressive record, he will be one to watch in 2014.

A 19 year-old from Czech Republic, Josef Zaruba has a CV that includes wins in both Sportscars and GT Racing, as well as some promising outings in the F.Renault 2.0 NEC in 2013. Committing to a full season in the championship with AVF, the Czech talent aims to make a further step in his path towards the top of the motorsport ladder.

At 17 years old, Nicholas Surguladze comes from a successful karting career. The Georgian talent has performed well in the F.Renault 2.0 pre-season testing with different outfits, but in the end he has chosen AVF for his first ever single-seater campaign.

Adrián Vallés (Team Manager): I’m really happy of the line-up we managed to put together. We have plenty of talent and different levels of experience too, the ideal situation for any team. We worked hard during the winter to get to the beginning of the championship in top shape,  and I believe that the results we got in the pre-season testing days showed that all that effort paid off. Now we have to keep doing our best to translate that potential into a successful season”.

Roy Geerts: “I’m arriving in a championship where everything is new for me, so it’s hard to set goals. I could say that I want some podium finishes before the end of the championship, but I really feel that the real objective must be making the most of the season in all possible ways, getting the experience I’ll need to be successful in my future racing path. The car is very different from the 1.6 I was used to, it has more horsepower and more aero load, and all in all it’s very fun to drive”.  

Matthew Graham: “I’m really excited to be in the NEC with AVF. When I decided that I had to commit to a learning year to get ready for a Eurocup campaign next season, I immediately realized that this was my best option. NEC is a more competitive championship than the British F4 I’m coming from, so I’d be really happy with a top 5 finish in the standings”.

Josef Zaruba: “With my racing experience limited to Radicals and some GT outings, I’m very aware that learning must be my primary objective this season. That considered, I’d say that the top ten should be in my reach, and that throughout the year I should be able to progress and get on the podium at least once. If I’ll achieve that, I’ll be very satisfied with my first single-seater year”.

Christian Surguladze: “Coming straight from karting I expect plenty of challenges in the season that is starting today. The way the car needs to be driven it’s pretty different to what I was used to, so I have a lot of catching-up to do, but that’s exactly why I’m here. Getting mileage and learning must be my only aims for 2014”