AVF runner-up in 2017 World Series Team Championship

The 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5 season was completed today by AVF at Bahrain, and the Spanish squad was able to secure second place in the team rankings. The operation led by Adrián Vallés was the reigning driver champion with Tom Dillmann at the beginning of the season and kept the series open until the last round in both the driver and team competitions. AVF, which is also offering assistance to SMP Racing, didn’t face the best luck. Matevos Isaakyan got stuck on the grid, while a puncture sent Konstantin Tereschenko spinning in turn 3 of the opening lap, forcing him to retire. Starting from the front row, Henrique Chaves suffered a contact with Alfonso Celis Jr. that eventually led him to settle with P5.

Henrique Chaves

“Unlike yesterday I had a difficult start, then I was 5th when was hit by Celis. After that we’ve tried our best, pushing hard until the end. I was catching Nissany, but he was stronger than me and I couldn’t find any way past. The team did a great job this week-end, and today I’ve also faced a new challenge with pit-stops. The balance of the week-end is great”.

Matevos Isaakyan

“The championship was gone, so I tried to make the most of it at the start, I took a chance but it didn’t pay-off. After having to start from the pit-lane, I got hit by a piece of debris and my front wing was then damaged, compromising my pace. This has been a good year, we fought for the championship and everybody did an amazing job”.

Konstantin Tereschenko

“My race didn’t last longer than a few corners. I’ve was hit by somebody and got a puncture, so I spun and couldn’t restart: the tyre was too damaged. By the way I want to thank SMP Racing for this great opportunity, and AVF for the support”.

Adrian Valles, Team Principal

“This has been a really sad day, as the World Series era came to an end. I was there as driver and then as team Team Principal, and I sent a message to Jaime Alguersuari during formation lap. I couldn’t believe that this would have been an end. Hopefully RPM-MKTG will come back, even stronger, in the future. Today wasn’t the best day for our team, but at least the season was great. Thanks to SMP Racing for joining us: we fought for the title until the very end. I’m delighted for the performance showed by Matevos and Egor throughout the year, as well as this week-end with Henrique and Konstantin. Shortly we’ll also announce our plans for the future”.