M2 Competition, the most successful single-seater racing team in New Zealand of the past decade, are delighted to announce an exciting expansion into the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019.
Founded in 2010; M2 have been the Champion team in New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series Teams’ title for the past four seasons and have won four Drivers’ titles in the past six years with Nick Cassidy, Lando Norris and Robert Schwartzman.
Jonathan Moury, who has overseen all eight of M2’s TRS titles, will be Team Manager while fellow Co-owner Elise Moury, a Spa 24 Hours-winning engineer, will head the technical team.
The nucleus of the squad, which will be headquartered near Brussels, Belgium, will remain the same across the TRS and Formula Renault programmes, providing an internationally-renowned line-up of engineers and mechanics from Formula 2, F3, DTM and GT racing.
M2’s three-car entry into the series shows the team’s ambition to create a joined-up structure on both sides of the world to aid development and education of the world’s most talented junior drivers as they aim for the top levels of motorsport.
The Formula Renault Eurocup is one of Europe’s most competitive junior single-seater series, with race winners and champions including Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz Jr and Stoffel Vandoorne.
The 2019 season features a 10-round provisional calendar consisting exclusively of current Formula 1 circuits, starting at Monza, Italy, on April 12-14and including fellow iconic tracks like Spa-Francorchamps, Nurburgring and Monaco.
The Drivers’ Champion wins a coveted spot on the Renault Sport Academy while an all-new chassis; the Tatuus T-318, will be used by all teams.
Jonathan Moury, Co-owner and Team Manager, M2 Competition, said:“This is an incredibly exciting day for M2 Competition. We were formed eight years ago and have had fantastic success running in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand, but the time has come to add a programme in Europe and the Formula Renault Eurocup fits the bill perfectly. It’s a high-level championship with excellent support from Renault Sport, a global reach and events at 10 Formula 1 Circuits. This makes it perfect for ambitious drivers aiming to reach the top of the sport. Our aim is to take the most talented young drivers over to New Zealand for TRS at the start of each year and then keep them within the M2 family for the European season so that they can continue to learn and develop in a nurturing environment they’re already used to. We’ve already had a lot of interest from drivers so we’re confident of a strong line-up for our first campaign in Europe.”
Elise Moury, Co-owner and Chief Engineer, M2 Competition, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to add a programme in the Formula Renault Eurocup to our existing programme in the Toyota Racing Series. We’ve worked with some of the world’s best young drivers in the TRS, won the Teams’ Championship for the past four seasons, and have a first-class group of engineers and mechanics from the DTM, Formula 2 and Formula 3. Every one of them will be invaluable in helping to continue the development of drivers moving into Europe from TRS and to those stepping up to this level for the first time. We also start on an equal footing to the established Eurocup teams with the impressive new Tatuus T-318 being debuted. We’re extremely excited about the season ahead, which will be our busiest yet as a team.”
Formula Renault Eurocup calendar 2019*
Official Tests
March 5-7 Magny-Cours (F)
April 9-10 Monza (I)
Race events
April 12-14 Monza (I)
May 10-12 Silverstone (GB)
May 23-26 Monaco (MC)
May 31-June 2 Paul Ricard (F)
TBA RedBull Ring (A)
July 26-28 Spa-Francorchamps (B)
August 30-September 1 Nurburgring (D)
September 6-8 Hungaroring (H)
September 27-28 Barcelona (E)
October TBA
*All dates and venues provisional
Notes to editors
Image information
Main: Tatuus T-318. Please credit Renault Sport where used. Lower (Main): M2 Competition line up for the 2018 Toyota Racing Series (credit: Bruce Jenkins); (Lower L): Jonathan Moury (credit: Bruce Jenkins); (R): Elise Moury (credit: Martin Oberg).
About M2 Competition
Founded by Jonathan Moury and Mark Pilcher in 2010, and now co-owned with Spa 24 Hours-winning engineer Elise Moury, M2 Competition are the most successful single-seater team in New Zealand motor racing of the past decade. They have won the Toyota Racing Series eight times, including four Drivers’ titles with Nick Cassidy (2013), Lance Stroll (2015), Lando Norris (2016) and Robert Schwartzman (2018) and have an unrivalled reputation in the series. Further notable alumnus include Le Mans 24 Hours winner Earl Bamber, Formula E racer Alex Lynn, IndyCar ace Jordan King and GT star Raffaele Marciello. In 2019 M2 will enter the Formula Renault Eurocup Cup from their European base near Brussels; adding a European programme alongside their TRS campaign.
About the Formula Renault Eurocup
Established in 1991, the Formula Renault Eurocup is the pinnacle of the highly-successful Formula Renault category that has produced countless stars of motor racing during that time period. Consisting of 10 team each running a three-car line-up of new Tatuus T-318s in 2019, the series visits 10 Formula 1 circuits as a support category to a major international championship at each track with the Drivers’ Champion winning a spot on the Renault Sport Academy. Past title winners include Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas, Pedro de la Rosa, Gianmaria Bruni, Brendon Hartley, Stoffel Vandoorne, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris
