French karting champion Emilien Denner will take his first steps in circuit racing in the Toyota Racing Series in 2020 with M2 Competition.
The 17-year-old from Strasbourg will head to the southern hemisphere series on the back of an impressive season in karting in KZ2 in which he won the FIA Karting KZ2 International Supercup and finished second in the FIA Karting European Championship.
He was also third
in the 2018 CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championship and is widely regarded as one of
the best karting talents in the world.
He will cut his first laps in circuit racing
with multiple TRS champions M2 Competition in the new-look series. For 2020, it
features a new Tatuus chassis, a 285bhp Toyota engine and Hankook tyres. A full
field of 20 cars is expected when the series begins in January.
« I am happy to be able to start my
apprenticeship in a championship as prestigious as the Toyota Racing
Series, » said Denner. « The F3 Tatuus chassis, equipped with
Hankook tyres, is the one with which I will race in Europe later on and these
five weeks of racing in New Zealand will allow me to understand it well and
develop my confidence and experience.
“I know that the transition from karting
directly to this level of championship and car racing is very important and
that I will go through difficult times at first, but I am prepared for that,
for the moment I only want to drive, learn and improve. I have the chance to be
part of M2 Competition, in which I have total confidence, and which is the leading
team in this series for several years.
« I will have excellent team-mates too, who
are very experienced drivers. I see this as a real advantage to be able to work
alongside them. I’m really looking forward arriving in New-Zealand. »
The 2020 championship will begin at Highlands Motorsport Park over the weekend of January 17-19. It stays in the South Island for the second round a week later, moving to Teretonga Park near Invercargill for round two.
The series then heads to the North Island for the remaining three weekends of racing. That will include the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy at Hampton Downs, the New Zealand Motor Cup at Pukekohe and the final round, the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting over the weekend of February 14-16 at Manfeild.
