Photo: Renault Sport/DPPI
Double Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champions Josef Kaufmann Racing has announced its five-man line-up for the 2013 season, with Oscar Tunjo and Steijn Schothorst?joining Gustav Malja in their trio for the premier championship.
All three will contest selected rounds in the Northern European Cup, which the team will also enter full-time for the first time with karting star Dennis Olsen joining Formula BMW Talent Cup graduate Louis Deletraz.
Colombian Tunjo, managed by Gravity Sports Management, will be contesting his third year in the Eurocup even though he only turned 17 last month. After finishing runner-up in Formula BMW Pacific in his rookie car season he joined Kaufmann for 2011, finishing tenth in the Eurocup before switching to to Tech 1 last year and improving to seventh, winning at the Barcleona finale and also twice in the Alps series where he was fourth.
18-year-old Schothorst replaces elder brother Pieter at the team for what will be his second season in Formula Renault 2.0. Last year, driving for Manor MP, he finished fifth in the NEC with two wins and scored 12 points in the Eurocup, ten more than his more experienced brother. He has been impressing in the Toyota Racing Series, currently running fourth as top rookie.
Malja,17, previously announced his signing with Kaufmann after two years in ADAC Formel Masters, finishing runner-up in 2012.
16-year-old Norwegian Olsen has been contesting his first single-seater campaign in TRS, currently holding 13th place in the standings and now a regular top ten finisher after a slow start. Last year he won the German Karting Championship having taken the junior title the year before. 15-year-old Deletraz, son of former F1 tailender Jean-Denis, had already revealed his step up to FR2.0 after pole positions and a win at the grand final of BMW’s championship in 2012.
Josef Kaufmann took Robin Frijns and Stoffel Vandoorne to the Eurocup title in the past two years after switching from Formula BMW.