Having been retained by Renault Driver Development programme, Ben Hanley has been able to confirm his return to the World Series for 2007, although he will switch teams from Cram Competition to Prema Powerteam in an effort to land the title.
Having taken his maiden win, albeit belatedly, at Misano, the Briton believes that he has a genuine shot at top spot this season, and will be going all out to justify Renault's faith in his ability.
Q
Ben, what lessons do you think you have learnt from your first year as a RDD driver?
Ben Henley:
The list could be really long! We just learn so much on all levels that being part of the programme is priceless. In a year, I have become a better driver physically and mentally. I will be even stronger this season.
Q:
What can you tell us about your first season in the World Series by Renault?
BH:
2006 was a very tough year for me and my team. The World Series is a very competitive championship. We started off great in testing, I was always in the top five and then the first few races were encouraging - we had the pace, but a bit of ill luck and lack of experience prevented us from a win. Then, just before Misano in Italy, my engineer, Kevin Picot, passed away in a car accident… From then on, even though the results in Misano were the best we had that season, the team and I found it rather difficult to get the right set-up and we struggled towards the end of the season.
Q:
What was the most difficult task to achieve in that competitive championship?
BH:
In all seriousness, to be declared the winner of a race! I won in Misano and then got disqualified for reasons that I found difficult to comprehend… Six months later, we won the appeal and I was reinstated the winner. Though I'm glad it all ended in my favour, it didn't feel as good as it would have at the time. Hopefully, this season, I'll able to get on the higher step of the podium many, many times in order to make up for that.
Q:
What will be your main goals for this new season?
BH:
To win the championship - what else? I have now the needed experience to claim the title.
![Ben Hanley - Cram Competition [pic credit: Renault Sport media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/214405.jpg)
