WS: Preview - Nurburgring.

Wednesday, 2nd May 2007

After the high-speed experience of Monza, World Series by Renault attention shifts to the altogether twistier confines of the Nürburgring this weekend, with Mikhail Aleshin and Salvador Duran out to prove that their Italian success was no fluke.

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While he may not have been the fastest in Italy, Vettel timed his run perfectly to take valuable points and put himself in a provisional third place overall. As the only German driver in the World Series, the man from Heppenheim would just love to take his first win of 2007 in front of his home crowd, but will want to avoid the sort of 'yo-yo' race that saw him have to recover a lot of lost ground at Monza.

Meanwhile, although Barba may have looked superior to Draco team-mate Milos Pavlovic in testing, the Serbian seems to have the edge when it comes to racing. He used his greater experience to earn himself a podium spot at Monza, but wouldn't turn his nose up at the chance of a win this weekend after no fewer than 36 races in the World Series without reaching the top step.

RC Motorsport, another team which looked sharp at Magny-Cours, may also be in with a chance of victory with Marco Bonanomi – who finished on the podium at Monza – and Clivio Piccione, who will be keen to bounce back from his Italian roll and show jut what he is capable of after two years in GP2. The Monegasque looked strong in testing and has a GP2 win at the 'Ring to bolster his confidence further.

The other team to watch has to be Interwetten.com, which took its first win at Monza with Duran. Even if he was handed a start from the front row thanks to the reverse grid system, the Mexican put in a performance well worthy of the reigning team title holders, which shone with Andy Soucek and Eric Salignon in 2006. Duran has already shown that he can be quick in A1GP and F3, and should not be discounted as a frontrunner in an increasingly open WS field.

There were plenty of drivers who came away from Monza disappointed - and with something to prove this time around.

Among them, Prema's Ben Hanley and Epsilon Euskadi's Davide Valsecchi can be considered potential winners if things go their way, while KTR duo Guillaume Moreau and Bertrand Baguette, the 2007 Victory pairing of Giedo van der Garde and Charlie Kimball, GP2 convert Fairuz Fauzy, FRenault Eurocup champion Filipe Albuquerque, Miguel Molina and Ricardo Risatti could all make the podium.