Press

Zhuhai, China ( 26th February) – Four-time Asia Formula Renault Championship-winning team BlackArts Racing is excited to announce the signing of Dutch race driver Joey Alders for the 2019 Asia Formula Renault Championship. Alders comes fresh off of an impressive test in the Formula Renault 2.0 last month with BAR, followed by his successful F3 debut with the team last weekend in Sepang.

Joey began racing karts competitively at the age of 10 and enjoyed various successes in the Netherlands and internationally until stepping up to formula cars in 2018 in the ADAC F4 Championship.  

  During Alders’ first test with BlackArts Racing in the Formula Renault just a few weeks ago, he adapted quickly to the car. The 19 year old rising Dutch talent followed the highly successful test with his first race in BAR just last weekend, when he joined the final round of the 2019 Asian F3 Winter Series.

  Alders said: “I am incredibly excited and very proud to be joining BlackArts Racing for the 2019 Asian Formula Renault season. I want to thank the team for the progress we’ve made together so far in the Formula Renault and also of course in last weekend’s F3 races – a big thanks for the opportunity to join this year’s Asia Formula Renault Championship and go for the Driver’s Title. I can’t wait!”

BlackArts Racing’s Team Principal Bill O’Brien said: “Joey impressed us immensely in his recent Formula Renault test days here in Zhuhai with an incredibly fast lap time. He then showed great potential in the F3 car last week, improving by more than a second in each  practice sessios. By the end of the weekend, he was among the top five in consistent pace. In Race 3, despite a failure at the start that saw him drop down to 16th, he recovered, passing 6 cars with consistent fast laps. With this kind of progress, we expect to see him challenging for the podium soon in F3 and of course to be in championship contention for the Asia Formula Renault driver’s title.”

  BAR’s Engineer Josh Evans said: “We are very happy with the progress Joey has made so far with the team. Every round will bring new challenges for Joey during the season, and I know I speak for the team when I say that we are really looking forward to working with him this year.”

Asia Formula Renault uses the proven Formula Renault 2.0 platform and has been a springboard for the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo and others. The AFR Series has been a cornerstone of formula racing in the Asia region since its establishment in 2001.

The six-round, 12 race championship will start at the immensely popular Pan Delta Race Festival at Zhuhai International Circuit in March, then visit the Ningbo International Speedway near Shanghai before returning to Zhuhai. From there, the series will head to the new Tianjin Circuit near Beijing before concluding overseas with two rounds at the famous Sepang International Circuit.  

For more information on Joey Alders please visit: www.joeyalders.nl.

For more information on BlackArts Racing please visit www.BlackArtsRacing.com.

  2019 Asia Formula Renault Championship Schedule:
Rnd 1 – March 23-24 - Zhuhai International Circuit, China
Rnd 2 – May 25-26-  Ningbo International Speedpark, China
Rnd 3 – June 15-16-  Zhuhai International Circuit, China
Rnd 4 – July 13-14-  Tianjin V1 Circuit, China
Rnd 5 – August 24-  25 Sepang International F1 Circuit, Malaysia
Rnd 6 – September-  28-29 Sepang International F1 Circuit, Malaysia