Charles Milesi gets off on the right foot in the Antipodes

In order to extend the benefits of his excellent first year in single-seaters, Charles Milesi set the course to New Zealand for the offseason. The Castrol Toyota Racing Series takes place at the antipodes in the middle of summer and offers excellent preparation while the winter slows sporting activity in Europe. The young Frenchman can therefore refine his promising potential in the southern hemisphere, racing against strong drivers for a 2018 season of utmost importance in the Formula Renault 2.0 Euro Cup with the R-ace GP team.

With five events on five different circuits in five weeks, the programme of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series is very attractive. The FT-50 used in this competition is a modern and powerful car with interesting aerodynamics and Michelin tyres. It is a Tatuus F3 hull, powered by a 4 cylinder 1800 cc engine with 215 hp from Toyota. Among the participants are several young motorsport hopefuls like Marcus Armstrong, Robert Shwartzman, James Pull, Clement Novalak, Juan-Manuel Correa and Richard Verschoor, but at 16 years old, Charles is the youngest. Accompanied by Julien Abelli of Simumotion, he is sharpening his physical form and keeping his mind in ideal conditions.

Learning a new car and new tracks did not prevent Charles quickly taking his marks and achieving remarkable performances in the first event, on January 13th and 14th. Under changing weather conditions, he made good progress during the test sessions at the 3.3-kilometre Mike Pero Motorsport Park circuit in Ruapuna, including a wet track record. A bad choice of tyres slowed him in qualifying, but he gradually climbed to 5th place in the third and final race.

“I am having a very interesting experience,” said the young Frenchman. “The highly concentrated format of this New Zealand championship makes it possible to continue driving and racing at a steady pace. The atmosphere is very good and the car pleasant to drive. The excellent standard of the competition gives me good benchmarks to calibrate my progress. I currently rank 7th in the standings. The gaps are tight and I don’t intend to stop there. “

2018 Castrol Toyota Racing Series Calendar
# 1 Ruapuna 11th-14tth January: Race 1 – P9, Race 2 – P7, Race 3 – P5, Championship – P7 (127 pts)
# 2 Teretonga 18th-21st January 
# 3 Hampton Downs 25th-28th January 
# 4 Taupo 1st-4th February
# 5 Manfeild February 8th-11th

Charles Milesi Communication © Bruce Jenkins Photography