The Red Bull Running Showcar team and the RB6 took Russia by storm this past weekend - almost literally on Friday when winds blew so strong that grandstand seats were ripped from the floor, but settled in time for two days of Formula One action with Daniel Ricciardo on Saturday and Sunday.
Daniel did his thing, spinning donuts and burnouts for an 85,000 strong crowd along the Moscow Raceway on Saturday and again on Sunday but also took on the role of advisor and educator to talk Robin Frijns through the motions of driving a Formula one car. Robin was granted the opportunity for being the highest placed Formula Renault 3.5 driver not currently connected to an F1 team.
Robin shook the RB6 down on Friday and then followed Dan's advice to complete two 15-minute runs - one on Saturday and one on Sunday, becoming the first driver to take to the wheel of an F1 car at the Moscow Raceway in the process.
The experience proved positive for Dutchman Robin who took pole during Saturday's qualifying session and went on to become the first driver to win an international race at a Russian track on Sunday, leading the race from start to finish, beating Jules Bianchi (Tech 1 Racing) and Sam Bird (ISR) across the finish line to take the lead in the Renault 3.5 Series standings.
Robin said of Saturday's pole and his taste of the RB6: "It’s an important win for me, coming after my first Formula One drive, but I’ll need to do just as well tomorrow because Jules and Sam are right in there.”
Meanwhile, our Australian F1 instructor (@HANDLE) tweeted yesterday: "Back from Moscow thanks to all the fans out their this weekend hope you all had a great time."
Next stop on the World Series by Renault tour is Hungaroring on the 15 and 16 September 2012 when our reserve driver Sebastien Buemi will be showing Hungary the size of his appetite for RB6 show running.
Red Bull Racing Rolls Into Russia with Renault