Raoul Owens (born 22 August 1994) is a British racing driver based in London. He will compete in the VLN Endurance Championship based at the Nürburgring with Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW.
Career
Early years It was in the UK at the age of eight that, Owens began competing in karting. Shortly after, in 2005, with the family move to South Africa, he continued his early development by joining the Western Province Motoring Club. By the following year, Owens had his first substantial milestone, winning the Mini Max Regional Championship.
In 2009, Owens moved up to the South African Northern Region where he was able to race alongside sterner competition at circuits that included Zwartkops Raceway and Vereeniging. The reward was to end the season as Vice Champion in the Junior Max Vice Championship, as well in the Rotax SARMC National Series – all in his inaugural year. As a result, he was eligible to compete in the season's highlight event, the Rotax Grand Finals held in Egypt. Simultaneously the same year, Owens was to be seen competing in Europe, this time in the Rotax European Max Series. This proved a huge success, with Raoul being ranked 8th in a field of 50 other drivers. 2010 was also busy, with Owens competing solely on the international stage in the Euro Max Challenge Series at leading circuits in Europe, as well as in the UK in the 'Super1' National Series.
Formula Renault BARC 2011 saw the biggest step up in class for Owens, as he advanced to Europe's highest rated open-wheel category at this level, Formula Renault BARC. Consequently, Owens was to compete for two years at some of the most iconic UK tracks including Donington Park, Thruxton, Snetterton, Croft, Brands Hatch and Silverstone – showcasing to crowds of up to 40,000. In the 2012 season, he also competed in one-off competitions at Spa-Francorchamps, Magny-Cours and Le Mans. This year ended with an overall top-ten finish.
Formula Renault Northern European Cup NEC
In 2013, Owens embarked on a programme in mainland Europe with Mark Burdett Motorsport within the ranks of Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, racing in the hotly contested Northern European Cup (NEC) and increasing his exposure to the prestigious World Series by Renault (WSR) Formula Renault 2.0 category in 2014. To consolidate his skills in 2014, in addition to competing again in the Northern European Cup, Owens competed in selected WSR events under wild cards. During this period, he worked with chief race engineer, Andy Miller – veteran of Formula One team Stewart GP.
Mazda Road To Indy
In 2015, Owens relocated to Boston, USA to compete in the Mazda Road To Indy series in the Pro Mazda Championship. The Mazda Road To Indy series forms part of the support to the INDYCAR race calendar. He initially joined JDC Motorsports for six races. Following this, Owens joined the Florida-based Pro Mazda Championship Team Pelfrey. The Pro Mazda category is part of the Road To Indy, which is the feeder series for IndyCar competition. His first race was in the 2015 Pro Mazda Winterfest series in advance of his debut in the Pro Mazda Championship.
Owens' first foray in to the US was noteworthy for the number of in race accolades he won throughout the year, including the Quartermaster Hard Charger Award for most overtakes in a race at the Barber Motorsports Park.
RENAULT RS01 Trophy 2016 saw Owens return to Europe to make the change and crossover in to GT Racing. He has joined the leading R-ace GP team competing in the 2016 Renault Sport Trophy in the new RS01 race car. The races are part of the World Series by Renault and support the European Le Mans Series.
Owens ended the season with a creditable top-ten position in this, the final year, of the 2016 Renault Sport Trophy.
2017 VLN Endurance Series, ADAC Qualifying Race 24HR Nürburgring and ADAC Zurich 24HR Race Owens competed in select rounds of the VLN Endurance Championship in 2017, along with the ADAC Qualifying Race 24h Nürburgring and the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour race. He scored a best finish of fourth in the VLN at the ninth round of the championship; finished third at the ADAC Qualifying Race 24h Nürburgring. Unfortunately, he failed to finish the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour race after running as high as second place.
Statistics
Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2012 Manor MP MotorsportHOC1HOC2HOC3NÜR1NÜR2OSC1OSC2OSC3ASS1ASS2RBR1RBR2MST1MST2MST3ZAN1ZAN2ZAN3SPA1SPA2 48th 2 2013 Mark Burdett RacingHOC1HOC2HOC3NÜR1NÜR2SIL1SIL2SPA1SPA2ASS1ASS2MST1MST2MST3ZAN1ZAN2ZAN3 9th 127 2014 Mark Burdett Racing MNZ1 MNZ2 SIL1 SIL2 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 SPA1 SPA2 ASS1 ASS2 MST1 MST2 MST3 NÜR1 NÜR2 NÜR3 10th 125
Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Points 2013Mark Burdett RacingALC1ALC2SPA1SPA2MSC1MSC2RBR1RBR2HUN1HUN2LEC1LEC2CAT1CAT2 NC† 0 2014ALC1ALC2SPA1SPA2MSC1MSC2NÜR1NÜR2HUN1HUN2LEC1LEC2JER1JER2 NC† 0
† As Owens was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points
Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points 2014 Mark Burdett Motorsport IMO1 IMO2 PAU1 PAU2 RBR1 RBR2 SPA1 SPA2 MNZ1 MNZ2 MUG1 MUG2 JER1 JER2 NC† 0
† As Owens was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points
Pro Mazda Championship Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14151617 Rank Points 2015 JDC Motorsports STP6 STP10 LOU12 LOUC BAR6 BAR11 12th 159 Team Pelfrey IMS18 IMS11 IMS12 LOR14 TOR8 TOR6 IOW12 MOH13 MOH13 LAG7 LAG16
Renault Sport Trophy - Endurance Class 2016
DriverALCIMORBRCPRSPAEST 7 Raoul Owens 12 12 2 2 25 RET 53
Renault Sport Trophy - Pro Class 2016
Driver ALC IMO RBR CPR SPA EST Pro En Pro Pro Pro En Pro 9 Raoul Owens 8 Ret 1 4 Ret 10 10Ret4 34
Summary YEAR COMPETITION and SEASON HIGHLIGHTS 2006 Rotax Mini Max Regional Championship, South Africa 2007 Rotax Mini Max Regional Championship, South Africa (Champion) 2008 Rotax Junior Max Regional Championship, South Africa Rotax Junior Max Euro Championship, Pan European Series 2009 Rotax Junior Max Nationals, South Africa (Vice Champion) 2009 Rotax Junior Max Northern Regions, South Africa (Vice Champion) Rotax Junior Max World Finalist, Sharm El Sheik, Egypt
Rotax Junior Max Euro Championship, Pan European Series 2010Rotax Senior Max Super One, National Series, United Kingdom Rotax Senior Max Euro Championship, Pan European Series 2011Formula Renault BARC, National Series, United Kingdom Formula Renault V de V (Magny-Cours) France (2 podiums)2012Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, (Spa) Belgium Formula Renault 2.0 BARC, National Series, United Kingdom
Formula Renault 2.0 V de V, (Le Mans) France2013Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, Pan European FIA series (Top 10 Finish / 1 Podium)2014Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, Pan European FIA series (Top 10 Finish / 1 Podium)2015Mazda Road To Indy, Pro Mazda Championship, Pan North American series (Hard Charger Award, Staublu Award, RePlay XD Move of the Race)2016Renault Sport Trophy, Spa Francorchamps (WIN)
References
External links Official Website YouTube Channel Driver Club Management (DCM)
Mazda Road To Indy Pro Mazda Championship INDYCAR Mark Burdett Motorsport JDC Motorsport Team Pelfrey ART Junior Team