December 04, 2013
Published on tags: Superleague

 

CSG Racing today confirmed their re-entry into the Superleague after a successful 2013 Supercup campaign, and announced their driver lineup for the upcoming season.
CSG Racing, a name associated to GPVWC for many years, returns to Superleague after a four year absence. The last time we saw CSG Racing in the Superleague was at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2010. Drivers Lee Morris and Nick Rowland have since moved on to pastures new but the team was revitalised in 2012.

In 2013 the team grew in strength and went on to secure the Supercup Teams Championship with an eclectic mix of Jamez Shepherd, Oscar Hardwick, Roy Schroten and Pedro Melim. Oscar Hardwick spear heading the phenomenal campaign to finish runner-up to Giuseppe Rainieri in the drivers' standings by 31 points. Two early wins early in the season for Jamez Shepherd laid a statement of intent to the rest of the Supercup field.

It was announced in December of 2013 at the GPVWC meet in Amsterdam that CSG Racing was one of the lucky teams to have earned promotion from Supercup to Superleague with a very encouraging entry form.

With our history looked at it is with great excitement we announce our 2014 driver line-up. After finishing sixth in the 2013 Superleague season, Lewis Redshaw makes the move from Hawkeye to CSG Racing. His speed and potential realised with outstanding qualifying performances along with a sensational podium in Abu Dhabi. We see plenty of promise in Redshaw.

Partnering the Englishman will be fellow Englishman and equally as talented with great speed, David Fidock. After competing in Formula Challenge and being test driver for Midnight Motorsport in Superleague, David deservedly moves up in to a full time drive. David took three wins in Formula Challenge along with numerous podiums proving his speed. With dogged determination on his side and relentless testing abilities we believe his skills will flourish.

Finally, fellow Formula Challenge driver Florian Geier will join CSG Racing as the test and reserve driver. Geier joined FC and shook the paddock with a podium in just his second race and won the first race in Japan. Team owner Dave Carr-Smith immediately saw the potential and snapped up the German with a view to the future.

#24, Lewis Redshaw (GBR):

I had a great couple of years at Hawkeye, working with some great people and earning my first Superleague pole and podium this past season with the team. However, when I was approached following my race in Canada, about a possible chance to work with Dave Carr-Smith and CSG racing and to help build up a new team with him I practically jumped at the chance.

I have known that David Fidock would be my teammate for a long time now so have had quite a lot of time to get to know him a bit better and monitor his progress, both in Formula Challenge and also his work with Midnight and I am very excited to start working with him in 2014. I am also excited to see what Florian will be bringing to the team as his performances in Formula Challenge were exceptional, especially in Suzuka. As for Dave I am ecstatic to have him running the team as I believe it will be really important to have an extremely dedicated leader next year due to the rule changes along with changes to the research and development system.

There is only one major goal for next year and that is to be the best rookie team. I feel that if we do not achieve this then we will have let ourselves down massively, so that will be our main focus for next year. I know it will be a challenge to be running in the positions I was at the end of last year with Hawkeye, but hopefully with some good setups and strategies and a little bit of luck we can find our way there by the end of 2014 and moving into 2015.

#25, David Fidock (GBR):

It feels great to finally be able to confirm my position for 2014 with CSG, by now it is no secret that I desperately wanted a seat in the Superleague and so to finally get that opportunity is a great feeling. This is only heightened by the fact that I am able to remain with a team with which I worked extensively in 2013, CSG Racing. Obviously I know everyone here very well and we get along great, so I can't wait for pre-season testing to get underway so that we can begin to put the car through its paces.

Lewis is a guy that I have kept my eye on a lot throughout the past year, he's an incredibly quick driver, consistent and his work rate is top class. I think we will certainly be pushing each other very hard throughout the upcoming season. I have known Florian for a long time; we have been team-mates before in other series and that knowledge of how each of us works will undoubtedly benefit Lewis and me. He has already shown his abilities after competing in the Formula Challenge series alongside me towards the end of the 2013 season. As for Dave, there isn't much I need to say, we all know what he is capable of as a team manager. He is a top bloke and a great team leader, just look at what he?s done already with the team he has created around him. Nobody can question his ability in such a role. The fact that I get to work with this team with Dave alongside us in 2014 is just brilliant, I owe him a massive thanks and I hope to repay him for this opportunity on the track.

The aim for this season, as Lewis said, is quite simple. We just want to be best of the new teams. Obviously it won't be easy with the likes of Target and Vod:Bul to contend with, but we will be pushing hard to ensure that we come out on top. It'd be great to get some top tens early on in the season, but I realise that this will be an incredibly hard task and so we just need to remain consistent and ensure that we bring the car home at each event.


#42, Florian Geier (GER):

First of all I have to say a big thank you to the team owners for giving me this opportunity. It feels great that I am able join a great team such as this and I think that we have a great opportunity to surprise a few people in this upcoming season.

David is obviously no stranger to me, I have known him for quite some time and we know exactly how to get the best from each other on the circuit so this will be a big bonus for the team in my opinion. I haven't had the opportunity to work with Lewis yet, but I am sure that we can quickly develop a great relationship with each other so that we can maximise the results for both him and the team. Of course having Dave as the team manager, I don't think it can get better than that, he is one of the best in the business and knows how to run things successfully whilst keeping things fun along the way so I am sure that I will be able to learn a lot from him during my time with the team.

My goals for the season are simple; I want to help the team have as much success as possible and I will do all that I can to help make that happen. Of course the championships are the ultimate goal for any team but that is not a realistic target for us in our first year and so we just have to take things as they come and see where we end up at the end of the year.

We are extremely excited and are massively anticipating what should be a fantastic season. We look forward to hit the ground running in pre-season testing.