In 2014, Renault announced its intention to create a new one-make sports car championship. The company unveiled the racecar for the series, called Renault Sport RS 01, at the 2014 Moscow Motor Show.[1] The RS 01, developed by Renault Sport, has a Gibson Technology-tuned 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbo engine supplied by Renault Sport's Japanese partner Nismo and a chassis built by Dallara.[2][3] It was announced that the championship would use a professional-gentleman drivers combination.[2] The first season was held in 2015. The second and the last season was held in 2016,[4] as a support event for 2016 European Le Mans Series.
The car is driven by a professional-gentleman driver combination. Professional drivers compete for the Elite (or PRO) class championship and gentlemen for the Prestige (or AM) class. As of 2016[update], the race weekend consists of one 60-minute/90-minute (plus one lap) race called "endurance", where the two drivers of each car participate, and two 25-minute races (one for the Elite-class driver and other for the Prestige-class driver). There are separate qualifying sessions for Elite and Prestige to determine the grid order in the short races, and the endurance grid order is determined by a system that uses a mix of Elite and Prestige qualifying results.[5]
Awards
As of 2016[update] the Renault Sport Trophy Elite-class champion is given a development programme and the chance to participate at a Nismo's Super GT test. If he is not chosen to compete in Super GT, he receives a €200,000 award. The Prestige-class driver can opt between a €140,000 award to step up into the Elite class or a LMP2 entry at the Le Mans 24 Hours.[6]
