2015 Summer Report. 2015 has already been a rather busy year for

 2015 Summer Report.
2015 has already been a rather busy year for Nico, let’s catch up with what he
has been up to !
Formula E.
After a strong start to the season, Nico kept his good form in Buenos Aires
where he clinched a second place and a first podium in the category. In very
difficult conditions with temperatures reaching 40 degrees, Nico moved up from
7th on the grid to 2 nd .
A few weeks, later, the Formula e championship moved to Miami. Nico qualified
second. He dropped to first after the start but managed to follow the leaders
while saving more energy than them. Two laps from the end, he used that extra
energy to overtake and take the lead. Nico won his first race in the series!
In Long Beach he missed pole position by 7 thousands… and a penalty in the race dropped him
back. But he still managed to take the fastest lap.
The end of the season was a bit more difficult for Nico who experienced a bit of bad luck in
qualifying in Monaco, Moscow and London. Nevertheless, he always finished in the top 10 and
he is the only driver who scored points on every race. This consistency helped Edams-Renault to
clinch the teams title !
With 2 pole positions, 1 win, 2 podiums and 1 fastest lap, this was a positive first season for
Nico in one of the most competitive championships in the world.
« I am quite happy about the first season although the end was not good enough. I think we
understand why we lost in performance and I am really looking forward to season 2 »
Nico will remain with Renault-Edams for season 2. In season 2, manufacturers are allowed to
produce their own powertrain. The team spent a lot of time testing this summer and is rather
happy with the new unit. Nico topped the last official test in Donington, so the team is looking
strong going into season 2. The first race will take place on the 24th of October in Beijing.
Brazilian Stock Car
Nico was invited to take part to a race in the very competitive Brazilian Stock Car Championship
in Goiania. Every year, the promoters organize an endurance race where regular drivers from
the championship race alongside some of the best drivers in the world.
This year drivers such as Jacques Villeneuve, Bruno Senna, Pechito Lopez, Nelson Piquet, Jaime
Alguersuari and others were racing along the regulars Rubens Barrichello, Ricardo Zonta, etc…
Nico had never driven this type of cars but his teammate Julio Campos was a great help to
learn. They looked strong in free practice but a shower during qualifying hurt their chances and
they could only qualify 12th out of 38 cars.
The race took part in front of more than 80’000 people. Julio kept his position for the first stint
of the race but a problem in the pitstop cost them a lot of time and Nico was only 23rd when he
exited the pits. Nico drove a superb second half of the race and moved from 23rd to 9th. A
strong finish for a first experience.
« It was a great experience in a great championship. Obviously there is a lot to learn with these
cars and in this type of racing. I hope I can come back next year and fight for the podium! »
WEC
After a strong year in 2014 which saw them clinch both the drivers title and the teams title,
Rebellion Racing decided to switch engine during the winter. The Toyota engine was near the
end of his life and the new bi-turbo AER engine seemed like a better choice for the future. This
change meant that the team could not race in the first two races of the championship and went
straight to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The free practices and qualifying proved to be very promising in terms of speed, with the two
Rebellions always leading the LMP1 Privateer category.
Car no 12 driven by Nico, Nick Heidfeld and Mathias Beche took pole position, the third pole
position in a row in the category.
The team knew that it was a big challenge to go into the most difficult race in the world with
such a new package. Nevertheless, after twelve hours the two Rebellions were leading and
everything looked reliable.
Unfortunately, the second part of the race proved to be a lot more difficult and the two cars
experienced some problems with the engine, the transmission and the brakes.
The two Rebellion cars still finished first and second in the category as other competitors cars
also encountered some problems. Nico finished second and unfortunately could not achieve a
fourth win in five years.
« Obviously we knew it was going to be difficult. After the fantastic race we had last year this
one was more difficult but we still finished and scored some important points for the
championship. »
Rebellion Racing was back in action at the end of August for the 6 hours of Nürburgring. It was
the first time FIA WEC made the trip to the mythical german track and 68'000 people showed
up on Sunday to see the battle.
Nico and his teammate Nick Heidfeld had a great start to the weekend with a new pole
position.
The no 12 car was leading rather easily when it was hit by incredible bad luck. A piece of tire
rubber hit the extinguisher button next to the screen which stopped the car. The car eventually
restarted but the no 12 crew lost a large amount of time. The three drivers pushed hard but
they could not make up for the time lost and finished in second position.
« The Nürburgring race was a disappointment but we made a big step forward with the new
engine. We are on a steep learning curve and we hope to get a win in Austin next month! »
Nico, Nick Heidfeld and Mathias Beche are leading the Drivers Championship by 4 points.
Souvenir Souvenir.
Petit retour sur la chicane du port à Monaco, ou comment flirter avec la limite !
Next Race : FIA WEC AUSTIN
Follow Nico on www.nicolas-prost.com, on twitter @nico_prost and on Facebook Nicolas Prost.