Leading Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup team Mark Burdett Motorsport got its 2015 racing programme underway at Monza in Italy over the weekend, 11th/12th April, where series newcomer Rahul Raj Mayer secured a points finish in the opening round of the campaign.

Graduating into the ultra-competitive category from the BRDC Formula 4 Championship in the UK, the 18-year-old Malaysian racer made good progress throughout the event – which marked his first ever visit to Monza – but contact in race two led to a frustrating non-finish on lap one.

“It’s a big challenge for Rahul this year, Formula Renault NEC is a tough championship and there are some very experienced drivers in it again this season”, commented team principal Burdett, “For his first time at Monza and his first race weekend in a Formula Renault, he did a good, professional job and the aim now is to build on that at Silverstone in a few weeks.”

Qualifying on row 12 of the grid for round one, from a field of no fewer than 30 drivers from across the globe, Mayer showed good racecraft in the first race on Saturday to climb through into the points-paying top 20.

The initial race start was aborted when the pole position qualifier stalled, leading to confusion behind. When the action got underway at the second time of asking, Mayer put together an excellent opening lap and climbed into 16th position before then breaking into the top 15.

Despite slipping back a couple of places over the course of the next two laps, Mayer continued to battle strongly in the mid-pack before ultimately ending the contest in 18th position to secure his first Formula Renault 2.0 NEC points.

For round two on Sunday morning, the McLaren Performance Academy driver started an improved 23rd on the grid, just 0.8 seconds shy of the top 10, but his hopes of an improved result went awry at the first chicane following contact from a rival.

After a decent getaway, Mayer was caught-up in a multi-car collision heading into the braking zone of the first turn when his Mark Burdett Motorsport car was tagged by someone trying to avoid a spinner ahead. Disappointingly, Mayer was out on the spot.

The team now makes a return to British soil for the second event on the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC calendar, a visit to Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit on 23rd/24th May. There, the squad plans to also field its second car and is currently in discussion with several drivers regarding the seat.

2015 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Driver Standings (after Rd2):

25th Rahul Raj Mayer, 3pts

2015 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Team Standings (after Rd2):

10th Mark Burdett Motorsport, 3pts