Australian teenager Alex Peroni has signed with MP Motorsport to race in this year’s Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. Peroni joins double F4 champion Christian Lundgaard in the Dutch team.
The 18 year-old from Hobart, Tasmania, will go into his second campaign in the single-seater series, having impressed in his Eurocup debut last year by finishing 10th overall – the highest of five Australians contesting the series.
Peroni’s standout performance was a win from pole in the second race on the demanding Pau street circuit, becoming the first Australian to win a Eurocup race since current Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo in 2008. Other 2017 highlights were a fifth in the first race at Pau, and sixths at Monaco (twice), Monza and Silverstone.
At MP, Peroni teams up with Dane Christian Lundgaard, who last year took two Formula 4 titles on his way to making his Eurocup debut this year.
“Eurocup competition is incredibly intense”, Peroni said, “so I am happy to be able to join a team as professional as MP Motorsport. I hope to build a strong working relationship with my new engineer so that we can get the maximum out of the car under all circumstances and be amongst the top drivers at the end of the year. Another factor was the team’s experience and success in a range of series from Formula 4 to Formula Renault 2.0, GP3 and Formula 2.”
MP Motorsport team manager Sander Dorsman has high expectations for Peroni in this year’s Eurocup. “Alex had a solid first year in Eurocup last year, and could have finished in the top five with a bit more experience and luck”, Dorsman said, “so I believe that together we should be targeting a top-5 finish in Eurocup this year. He is a welcome addition to our squad and we look forward to working with him into the future.”
Peroni will move to lodgings near MP Motorsport’s Westmaas base in the Netherlands in late-February ready for pre-season testing.
Before stepping up to the Eurocup, Peroni dominated the 2016 French V de V Formula Renault Challenge. In 2015, the Australian made his European racing debut in the Italian F4 championship, claiming two podium finishes.
