The World Series by Renault came into being in 2005, when Renault Sport Technologies – the then organisers of the Eurocup Formula Renault V6 and 2.0 – joined forces with the World Series by Nissan. The creation of a new series based on the strengths of the two organisations marked the start of a new era.

The inaugural World Series by Renault season saw three international championships share the bill: the all new World Series Formula Renault 3.5, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Eurocup Mégane Trophy.

The very first meeting took place at Zolder in Belgium on 30 April and 1 May 2005. As the sun shone down the fans came out in force, enticed by a programme that offered much more than racing. Serving up a package that included demonstration drives by the Renault F1 Team, vintage cars shows, fun and games in the paddock and free admission, that opening meet drew
a family crowd little accustomed to racetracks.

There were many other highlights during the course of WSR’s first season, among them the race weekend held in the streets of Bilbao, Spain, and the record crowd of 180,000 that flocked to Le Mans. French singer David Hallyday, who gave a concert on the Saturday evening at Le Mans, said he had never sung in front of so many people before.

Since its creation in 2005, the World Series by Renault has proved a huge hit with teams, drivers, the media and, above all, the fans. Nine seasons, 64 meetings and more than five million spectators later, World Series by Renault is still very much a success story.

World Series’ first champion was Robert Kubica, who went on to impress in the tests he performed for the Renault F1 Team - his reward for winning the title. The Pole graduated to the highest level of motorsport the following season, further enhancing World Series by Renault’s credibility.

As the Red Bull Junior Team, most of Formula One’s driver development programmes have made the World Series by Renault an obligatory part of the learning curve for their young drivers. Over the years Sebastian Vettel, Jaime Alguersuari, Daniel Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne and Jules Bianchi have all made the switch directly from Formula Renault 3.5 to F1.

In that time Renault’s very own series has also charted new territory, with both Motorland Aragón and Moscow Raceway opening their doors for business by hosting World Series by Renault meetings in 2009 and 2012 respectively.