The Formula Renault AsiaCup (formerly known as the Asian Formula Renault Challenge and AFR Series) was a Formula Regional championship held in Asia. The series debuted in 2002 and also held the China Formula Renault Challenge.

The series is a part of the Formula Racing Development Limited (FRD) organization managed by Kenneth Ma to promote motorsport in Asia.FRD Motorsports, About us frdsports.com The FRD also runs the China Formula Campus and Clio Cup China Series.

The cars use Tatuus chassis and 2.0 L Renault Clio engines like other Formula Renault 2.0 series. After several seasons racing on Kumho tires, the series started using Giti tires from 2014.

About With the aim of providing a budget junior racing series around the Asian region, FRD, with the support of Renault Sport, imported a fleet of Formula Renault 2.0 race cars and first organized the Asian Formula Renault Series in 2000. The series attracted numerous young talents from the region.

From 2002 to 2005, the series held an invitational race during the Macau Grand Prix weekend. Future F1 drivers such as Kamui Kobayashi, Kazuki Nakajima, Bruno Senna and Red Bull Junior Team's Scott Speed all once took part in the event.

The Asian Formula Renault Series changed its name to the Formula Renault AsiaCup, commencing in 2020. Formula Renault AsiaCup aligned with the Formula Renault Eurocup running the Tatuus F3R-Spec car with a Renault engine (Formula Renault FR-19) and the FIA F3/2018 homologated chassis.

Regulation The main classification was the International Challenge, the winner of which was the overall champion of the series. From 2007 until 2013, Asian drivers also had a parallel category with the Asian Challenge. Another class, for Chinese events only, was the China Formula Renault Challenge, which was an entry-level series intended to reduce the championship cost. All series drivers and teams raced at the same time during the races in China but points were calculated separately.

The cars can be tested outside the race weekend on the Zhuhai International Circuit or Shanghai International Circuit.

The race weekend starts on Thursday and Friday with a 2-hour free practice session but with additional cost for drivers. On Saturday there are two 30 minute practice sessions and 20 minutes of qualifications. A warm-up (15 minutes) occurs on Sunday morning and two 10 lap races are held in the afternoon.

In 2013, the series changed its championship format to 3 classes, "International Class" as the main championship, "Asian Class" for rookie drivers of the region and "Masters Class" for gentlemen drivers who are at the age of 35 or older. The 3 classes have their own drivers' and teams' classifications and championship.2013 AFR Series Guidelines frdsports.com

In 2015, the series changed its championship format again due to the introduction of the current FR2.0 car, which debuted in 2013 in the European series. Starting from this season, there are two classes, Class A for drivers and teams competing with the 2013 FR2.0 car, and Class B for drivers and teams using the FR2.0 old spec cars.

Only drivers and teams that complete 75% of a race receive points. Points are awarded in each race as follows:

Drivers' Championship Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   11th   12th   13th   14th  Points 30 24 20 17 15 13 11 9 7 5 4 3 2 1

Teams' Championship Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th  Points 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

Champions

Series Winners Season International Class Team Champion Asian Class (class B 2015 onward) Team Champion IFC Challenge/Masters Class Team Champion 2002 Cheng Congfu FRD Team 2003 Rodolfo Ávila Asia Racing Team 2004 Hideaki Nakao FRD Team 2005 Hanss Lin Shangsai FRD Team Hanss Lin Shangsai FRD Team 2006 Pekka Saarinen Asia Racing Team Alexandre Imperatori Shangsai FRD Team 2007 Pekka Saarinen M3 Racing Team Jim Ka To M3 Racing Team Pekka Saarinen M3 Racing Team 2008 Jim Ka To PS Racing Hong-Wei Cao Not Contested Christian Chia Not Contested 2009 Alon Day Asia Racing Team Zhi Qiang Zhang PTRS Team Not Contested 2010 Sandy Nicholas Stuvik Asia Racing Team Sandy Nicholas Stuvik Asia Racing Team Not Contested 2011 Leopold Ringbom PS Racing Yuki Shiraishi Champ Motorsport Not Contested 2012 Yosuke Yamazaki Buzz Racing Not Contested Wayne Shen Modena Motorsport 2013 Julio Acosta Champ Motorsport Jason Kang KRC Leo Wong Asia Racing Team 2014 Alice Powell FRD Team Qin Tianqi Champ Motorsport Guillaume Cunnington PS Racing 2015 Dan Wells BlackArts Racing Team Andy Zheng PS Racing Not Contested 2016 Josh Burdon BlackArts Racing Team Jasper Thong Asia Racing Team Not Contested 2017 Charles Leong BlackArts Racing Team Hua Miao BlackArts Racing Team Not Contested 2018 Daniel Cao BlackArts Racing Team Not Contested 2019 Joey Alders BlackArts Racing Team Not Contested 2020 Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions2021 Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions2022 Gerrard Xie H-Star Racing

Macau Asian Formula Renault Challenge Winners Year Pole position Winning drivers Winning team 2002 Jamie Green Jamie Green Team Meritushttp://archive.grandprix.gov.mo/gp2002/en/real_result_table.php Results 49th Macau GP 2003 Hideki Nadao Hideki Nadao Shangsai FRD GT TiresTeamhttp://archive.grandprix.gov.mo/mgpc/public_html/gp50/en/index.php?cat=result&race=FRenault_RACE.csv#view Results 50th Macau GP 2004 Kamui Kobayashi Cheong Lou Meng Champ Motorsporthttp://archive.grandprix.gov.mo/mgpc/public_html/gp51/en/index.php?cat=result&race=renault_r.csv#view Results 51st Macau GP 2005 Luca Persiani Hiroyuki Matsumura Asia Racing Teamhttp://archive.grandprix.gov.mo/mgpc/public_html/gp52/en/index.php?cat=result&race=Formula_Renault_Race.csv#view Results 52nd Macau GP

References

External links

Asian Formula Renault Series at frdsports.com. China Formula Renault Challenge at frdsports.com. Formula Racing Development Limited official site.