Photo: Fotospeedy
Czech team Effective Racing and its driver Vladimir Netusil have committed to spending a second season in Euroformula after debuting in the championship last year.
The team was created in 2016, starting off in Formula Renault 2.0 then moving into Formula 3 in 2019 with Netusil, who is coached by GP2 race-winner Josef Kral. In the Austrian F3 Cup he topped the points table in the F3 Open class in 2021, and claimed two overall race wins that year.
He also competed in his home country’s ‘L21′ formula series, initially in a FR2.0 car and then in F3 from 2020 onwards. Netusil was 2021 championship runner-up in a Dallara F318, the predecessor to Euroformula’s 320 chassis, and won at two tracks.
Last year the 40-year-old drove a HWA-powered car in 15 of Euroformula’s 26 races, with a best finish of sixth achieved three times. He was 11th in the standings, and scored in all but one of his races but often in grids totalling less than 10 cars.
Reflecting on his first campaign in the championship, Netusil said: “Promotion to Euroformula meant a transition to absolute professional racing, both as a driver and as a team. I value that we both managed the transition.
“In reality, that first season, in hindsight, was a ‘zero season’. We got the car only one month before the start of the championship, and the Dallara 320 is quite different from the F318, and every circuit was a learning experience for us.
“This winter, preparations are much more intense and we have big goals. I want to fight with the drivers up-front, and together with the team, we are looking to the possibility of fielding a second car later in the season.
“I’m proud that my team and I have built a unique and effective networking platform that connects business opportunities across Europe. In the Czech Republic, we are bringing motorsport to the forefront, organizing high-level events and establishing a karting academy. We are working hard and looking forward to the 2023 season.”
Effective is only the third team to confirm its participation in Euroformula this year and Netusil is the fifth driver to be announced as racing in the series alongside three drivers at the dominant Motopark and one at BVM Racing.
Drivex School and Van Amersfoort Racing have exited the series for 2023, while Carlin does not plan to return after last racing in 2021. NV Racing made a singular appearance in 2022 and has recently been testing at Vallelunga with its car, as has former Danish Formula 4 team Noda Racing which runs Hideki Noda’s daughter Juju.
Double R Racing, another team that contested the full 2021 season but did not sign any drivers for 2022, has been spotted testing in Portugal.
Four teams have tested at Vallelunga with Euroformula-spec Dallara 320s over the last two days.
1 Paolo Brajnik 1m27.347s (85 laps)
2 Juju Noda Noda Racing +0.142s (128 laps)
3 Francesco Galli G-Motorsport +0.980s (78 laps)
4 [driver unknown] TVS Motorsport +5.669s (84 laps)— Ida (@wood_ida_) February 17, 2023