Paul Ronald Johan Meijer (born 27 March 1985 in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

) is a Dutch

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. He is a former Benelux Formula Renault champion.

Career

As many formula drivers, Paul started his career in karting at the age of 10. He participated in national and international competitions. In 2001 Paul participated in a Challenge organized by

Avaya Avaya Holdings Corp., often shortened to Avaya (), is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, that provides cloud communications and workstream collaboration services. The company's platform includ ...

Communications, with 7 candidates. He won the Challenge and earned a season driving in the first Dutch Toyota Yaris Cup for free. The ex Formula One racing driver

Jan Lammers Jan Lammers (Johannes Antonius Lammers, Zandvoort, 2 June 1956) is a racing driver from the Netherlands whose most notable claim to fame is victory in the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours for Silk Cut Jaguar/ TWR, next to a four-season spell in Formula One ...

took Paul into the

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

in 2002. With

Racing for Holland Racing for Holland is a Dutch motor racing team started by Jan Lammers in 1999. The team is initially specialised in endurance races such as 24 hours of Le Mans and FIA sportscars series. The team also participated in the A1 Grand Prix as the A1 ...

Paul learned the essentials about driving a formula racing car and participated in the Benelux Formula Ford Championship. During this education Paul also tested the DOME S101 sportcar at Magny Cours. In 2003, he won the Benelux

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

2.0 with AR Motorsport. He also debuted in the European Championship of this serie. As Dutch Champion a test is offered him in the Formula Renault V6. Later that year he also tested with Fortec in a Formula 3 car at Silverstone. The Italian team Vergani Racing invited Paul into the World Serie light by Nissan. In November that year he tested at the circuits of Albecete and Jarama and on both occasions he drove the fastest laps of the day. The team invited Paul for the final race weekend, where he finished third. In 2004 Meijer entered the strong competition of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. With his team AR Motorsport he became 6th in the Championship and finished 3 times second, 3 times fourth and 2 times fifth. At the side he participated also in the Benelux Formula Renault 2.0 Championship and could only drive 7 out 12 races. He finished 6 times first and 1 time second. In 2005 and 2006 Paul Meijer did not drive a racing car because sponsors could not be interested. For 2007, AR Motorsport invited Paul to test their cars. After being absent on the tracks for almost 2,5 years Paul still is very fast and within ten minutes he has pole-position again in the training. Reason enough for teamchef Ronald Heiligers to interest Marius Ritskes (Antonov Transmissions) to invite Paul for the last three race weekends in the North European Championship of Formula Renault 2.0. (NEC) He won 2 out of six races and finished second in the other 4 races. Ritskes also arranged a test in the

Lamborghini Gallardo The Lamborghini Gallardo (; ) is a sports car built by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini from 2003 to 2013. It is Lamborghini's second car released under parent company Audi, and best-selling model with 14,022 built throughout its ...

in Spain with the team of Hans Reiter. After 40 laps the teams calls him in with applause. In 2008 Meijer has been asked to drive for several teams as a guest driver. The Dutch team MP Motorsport has been offered a wildcard in the Eurocup Formule Renault 2.0. They invited Paul to be there driver. Paul had no experience with the team but accepted the offer. Within a very competitive field of 48 young race drivers he won the race on Sunday, 4 May.

Superleague Formula

When Peter Zakowsky's driver of the

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

car suddenly did not show up during the Superleague Formula races in Zolder, Paul was asked to do the job through mediation of

Tom Coronel Tom Romeo Coronel (born 5 April 1972) is a Dutch professional racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr. His most important results are winning the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race in 1997, th ...

. This was his chance to show what he was capable of in the top league of autosport (750 hp). He never drove a car with this kind of power so it was quite a challenge. The question was popped on Thursday, on Friday the seat was made and on Saturday he got 2 times 30 minutes to train in the car. After that he started qualifying, which includes 2 semi finals shoot-outs and a final. Paul amazed the team and the organization to get the pole-position, leaving ex Formula One drivers with nothing. At a rainy track he finished third. As a rookie driver he made quite a debut in this field.

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

selected Paul and offered him a seat for the last three weekends in Estoril, Vallelunga and Jerez. In Estoril he won the second race. Unfortunately the season ended to soon, caused by crash during the first practise in Vallelunga, where Paul broke his hand.

Superleague Formula results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) † - Team standings.

External links

Website of Paul Meijer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meijer, Paul 1985 births Living people Dutch racing drivers Dutch Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers Sportspeople from Utrecht (city) Superleague Formula drivers MP Motorsport drivers Alan Docking Racing drivers Van Amersfoort Racing drivers German Formula Renault 2.0 drivers