R.S. owner profile : Meet the man inspired by Fernando Alonso

When it comes to his love of motoring – and Renault Sport in particular – Jesus Medina Martin says it’s down to a real case of ‘like father, like son’.

“Our family cars were always Renaults as my father is such a big fan of the company – and that rubbed off on me. I’ve been a Renault Sport fan since my early years,” explains Jesus who now works as a mechanic and also drives his own R.S. pride of joy. In the garage is a Renault Mégane III R.S. Cup 250, while he also owns a Renault Sport Clio 172 for track days.

Jesus’ other big Renault Sport influence comes in the form of fellow Spaniard and two-time Formula 1 World Champ, the great Fernando Alonso. “He’s the best Spanish driver of all time without question, but he’s also a great person,” says Jesus. “After his arrival in F1, followed by the championship wins, I really started to get more passionate about everything about the company”. That love was cemented when he got to drive an R.S. for the very first time. “I knew instantly that Renault Sport was going to be my brand forever. The car just seemed made for me,” he says.

One of the things he most admires about the company is how competition has always been a key part of Renault Sport’s DNA. “The company has had so many triumphs in both F1 and Rallysport over the years,” he says. “But I still get a huge thrill when a Renault Sport crosses the line first. Some of my favourite sporting memories, such as Alonso’s titles, are down to Renault Sport’s commitment to motor sport.”

In 2014, Jesus and a group of fellow friends and fans formed the Spanish branch of the Renault Sport Club. Now with more than 30 members, the group organises track days and road trips that allow them to get together and share their experiences behind the wheel.

The club’s most popular get together is a weekend away in a mountainous setting where members enjoy driving the curves, before partaking in another common passion : food and enjoying the comradeship of the whole group eating together.

As you might expect, his fantasy dinner guests are all Renault Sport-related. First up, of course, is Alonso, who would be joined round the table by former French rally driver Jean Ragnotti, Renault Sport development driver Laurent Hurgon and current McLaren-Renault F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr.

“Ragnotti is a Renault Sport icon – and such an amazing driver to watch in a car,” he says. “Hurgon laid down a Nürburgring Nordschleife record for Renault R.S. and Sainz brings so much Spanish promise to F1.”

Driving his own R.S. around the notorious Grüne Hölle (Green Hell) through the Eifel mountains at the Nürburgring remains a personal ambition. The new Mégane R.S. Trophy 300 has been built with the front-wheel drive lap record for the 20.8km course firmly in mind. “It’s amazing to think that Hurgon’s R.S. record time of 7:54.36 in the Mégane R.S. 275 Trophy-R now dates back to 2014,” says Jesus.

Looking forward, Jesus is fascinated by the potential of self-drive cars to help reduce the number of accidents and especially the number of road deaths. But he’s also keen to see how races without drivers might work in motorsports. “I’m very excited to see how driverless race cars might push the boundaries in engineering,” he says.

His other hope for the future is a much more personal one. “I’d like to be able to follow in the footsteps of my own father and pass on my love of cars and Renault Sport to my own children,” he says. “That would be something really special.”