Miloš Pavlović
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- For football player, see Miloš Pavlović (footballer).
Miloš Pavlović born October 8, 1982 in Belgrade) is Serbian race car driver. As of 2006, he competes in World Series by Renault in Draco Multiracing USA team. His current residence is Desenzano del Garda (Italy).
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[edit] Biography
Miloš's racing story started during the summer of 1991. Just one year later he became double champion of Yugoslavia in karting. Wishing to test what his talent was worth on the international scene, he went in 1993 to Italy, where the sport of karting is the best developed in the world. Against such competition, and in his very first season, Miloš became regional champion of Italy, reached second place in the Winter Cup and was very successful in a dozen of other races. A good start heralding a successful career!
Spectacular drives and wins in international races in 1994 definitively confirmed a supreme talent. He became the vice-champion of Europe in Portugal (Braga), while he was third in the World Championship in Italy (Ugento).
In Portugal he took pole position and the track record. He won all three qualifying races and the pre-final one as well.
After these races, the most famous karting magazine, "Vroom" published a special article on Miloš. Here is what journalist Angelo Nardi wrote in his introduction:
"Our tireless search for champions continues. This time we have set out to disturb the peace of Pavlovic, a talent who has appeared in our championship only recently. Even though his biography already features important races and victories, his great potential has not yet been completely expressed. But it is only a question of time. In Braga his great abilities were so well demonstrated that it was clear a 'Miloš Gloriosus' had arrived."
At the World Championship in Italy, he qualified second. He won the pre-final race and came third in the final.
Miloš Pavlovic achieved real international fame with the greatest success in his karting career in 1996, when he became the youngest-ever winner of the World Cup in the "Ayrton Senna Trophy" race in Japan. In this race, Giorgio Pantano came second and Jenson Button third. While 30,000 spectators gave the winner an ovation, Miloš made the following statement. "This is my most precious victory so far, but also the most difficult one. In the final race, I was fifth on the grid, determined to win. I got off to an excellent start, and succeeded in reaching second place by the middle of the race. Giorgio Pantano was in the lead. I decided to follow him until the last lap and than attempt an attack. It worked out well for me!"
The head of Miloš's team, the famous Italian "Rotax" motor engineer Mauro Villa, made the following statement: "Miloš beat the best drivers in the world, so you can judge his success for yourself. In addition he was the youngest racer on the grid, and it's now clear what his future will be."
He then received an invitation from the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to take part in a spectacular karting race in the Paris hall at Bercy, in which the best kart racers of the year compete against Formula 1 drivers.
He also completed the Henry Morrogh School in Formula Ford with a special award as an exceptional talent.
During 1997, he tested in various formulas and completed the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in Formula Vauxhall in England. He won a race at Donington Park and began a new phase in his career.
In the 1998, Pavlović decided to compete in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship in Britain. However, lack of finance meant that he took part in 12 out of the 16 races in the season. In this, the toughest junior championship of its kind in the world, he finished with an overall placing of tenth. He recorded results of from fourth to eighth place.
In 1999, Miloš decided to drive again in Formula Vauxhall championship in Britain, which in the meantime had lost the epithet "Junior".
He achieved two pole positions, two wins and three podium finishes. He lost the championship title when his gearbox failed at Thruxton. This was the only race in the championship which Miloš did not finish and in which he failed to gain a single point. At the end of the season he took overall fourth place in the championship, with 109 points.
He moved up to Formula 3 in 2000, taking part in the British championship. Unfortunately, because of wrong decisions by his then management, he had to drive with a team which was making its debut in the championship.
In addition, this team was using the new type of the Opel-Speiss engines. For these engines it was also the debut season in Formula 3. The team did not succeed in providing Miloš with a correct package in any of the race meetings. In five events, he did not finish because of mechanical failures. But even in these conditions, Miloš succeeded in winning 41 points and finishing an overall eleventh in the championship.
In addition to 14 races in Great Britain, he took part in four internationals: the Eurocup Grand Prix in Pau (France), the Marlboro Masters in Zandvoort (Netherlands), the Macao Grand Prix (Macao), the Korea Super Prix (South Korea). In the Eurocup, he finished seventh.
In 2002, Miloš decided to take part in the Italian Formula 3 championship. He had the chance to drive in a good team - Target Racing, which was able to give him everything necessary to fight for the championship. Miloš thus went on to win the championship title convincingly: he had 5 pole positions, 5 wins, 3 second places, and was in the lead for 77.4% of the total laps he made during the season.
Thanks to this result, he gained the right to a "super licence", which is required for those who wish to take part in the FIA Formula 1 championship.
In 2003 Miloš had hoped to compete in the International Formula 3000 championship. However, due to lack of finance, he was forced to look elsewhere. Michel Lecomte, owner of the French team Epsilon by Graff, offered him the opportunity of competing in the newly born championship "World Series Light", which is sponsored by Nissan. He finished third overall, but was a serious contender for the championship title right up to the very end.
He was also given a special prize "Karting History Makers" by the CIK-FIA, karting governing body.
In 2004 Miloš added another title to his CV. Together with Vergani Formula team he won the World Series Light Championship. He decided to race in this category because of the prize money that the organizers (RPM) have put up for the winner of the series. With this prize, he can now hope to land a top seat in the World Series by Renault 2005 championship.
[edit] Future Goals
Miloš is hoping that one day he will be able to race in the Formula 1 category. Unfortunately he struggles in terms of funding and sponsorship and this takes him farther away from his goal in making it into Formula 1 racing, despite his excellent skill as a racing driver.
[edit] Accomplishments
- 2005 World Series by Renault Championship (1 podium)
- 2004 Champion - World Series Light Championship (9 pole positions, 7 wins, 3 podium finishes and 7 fastest laps in the race)
- 2003 3rd place - World Series Light Championship (1 pole position, 6 podium finishes and 3 fastest laps in the race)
- 2002 Champion - Italian Formula 3 Championship (5 pole positions, 5 wins, 3 podium finishes and 4 fastest laps in the race)
- 2000 7th place - European Formula 3 Cup
- 2000 11th place - British Formula 3 Championship
- 1999 4th place - British Formula Vauxhall Championship (2 pole positions, 2 wins and 3 podium finishes)
- 1998 10th place - British Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship (Drove 12 of the 16 races)
- 1997 Winner of the final Formula Vauxhall Junior race at Donington
- 1996 Champion - Winner of the World Cup in Karting "The Ayrton Senna Trophy" (Formula A class)
- 1994 3rd place - World Championship in Karting (100 Junior class)
- 1994 2nd place - European Championship in Karting (100 Junior class)
- 1993 Champion - Regional Championship of Italy in Karting (100 Junior class)
- 1992 Champion - Yugoslav National Championship in Karting (100 Junior Class)
- 1992 Champion - Yugoslav National Championship in Karting (Mini Kart)
- 1991 Debut in the Yugoslav Karting Championship