Alfons Menegus

Alfons Menegus

Menegus at the 2022 Tiroler Grand Prix
Born	Alfons Lazaro Menegus (1990-08-19) 19 August 1990 Maran, Tirol
Gran-Prix One World Championship career
Nationality	Tiroler
2023 team	Renehan
Car number	27
Championships	0
Wins	6
Podiums	22
Career points	604
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	6
First entry	2011 Baltanlan Grand Prix
First win	2022 Tumanitun Grand Prix
Last win	2024 Baltanlan Grand Prix
Last entry	2024 Creeperian Grand Prix
2023 position	3rd (324 pts)
Previous series
2009–2010 2008	Gran-Prix 2 Championship Gran-Prix 3 Championship
Championship titles
2008	Gran-Prix 3 Championship

Alfons Lazaro Menegus (born 19 August 1990) is a Tiroler racing driver who races in Gran-Prix One for the Renehan GP1 Team, having previously raced for Iżakk Racing, Alfieri-Rossi and HT. He is contracted with Renehan till the end of the 2024 season.

Born and raised in the Maran suburb of Rvòu, Menegus joined the Corsa Markusse Youth Programme in 2004 after his first year in Captaincy School, on the recommendation of retired GP1 driver Julias Cuorda. Menegus performed well on the programme, but was never selected to compete as the Corsa Markusse driver in the Gran-Prix One, ultimately he left the programme in 2008 to drive for Alpine Motorsport in the Gran-Prix 3. Menegus made his debut in GP1 in 2011, signing a contract with newly founded HT team. Following HT entering administration after the 2012 season, Menegus was unable to find a drive for the 2013 season but the following year he signed with Iżakk for 2014. After three seasons at Iżakk, Menegus was not re-signed by the team and signed a two year deal with Alfieri-Rossi. Ultimately, Menegus left Alfieri-Rossi after five seasons with the team, choosing to sign with Renehan for the 2022 season. Menegus secured his best ever season in 2022 finishing second place in the driver's championships with 2 wins and 10 podiums. He increased his points total in 2023 with 3 wins and 12 podiums but finished 3rd in the championship.

Early life

Menegus was born on 19 August 1990 in the borough of Rvòu in Maran, Provinzia Passeier. He was born to working-class parents Albrecht and Maria Menegus. He joined the Rvòu Karting Club in 1999.

Gran-Prix One

Renehan Racing (2022-present)

2022 season

See also: 2022 Gran-Prix One World Championship

Menegus choose to sign a three year deal with Renehan ahead of the 2022 season, ending his five year career with Alfieri-Rossi. In pre-season testing with the team, Menegus commented that he believed he had made "the best gamble of his life". At the opening Grand Prix in Ajakanistan, Menegus was running in third from a fourth place qualification but was he forced to retire on the penultimate lap of the race with a fuel system issue. He earned his only pole position of the season at the next race in Rakhman, but ultimately fell to a fourth place finish due to an ill-timed safety car immediately after Menegus pitted. Menegus would bounce back, finishing on the podium in the next three sessions with two second place finishes in Gjorka and Baltanla along with a third place finish in the Baltanla sprint race. Another fourth place finish in Kivu meant Menegus finished the first five races at third in the driver's championship.

Menegus at the Paleocacherian Grand Prix

At the Jackson Grand Prix, Menegus qualified in fifth but gained three places quickly and emerged in a fight for the lead against Esteban Cruz Albeño. After several laps of being unable to pass Cruz Albeño, Menegus was given a team order to let teammate Fabrizju Zolla through. Zolla was unable to overtake Cruz Albeño and eventually pitted, allowing Menegus to overtake Cruz Albeño for the lead. Menegus was later passed by Zolla via team order who finished first with Menegus finishing second. Menegus blamed the second place finish on his two-stop strategy compared to Zolla's three stop. Despite a crash in the last qualifying session of the Tumanitun Grand Prix, Menegus qualified third and eventually overtook the lead cars to finish first and earn his win first win of the season. After a second place finish in Montcrabe City, Menegus suffered his second retirement of the season in Creeperopolis due to a gearbox failure. He would alternate a podium and then a retirement again with a second place finish in Paleocacher before a retirement in Hapatmitas due to a collision with Mikhail Kotlavchenko.

In the next five races, Menegus would only finish on the podium once with another second place at him home Grand Prix in Tirol. Menegus returned to form at the Gandorian Grand Prix by converting a second place qualification into his second win of the season, despite receiving a five second penalty. During the course of the race, Menegus found himself in second behind a first place Zolla who was on a different pit stop strategy. Zolla, who was on older tires than Menegus, was given several team orders to let Menegus past but refused all of them and defended against Menegus for three laps before he was eventually overtaken. Later in a post race interview, Menegus described as the fight with Zolla as "waste of everyone's time". Menegus finished the season with two more podiums in the final three races of the season, including a third place finish at the season finale in Salisford that enabled to finish in second place in the driver's championship over Cruz Albeño. Menegus finished the season with career highs in every category with 280 points, 2 wins, 10 podiums and 1 pole position.

2023 season

See also: 2023 Gran-Prix One World Championship

Menegus at the Creeperian Grand Prix

At the opening Grand Prix in Baltanla, Menegus qualified in fourth but would manage to pass the two Scutari's ahead of him to be racing in second. A double pit stop due to a team error by race leader and teammate Fabrizju Zolla saw Menegus earn the maiden victory of the season. At the next Grand Prix in Rakhman, Menegus secured a second place finish in the opening sprint race of the season. In the main race, Zolla and Menegus would start first and second on the grid respectively. However, they would collide on the opening lap causing both of them to retire. Following the crash, Menegus reportedly called Zolla a "prick" and that if he received a team order to let Zolla pass he was "going into the wall" according to the Gjorka Times, Menegus denied the report. Menegus finished on the podium in the next two races, including a second place finish in Karimun after a pole start. He would follow this up with a run of three podium-less races, with Menegus qualifying somewhat poorly in each of the races. Menegus claimed there was a crack in the chassis causing his poor results, though the team was unable to find any.

In the Kivuian Grand Prix, Menegus received a new chassis as part of Renehan's regularly scheduled mid-season upgrades. He returned to podium with a second place finish from a fourth place qualification. After another second place in Gjorka, Menegus qualified in third at the start of the Hapatmitas Grand Prix. A retirement by Zolla late in the race would trigger a safety car, enabling Menegus to close the gap to pole sitter José Uribe Álvarez. Menegus overtook Uribe Álvarez on the penultimate lap of the race to achieve his second victory of the season. Three more podiums in the next three races saw the Tiroler stand on the podium six straight times for his best run of the season.

A poor eight place qualification in Entropan saw Menegus unable to continue his podium streak, gaining two places to finish sixth. He returned to his podium at his home Grand Prix in Tirol where a poorly timed red flag caused Menegus to drop from his second place qualification. He would finish on the podium just one more time before the final race of the season, with just barely missing out with three fourth place finishes. At the final race of the season in Salisford, Menegus qualified fifth but as wet weather conditions formed during the race he was able to overtake several drivers for the lead of the race, including the two championship contenders Zolla and Vitale Scutari. In the closing stages of the race, Menegus was given a team order to let second-place runner Zolla past in order to secure his position over Scutari, who had pitted and was closing in on Zolla on fresher tires. Menegus refused the team order and continued running in first place, saying he was not going to forfeit a victory for Zolla (who already had enough points to secure the championship). Ultimately Zolla would finish second and win the world championship, while Menegus finished first to secure his third victory of the season.

Menegus finished the season with 324 points, 3 victories, 12 podiums, 1 pole position, and 3 fastest laps, earning career highs in every category and finishing in third place for the driver's world championship.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2022	Gran-Prix One	Renehan	20	2	1	3	10	280	2nd
2023	Gran-Prix One	Renehan	20	3	1	3	12	324	3rd

Complete Gran-Prix One results

(Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	WDC	Points
2022	Renehan	Renehan RN22	Renehan E-Tech RN22	AJK 18	RAK 4	GJK 2	BLT 23	KIV 4	JCK 2	TUM 1	MCC 2	CRE Ret	PAL 2	HAP Ret5	REY 4	BOS 5	TIR 2	ENT 5	KMN 6	NGA 1	MON 2	LUZ 4	SAL 3			2nd	280
2023	Renehan	Renehan RN23	Renehan E-Tech RN23	BLT 1	RAK Ret4	BOS 3	KMN 2	MCC 6	CRE 6	JCK 4	KIV 2	GJK 22	HAP 1	PAL 2	REY 3	MSY 2	ENT 6	TIR 3	TUM 4	MON 2	NGA 42	LUZ 4	SAL 1			3rd	324
2024	Renehan	Renehan RN24	Renehan E-Tech RN24	BLT 1	AJK 9	CRE Ret2	MCC	JCK	KIV	KMN	MSY	ENT	TIR	REY	BOS	TUM	RAK	GJK	MON	HAP	PAL	NGA	LUZ	ILH	SAL	5th*	34*