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Kovalainen handed Renault position
 Kovalainen takes over as Renault's No.1 test and reserve driver next year LONDON, England -- Formula One champions Renault have confirmed Finland's Heikki Kovalainen as their test and reserve driver for 2006. Team boss Flavio Briatore added that Frenchman Franck Montagny would continue testing with the team until the end of the month. "Heikki has demonstrated that he is a talented, aggressive driver and he has impressed our engineers during his tests with the team," said Briatore. "The test driver's role will be crucial during 2006 as we develop our V8 engine through the season to defend the world championship," he added. Kovalainen, 24, was runner-up in the junior GP2 series to Germany's Nico Rosberg, who will be racing for Williams in Formula One next year. The Finn has tested for Renault as a development driver and there had been speculation he might be placed at BMW for a year before that team confirmed Canadian former champion Jacques Villeneuve. "The role will allow me to understand more about the team and how Formula One works while developing my driving and technical skills at this level," he said. Williams sell historic carsMeanwhile, Williams have cancelled a sale of Formula One memorabilia, including cars driven by champions Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, after an anonymous private collector bought everything on offer. Auctioneers Bonhams said the collector had paid a substantial sum. More than 20 cars and 150 lots of parts and memorabilia had been due to go under the hammer at Williams' Grove factory in England on December 14. They included the car driven by Briton Mansell in the first five races of 1992, his championship-winning season, along with Hill's FW18 machine. Other items included the front wishbone from Hill's 1994 FW16B, damaged in a notorious collision with Benetton's Michael Schumacher at the Australian Grand Prix, and the race suit worn by Jacques Villeneuve when he won the title in 1997. 
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