Autosport award nominee and Formula Ford Festival winner, Chrissy Palmer, will be pairing up with Sarah Reader in a TFL Racing Juno for the 2012 Speed EuroSeries.
Palmer, a winner of the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in 2009 and Fortec Formula Renault racer in 2010, raced in a Juno in 2009, is keen to pursue a career in sportcar racing and sees the Speed EuroSeries as the logical choice for his career progression. The driver pairing will be running in the updated 2012 spec Juno, three of which are confirmed as participants in the 2012 SPEED EuroSeries.
G-CAT Racing has been announced as the UK agent and distributor for Wolf Racing Cars, providing an authorised outlet for the successful Wolf GB08 – an innovative sport prototype CN car with a carbon fibre chassis.
The team, owned by Greg Caton, will run the Wolf GB08 in the SPEED EuroSeries 2012 to showcase the car and expand on the success enjoyed by the Italian Avelon Formula team in 2011.
Caton holds a wealth of experience in running prototypes although historic racing is where his focus and achievements have more recently laid. Reflecting on past victories at the Spa 6 hour and Magny-Cours 3 hour races in 2007, Caton is relishing the chance to return to modern racing in a car that he says “takes engineering and aerodynamics to a whole new level within its category”.
The Wolf partnership with G-Cat Racing brings an exciting prospect for UK drivers, offering capacity to run additional cars and provide race seats. The G-Cat Racing / Wolf GB08 car will begin its testing program from the beginning of March in Italy, with full factory support.
The first CN car to be built with a carbon chassis and using technologies similar to those used in the Le Mans Series LMP 2 cars, the Wolf GB08 provides outstanding rigidity, safety and aerodynamics.
On its debut in 2010, the car took pole position and stormed to victory at the first round of the Italian Prototypes Championship – reminiscent of the epic 1977 debut that the original Walter Wolf Racing team were noted for. The car has since gone on to achieve multiple race wins in the SPEED EuroSeries and is proving to be the car to beat.
With options available for interested drivers to compete in a Wolf under the G-Cat Racing banner and for further information please contact Greg Caton on 07789 982095 or email greg@g-catracing.co.uk
SPEED EuroSeries winners, Warren Hughes and Jody Firth, will be driving for Irish sportscar squad Murphy Prototypes in their European Le Mans Series assault in 2012.
The British pair have run together as team-mates in the SPEED EuroSeries and it’s UK-based forerunner, taking back-to-back titles in 2010 and ’11, and will remain in tandem at the Murphy squad. The car will be run by SPEED EuroSeries team – Bolton-based RLR, with funding coming from SPEED EuroSeries racer and Irish entrepreneur, Greg Murphy. The team will homologate their Oreca chassis as an MG.
Oli McCrudden, SPEED Organiser: “It again underlines the fact that SPEED CN racing is a clear path to ELMS and on to Le Mans participation for drivers and teams, something that Le Mans 24hrs organisers, the ACO, also recognise. I’m very pleased for Warren and Jody. They have been stalwarts in the SPEED Series for the last few seasons and are both exceptional drivers with a will to win. Memorably, Jody turned up for our race at Donington in 2011 bleary eyed having been at thebirth of his first daughter overnight and with Warren promptly won the race. That’s the sort of character and committment required to succeed and we all wish them the very best for the season ahead.”
Italian race team, Star Cars, has registered the drivers of its Gulf Wolf drivers for the 2012 championship as Maurizio Pitorri and Andrea Gagliardini.
The pair has been competing in Porsche events over the last few seasons, with class and overall wins shared at the wheel of Porsche Cayman S events. Maurizio began racing in 1985 and over several seasons competed in Renault Cup, rally and Trofeo Alfa 147 events before making the move into Porsche racing in 2007. Andrea began karting in 2000 racing with success over 5 seasons before moving to Citroen C1 and subsequently Porsche races.
Star Cars have experience in many formula including Italian GT, Porsche Carrera Cup, FIA GT4 and the Italian prototype series. The Wolf GB008 they will run in SPEED EuroSeries 2012 is one of several on the grid for the Italian manufacturer.
For more information, visit:
http://www.starcars.it/
http://www.andreagagliardini.com/
The Sunoco Daytona Challenge is a season-long competition which pits racers from selected Sunoco fuelled championships in Europe against one another for one spectacular prize; a race seat in a 500 bhp, 190 mph Daytona Prototype at the Rolex 24 hour race.
The winner of the Challenge receives a free race seat in a Dayton a Prototype with a top team in the Rolex 24 plus pre-event testing in the US to familiarise themselves with the car. Flights and accommodation are paid for as are transportation costs within the US. All the driver needs to do is pitch up at the airport with helmet, race suit and the necessary license. Medical insurance of US $1 million is provided through the GRAND-AM driver scheme.
PR activities used to promote the Challenge include advertising in Autosport and Motorsport News, a dedicated website and social media support. As the Challenge heats up the competitors are closely followed in the UK media as well as abroad. For the winner the PR activity is maximised and they are featured in their documentary which this year has been shown on Motors TV and Channel 4.
The Sunoco Daytona Challenge is administered by Anglo American Oil Company. Points are awarded as illustrated in the table below. The driver taking pole position gains 20 points as does the driver setting fastest lap and 100 points are awarded for a win (points are awarded down until 10th place). This means that each driver who has a perfect score would walk away from a race with 140 points. Each driver entering the Challenge must have a suitable chance of winning it – therefore as each eligible series or championship has a different number of races the individual points will be averaged over the total number of races in series/championship. This then creates a level playing field so that, for example, someone with only an 8 race season can compete on equal terms with someone who has a fifteen race season.
If a SPEED EuroSeries competitor was to score a total of 850 points for the 2012 season and the season is made up of 10 races then his average point score would be 85. If a Britcar driver was to score 1475 points over a 19 race season his overall point score would be more but his average point score would be 77.6 – therefore the SPEED EuroSeries driver wins.
| 1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
Pole |
FL |
| 100 |
85 |
75 |
65 |
55 |
45 |
35 |
25 |
15 |
5 |
20 |
20 |
For more information visit the Official website – www.sunocodaytonachallenge.com
The 2012 SPEED EuroSeries is delighted to announce a fuel supply partnership with the Anglo American Oil Company.
Sunoco will provide and service all fuel requirements for SPEED EuroSeries competitors at the 6 events of the season, handling delivery, fuel sampling and managing all transactions direct with competitors.
The association also means that 2012 SPEED EuroSeries competitors will now be eligible to win a drive at the 24 Hours of Daytona, part of the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge competition run by Sunoco and which SPEED racer Rob Garofall came achingly close to winning when the SPEED Series ran in the UK in 2010. Rob, driving a Norma M20F alongside Simon Phillips with whom he went on to partner in a MG-Lola LMP2 car together with Barry Gates in Le Mans Series races in 2011, narrowly failed to win the prestigious Daytona ride at the final race of the 2010 season.
Oli McCrudden, organiser of SPEED – the only international series for CN sports prototype cars authorised by the FIA: “The Daytona drive competition is one of the most sought after prizes in motorsport and gives our drivers yet another incentive to be part of the 2012 SPEED programme. Sunoco provides a first class service for our competitors and offers a top quality fuel for the cars which we’re thrilled to be teaming up with. By giving competitors direct contact with the fuel supplier, costs are kept competitive and a layer of admin is removed which makes things simpler for everyone.”
Anders Hildebrand, managing director of the Anglo American Oil Company: “We’re very excited to have been asked to supply the SPEED EuroSeries with Sunoco race fuels for the 2012 season. SPEED is recognised as the premier sports prototype series and we are really excited to again include them in the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge. SPEED Series racer, Rob Garofall, was very close winning the Challenge in 2009 so maybe we will see him in Daytona in 2013! We will support each event with the Sunoco CF FIA control fuel and deliver the fuel to each team in 50 or 200 litre drums.”
In 2012 the SPEED EuroSeries will compete at Le Mans Series (Le Castellet, Donington & Brno), FIA World Endurance Championship (Spa Francorchamps), FIA European Touring Car (Imola) and Spanish CER (Barcelona) events.
For more details on the 2011 Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge, visit the website: http://www.aaoil.co.uk/racing-Home
The Avelon team, responsible for the spectacular rebirth of the Wolf marque, will be running up to 7 cars in the 2012 SPEED EuroSeries. Team principal Maurizio Bellarosa today confirmed that alongside 3 official works Wolf cars the outfit will be bringing up to four extra customer cars throughout the year and could arrive at the opening round at Le Castellet with a 2ltr Luchini customer car running under the Avelon banner.
“We are committed to helping the growth of the SPEED EuroSeries and see it as the priority for our customers’ racing over the 2012 season. We will have a large contingent at Le Castellet for the first race of the season.”
JS Race Engineering, an experienced engine and race support outfit, are seeking a move into the SPEED EuroSeries paddock.
Their team has notable successes with cars running in Lotus race series across Europe and they are looking to duplicate that success in the world of CN racing.
For more information visit their website by clicking on the logo above or visiting www.jsraceengineering.com
J S Race Engineering is a part of Skyers Racing Engines, has vast experience in engine rebuilds, car preparation and race support and prides itself on top quality craftsmanship at competitive prices.
Contacts
James Skyers – 07540 398117
Lee Smith – 07854 074269
