SPEED EuroSeries News - Competitor Information

Testing Opportunity for SPEED EuroSeries Competitors at Donington Event

ELMS Organisers have offered SPEED five hours of testing on the Donington circuit for the Friday of the meeting.

SPEED will underwrite the costs of the test session based on the response by competitors.
The cost will be 500 Euros per car + vat.

There will be two sessions for SPEED drivers in a programme as follows:

Session 1: 09.05hrs – 11.05hrs

Session 2: 13.20hrs –16.20hrs (subject to change)

If you wish to take part in the test session, please complete and return the attached form to SPEED EuroSeries organisers straight away to enable us to inform ELMS that we will take the track time.

Download booking forme here: SPEED – Donington Test Booking Form

Your booking does not become binding until there are sufficient cars entered to cover the track costs. Payment must be made by transfer. SPEED will issue an invoice for immediate payment on confirmation of the sessions.

Entries for the second meeting of the season, the showpiece meeting at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit as part of the brand new FIA World Endurance Championship, are going fast as drivers and teams seek to secure their place on what looks like being the biggest grid of CN sports prototypes in recent times.

In 2011, 25 cars arrived at the Belgium circuit to take on the challenges of Eau Rouge, La Source, the Bus Stop and the rest of the iconic track with the Team TFT Normas of Ander Vilarino/Franck Lamana and Nick Padmore/Jean Lou Rihon taking the race wins over the weekend; Padmore and Rihon will be returning to the SPEED paddock to defend their crown in 2012 with TFT running up to three chassis in the race which is promising a strong grid.

Drivers and teams are advised to submit entry forms and registrations for the Spa event as soon as possible to ensure sufficient paddock space is allocated to them in what is going to be a very busy meeting. A limited number of extra passes for the high profile event are available through SPEED. Please contact SPEED organisers now to avoid any disappointment.

Entry forms can be downloaded at the following page: www.speedeuroseries.com/downloads

Competitor Bulletin 21/03/12/1

Fuel Order Form

Competitors attending the Le Castellet event are reminded to contact Sunoco as soon as possible with fuel order requirements for the event.

Please download the order form here: Sunoco Fuel order form SPEED 2012

Information on the Sunoco fuel specification can be seen here: SUNOCO CF Fuel Spec Sheet

The European Le Mans Series organisers have issued the event timetable for the Le Castellet meeting which will host the opening two rounds of the 2012 SPEED EuroSeries.

The meeting has been reorganised to feature just a two day race programme with no track running on the Friday. This means that SPEED competitors will have free practice, qualifying and Race 1 on the Saturday with Race 2 taking place on the Sunday morning.

To download the timetable click here: Timetable – Le Castellet.

Details will be updated so please check on the Events page for any changes or bulletins.

Franco-Belge outfit SPYD RACING is the latest addition to the growing SPEED EuroSeries grid with their Ibanez Racing prepared Norma M20F.

Fresh from their CN category victory at the Gulf 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi, drivers Philippe Mace and Philippe Yschard will make their SPEED EuroSeries debut at the season opening rounds at Le Castellet at the end of the month. The team will enter the ‘Classic Class’ for older chassis designs which offers an attractive entry level to drivers looking to get into the high profile SPEED EuroSeries.

SPEED EuroSeries organiser, Oli McCrudden: “We’re delighted to welcome the team to the SPEED paddock and pleased that our initiative [the classic class] is proving popular. There are so many of the older chassis out there that are still competitive, affordable and great fun to race and it’s great to know that they will be used as they were intended rather than being confined off to track days or to sit unused in workshops.”

The Ibanez Racing team will feature three cars in the SPEED EuroSeries throughout the 2012 season with two Wolf GB08 chassis running alongside the Norma.

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 10^th 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.

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

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