SPEED EuroSeries News - Event Reports

Wolf driver Ivan Bellarosa dominated round 3 of the SPEED EuroSeries event at Spa Francorchamps on Friday afternoon, winning from the Pegasus Racing Ligier JS53 of Julien Schell and Fred “Mako” Makowiecki and the TFT Norma of Jean Lou Rihon and Nick Padmore. It was the third succesive race win for the Italian.

On Saturday, a wet race saw the Pegasus car handle the treacherous conditions better than the field to score the team’s first SPEED victory ahead of series debutants Federicho Vecchi and Ronnie Valori in the Line Race Wolf in second and the promising young French racer, Anthony Gandon in the other TFT Norma third

The SPEED EuroSeries arrived at Spa Francorchamps for the FIA World Endurance Championship event with increasing numbers of challengers for points including Fred Makowiecki and Julien Schell in a works’ Ligier JS53 prepared by Pegasus Racing and the 2011 race winning TFT Norma of Nick Padmore and Jean Lou Rihon looking to upset the dominance of Ivan Bellarosa in his Wolf GB08, winner of the opening two races at Le Castellet.

Qualifying saw other new faces on the grid. The Springbox team, with four Ligiers in their equipe for the event, featured returning SPEED racers Christophe Burrick and Lars Viljoen. Without any time in the car prior to the event their learning curve was as steep as the legendary Eau Rouge hill at the circuit but both acquitted themselves well. Also in the paddock for the first time was Italian F3 specialists, Line Race. The team, with two Wolf GB08 chassis to their name, arrived with one car for this event and two young Italian drivers in Federico Vecchi and Ronnie Valori who immediately impressed with a third place in qualifying just behind the Pegasus Racing Ligier in second. Neither could get close to Bellarosa however. The Italian was 1.9 seconds quicker around the legendary track than his nearest rivals and picked up another valuable Pole Position. Runner-up at Le Castellet, the Darren Burke/Duncan Williams Team Excool Juno was suffering some significant handling issues which Burke skilfully drove around to put the car fourth.

In the one incident of note during the session, Jean Pierre Mothe, driving an Ibanez Racing Wolf GB08, was unfortunate to be involved in an incident which put his car out of the event and saw him join Sarah Reader (TFL Racing Juno) on the sidelines, her car having suffered technical problems in the week prior to the meeting. Mothe’s driving partner, Stefane Raffin, jumped into the D.B.Auto Wolf for the second half of qualifying and would race with Daniel Bassora for the weekend.

The FIA World Endurance Championship event preparation was thorough and the venue looked magnificent, but the one variable – as is so often the case at Spa – that even the FIA/ACO collaboration could not control, was the weather. With rain forecast throughout the weekend, SPEED drivers and teams were fortunate then to get a dry, if cloudy, qualifying session – and they were even more fortunate when the clouds cleared and the sun shone for the start of the Round 3 of the 2012 SPEED EuroSeries.

At the rolling start, Bellarosa was picked off by Burke who lead the pack from La Source down the hill and into the imposing Eau Rouge but by the time the field came past next, the Italian had re-established the lead from a hard charging “Mako’ with Valori in third and Burke fourth. Philippe Alliot, who had qualified 6^th, dropped back at the start but clawed his way up the field to have an net increase of one position by the end of lap two, great stuff from the veteran star who would run as high up as fourth during the race.

For the opening 10 laps, Bellarosa tried to get away, building a lead over Mako and Valori and posting the races’ fastest lap on lap 5 with an average speed of 181.6kph. The challenge from Valori suffered a set-back on lap 10 when the car pulled into the pits and remained there for two laps whilst the team worked to cure a problem. Once it was back on course, the early promise did not return as the car carried the issue and a 7^th placed finish was a good result in trying circumstances.

French youngster, Anthony Gandon, was making steady progress all this time. Driving the #96 TFT Racing Norma he has started 8^th and quietly got on with the job of making up places. When the pit stop window opened for single drivers and Bellarosa pitted on lap 17, Gandon had moved up to 5^th. With his own 45 second stop done, Gandon rejoined in 9^th place and fought hard to post an excellent 4^th place finish.

After the pitstops, Schell briefly headed Bellarosa but it was short-lived. On lap 45, the Wolf was back in front and heading comfortably for the ninth straight SPEED victory for Bellarosa, extending the championship lead. He was joined on the podium by the Pegasus drivers and Rihon & Padmore who showed strongly.

After the race, the stewards applied the race win success ballast regulation which saw the Wolf receive an extra 20kg of weight for race 2.

Race 2

Having evaded the promised monsoon conditions to get dry practices and race 1 it was only to be expected that Saturday would be dull, cold and wet and getting wetter. With no time available in the WEC schedule for even two familiarisation laps or a chance for the second driver to feel the wet surface, the 18 car Speed EuroSeries grid followed the new Honda Civic pace car away from the green flag and into the murk and spray. Safely round the lap and the Civic pulls in as the red lights go out and we have the 60 minute race underway.

Ivan Bellarosa got the inside line at the first corner but Julian Schell and the Ligier were already showing a menacing stance and the blue machine was in front at the end of lap one. Duncan Williams had the Juno in third with Nick Padmore in the TFT Norma next ahead of the young Italian Federico Vecchi in the Line Race Wolf and the similar car of Greg Caton next up.

Sadly, the Williams Juno went off, was damaged and stopped on lap 3 and the Mastroberadino Wolf only completed 6 laps in the event before the engine gave way.

By lap 5 Schell had a 2.7 seconds advantage over Padmore and Vecchi with Bellarosa struggling with the water down in fourth. However at the halfway mark the advantage was less than a second and with pitstops to be had it was going to be tight. Bellarosa carried out his mandatory 45 second stop with 27 minutes left and the others followed suit over the next 10 minutes. With five laps to run Ronnie Valori had the lead in the Line Race car ahead of the two TFT Norma’s of Jean Lou Rihon and young French ace Anthony Gandon with the Ligier, now with Fred Makowiecki at the helm next and Bellarosa.

Makowiecki was lapping nearly 5 seconds quicker than the field and actually set the fastest lap of the race on lap 20 just before the chequered flag. He passed Valori for the lead on lap 17 and proceeded to draw away as the 60 minutes ran down to the flag. A delighted Gilles Allegoet from Ligier praised the team for speed and accuracy to take the first ever race victory for the new carbon chassis JS53. Second position for Line Race’s young Italians was another first time entry and Anthony Gandon took his first car racing podium in third place making is also a three different chassis makers podium as well.

With four rounds completed, Bellarosa leads the championship from Gandon with Belotti in third place. The next round of the championship is at Imola on June 22-24 as part of the European Touring Car Championship event.

The opening rounds of the 2012 SPEED EuroSeries for CN sports prototypes took place at Le Castellet over the weekend with an 18 car grid putting on the show for fans at the ELMS meeting. Both races were won by Italian Ivan Bellarosa’s Wolf GB08, pushed hard by the Darren Burke/Duncan Williams Juno CN2012 over 180 minutes.

In netting both pole positions, Bellarosa made his intentions for the season clear and despite a drive-through penalty in race 1 and a collision with the fellow Wolf of French team, DB Auto in race 2, he set the fastest laps in both races to head the championship table by 8 points from Burke & Williams. Series newcomer, Formula Ford Festival winner and McLaren Autosport Award nominee, Chrissy Palmer and teammate Sarah Reader finished their first race as a duo in third in race one. Italian Gugliemo Belotti (Avelon Formula Wolf), an experienced endurance touring car driver and Italian prototype racer, picked up a great third in race 2.

New Season – New Faces

31 drivers turned out for the season opener with, a very strong showing and proof that the SPEED EuroSeries CN sports proto grid is growing in this its second year. Operating out of the brand new Le Castellet pit complex, SPEED competitors arrived at the sweltering French circuit full of expectation with numerous new-look cars, teams and several new faces in the paddock.

A new structure for 2012 has seen the introduction of a Classic Class for older chassis and saw the Luchini of experienced Italian racer Ranieri Randaccio & SCI Racing contesting the class honours with Frenchman Richard Mori (Ibanez Racing Ligier JS49) and the Norma M20 of ‘Philippes’ Macé and Yschard (SPYD Racing). The latter pairing fared best over the weekend, taking home both trophies with a 13^th and 7^th placed finish overall in what is set to be a competitive and cost-effective race category joined by several more contestants at the next meeting at Spa Francorchamps.

The ‘Elite’ category features a blend of current designs and chassis configurations which are testament to the innovative and competitive arena of the CN formula. Italian manufacturer, Wolf, has led the way in carbon fibre chassis design with its GB08 which the more experienced French designers, Ligier & Norma, have followed with success. Against these the British marque, Juno Racing, has proved remarkably successful in maintaining a tubular-framed chassis with developed aero designs which make it a serious threat. Following a winter of testing and development, competitors arrived at the Paul Ricard circuit ready to prove their efforts.

Free practice and qualifying gave fans and competitors alike the opportunity to size up the class of 2012. Last season’s strong finisher Bellarosa was rapid in the first session but Darren Burke proved his quality by finding nearly a second between free practice and qualifying to keep the Italian keen, both cars sporting a new-look rear wing configuration which clearly works. Ultimately though, Bellarosa took pole from Burke by over a second with rapid newcomers Olivier Porta and William Cavailhaes (Ibanez Racing Service Wolf) a very good third ahead of Reader and Palmer.

The G-Cat Racing Wolf of former Historic Formula One racer, Rowland Kinch, was 5^th fastest in its first outing. Team owner Greg Caton has only had the car for a fortnight with neither driver getting more than a couple of hours behind the wheel before the race weekend; Caton is positive that simple developments can be made to take the car further up the grid. France’s Anthony Gandon and German Jens Petersen, both new racers with the SPEED EuroSeries, arrived with Team TFT’s Norma M20CF and impressed with 6^th place in qualifying. The excellent Team TFT won both SPEED races at Spa in 2011 and with a full challenge coming from the Spa round of SPEED onwards, looks to be challenging in 2012. With a skeleton crew, the pair came in just ahead of the Guglielmo Belotti-driven Wolf and the first Springbox Concept Ligier JS53, piloted by former F1 and sportscar star Philippe Alliot & promising French racer Amandine Foulard. The DB Auto team, another new outfit in the paddock brought their Wolf home 9th with Daniel Bassora and former SPEED UK racer Damien Delafosse at the wheel. The Gianluca Pizutti/Claudio Francisi Wolf closed out the top 10.

Race 1 started soon after qualifying – too soon for some, who were forced to start from the pit lane. Bellarosa was caught out by Burke at the start too, the Englishman getting ahead as they squeezed towards the first corner but the Wolf was soon ahead. Sector times saw the Juno quick down the long Mistral straight but the Wolf was quicker round the slow corners, Bellarosa driving sensationally to extend a sizeable lead. An error by the Italian team which saw Pane and others make a mandatory stop outside the pit window offered a slim chance to the Juno, with Duncan Williams at the wheel for the final 30 minutes but despite an excellent stint, he was unable to close the gap to the Wolf which finished over a minute clear. Third place was sealed by the Juno of Reader/Palmer, a great showing for the first time out by Palmer and the rapid Reader.

Race 2 saw a hectic start early on the Sunday morning. At the rolling start Reader suffered from gearbox problems which meant she dropped back from the car in front as they approached the green lights meaning Williams and Bellarosa got away as cars around Sarah hesitated then passed her before the startline, the Belotti and Kinch cars benefitting inadvertently. Williams kept Bellarosa in sight over the first 30 minutes before handing over to Burke who began to reel in the Italian, The paddock held its breath when Bellarosa and the DB Auto car came together; both cars were stranded mid-track for what seemed a very long time with the Team Excool Juno getting closer. When Bellarosa finally untangled himself and set off, the gap was just 20 seconds and closing. Over the last few laps Burke was charging hard and closed down to 17 seconds but simply did not have enough time to make up the difference.

Sarah Reader was running a strong 3^rd after the start line woes but in a final twist of a tough weekend for the TFL Racing team, suffered a loosening bolt on a throttle pedal which saw her drop back through the pack over the final laps to finish 11^th handing third to the strong showing Belotti. The impressive G-Cat Wolf of Kinch/Latif was fourth with Gandon/Petersen fifth. Despite the collision with Bellarosa the Bassora/Delafosse Wolf was sixth ahead of the Mace/Yschard Norma with impressive lady racer Ines Taittinger and veteran racer Philip Plainsance just behind. Pizzuti/Francisi and Antonio Mastroberardino, both Avelon Formula Wolf runners, were just ahead of the Reader/Palmer car with the Ligier JS51 of Dominique Wozniak and Jarno Violette closing out the finishers.

Bellarosa’s enthusiastic celebrations at the end of the first race saw the car pirouetting some tasty doughnuts. The next race is in Belgium at the iconic Spa Francorchamps circuit where waffles are the snack of choice. Will Bellarosa’s races be as sweet? Stay tuned to find out.

Follow action from the championship @SPEEDEuroSeries or on www.facebook.com/speedeuroseries

The organisers of the FIA International Authorised SPEED EuroSeries are pleased to announce the calendar for the 2012 season.

The 6 event, 12 race programme will once again feature at Le Mans Series events, starting with the opeing LMS event at the Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet before joining up with the new FIA World Endurance Championship meeting at Spa Francorchamps.

In a change to previously published details, the championship will now make a visit to Imola in June before heading to Donington in July. A journey into Eastern Europe will see SPEED race at the incredible Brno track and will finish on the Grand Prix circuit at Barcelona, Spain for the end of season fiesta.

The dates are:

The points scoring structure of the championship has changed for 2012 with 3 categories in which to score: Elite, Sporting League & Classic League.

The Elite Class will be the general FIA classification and will feature all drivers taking part in the races throughout the season.

A new category has been established, referred to as the Sporting league (often known as the gentleman drivers’ category) which will acknowledge the talents and results of eligible drivers registered for the Sporting Drivers League.

A final category is being initiated to award owner-drivers of earlier model CN cars. A specific model list of these makes of vehicle will be posted on the SPEED website in due course and additional awards instigated for this category.

Championship organiser, Oli McCrudden: “The 2012 calendar gives competitors a season of real race tracks at quality events. We’re very pleased to be part of the LMS events on the calendar; Paul  Ricard will see the spectacular launch of the LMS and SPEED year whilst Donington and Brno are two of the most formidable drivers’ circuits in the world. The FIA WEC event at Spa will be a real highlight; we had 25 cars there in 2011 and it promises to be an even bigger event as the WEC makes its first European splash in 2012. The finale at Barcelona will see SPEED starring, comes at a good time in the year and is the perfect location for a grand finale. We’re looking forward to a great year.”

The decision to run three categories in the championship recognises the clear demand for extra race opportunities.

“There’s a vast amount of older chassis on the market available at remarkably low prices and we want to offer people a way into sports proto racing on this stage at a low-cost level,” says McCrudden. “Entry fees for these older chassis will be priced accordingly to encourage high entry levels and points and trophies will be available for drivers in the Classic League. Whilst we feature some star names on the grid, we remain firmly a pro-am series and it’s important to recognise that gentleman racers are putting in superb performances week in, week out. Amateur drivers’ achievements will be recognised in the Sporting League.”

More details on events, entry fees etc will be available online shortly.

Ivan Bellarosa claimed his third double win of the 2011 SPEED EuroSeries season at Estoril in Portugal over the weekend to hand the Avelon Wolf team the inaugural SPEED EuroSeries Champion Team title.

Bellarosa’s impressive finish to the season which has seen him on top of the podium at Imola, Silverstone and Estoril left him fourth in the overalldrivers’ championship behind Wolf team-mate Dean Stirling and eventual winners, Warren Hughes and Jody Firth in the Xero Competition WFR.

For results from the Estoril event, visit the Event page.

The final round of the inaugural Speed EuroSeries enjoyed the sun-kissed setting of Portugal’s Estoril Circuit just outside the Cascais resort as the regular support event to the prestigious Le Mans Series finale. Whilst journey expenses and end of season budget woes depleted the normal grid, all seven potential winners were of course entered. With three drivers all sitting on equal points at the top of the table there was everything to play for. Dean Stirling, Jody Firth and Warren Hughes headed the league followed by Matt Draper, who was not entered this weekend, Darren Burke and Sarah Reader and multiple winner, Ivan Bellarosa. This meant that the manufacturers’ title was also a fight between Ligier, Wolf and WFR.

Teams arrived early for Thursday testing with official practice and qualifying on Friday. Bellarosa was supremely confident after a quick practice and sat out the first 30 minutes of qualifying. The Italian then ran off a short series of 8 laps setting fastest time four times to put the marker down at 1.38.041 for pole. Dean Stirling was also benefiting from the Avelon teams ambitions in the Speed Euroseries to take first and second to drive their chassis sales for 2012. Dean ended up second fastest even though he had his fastest time removed by the Stewards for being too quick in the pit lane, his second quickest time still held his place on the grid. The ever improving TFL Juno of Sarah Reader and Darren Burke was next up with the Lanan Ligier of Mohsin Rashid and Charlie Hollings fourth fastest after a very useful test on Thursday which proved that the Cranfield-based team had sorted the problems that had upset their expected Silverstone results.

The Xero Competition run WFR team managed to take fifth place after a fraught qualifying. On the very first lap on track the throttle cable of the Hughes/Firth car snapped before they had even set a time. The organisers managed to get the car back to the paddock in time for the team to renew the cable and get some laps on the timesheet. Their second car of Ben Clucas and Tom Bradshaw was going well until a water pipe cracked and the temperature gauge went towards the red zone. The grid was completed by the Jamie Constable/Michael Cantillon TFL Juno and the Pegasus Ligier driven by Pedro and Manuel Breyner, Portuguese brothers who run the PreBuild construction company.

The Estoril weekend featured two 90 minute races to conclude the season. Race 1 on Saturday saw Dean Stirling take the lead from the rolling start followed by Bellarosa, Darren Burke, Warren Hughes, Charlie Hollings and Tom Bradshaw. By lap 4 Bellarosa was in front and Burke had also slipped by Stirling. On lap 15 Hughes and Stirling tangled, the former colliding with the rear of the Wolf, with the 15 car spinning off into the gravel. Once restarted Hughes took the WFR into the pits for front bodywork repairs, altogether losing 6 laps. At the hour mark Bellarosa had a 16 second advantage over the Juno with Hollings still  very much in touch but Stirling seemed to be losing track time but still heading Bradshaw, Jamie Constable in the second TFL car, Bellotti’s well driven Wolf, the Breyner Ligier and Hughes.

Stirling’s problem was finally diagnosed as a broken exhaust manifold and the competitive Avelon team immediately changed it on pit road but lost 7 laps in the process. This shuffled the pack as the pitstops took place with Sarah Reader taking over the second place Juno, Hollings handing over to car owner Mohsin Rashid and Ben Clucas stepping into the WFR. As the 90 minutes ran down the 14 car had an electrical failure which forced the WFR into retirement and a couple of spins dropped places for the number 20 Ligier. At the flag Bellarosa was firmly in the lead with the brilliantly run Burke/Reader Juno as richly deserved second, the calm, well paced Belotti Stilo Wolf third and Rashid/Hollings fourth. Eighth for Stirling upset the points tally and he was not happy to have been bumped from behind by Hughes who only added 6 points to his own championship tab. So going into the Sunday finale of the season, it would be all to play for with 102 points playing 117 with 16 up for grabs on the morning.

Everyone was up early and eager for the 9.45am race that would determine the name of the first ever FIA Speed EuroSeries champion. Bellarosa lead from the start with Stirling commencing an hour long dice with Darren Burke and Warren Hughes. This scrap was the most entertaining dice of the weekend with but a hundredth of a second between them for many, many laps. If the championship result had been declared at the 60 minute mark Dean would have taken the Speed title from Hughes/Firth and Bellarosa. The 45 minute pit lane open sign started a shuffle of the runners and also signalled Stirling’s problem moment when a cracked exhaust started to sap the power of the Honda engine. Burke got past him and so did Hughes just before they finished their stint and handed over to Sarah Reader and Jody Firth. With the stops completed and 30 minutes to run Bellarosa headed Firth, Reader, Stirling, Tom Bradshaw now in the WFR, Bellotti, Hollings in the Lanan Ligier but under a lap penalty for changing drivers outside the pit window, Cantillon and Breyner.

That’s how the race finished making Hughes/Firth champions with 114 points, just 3 points ahead of Dean Stirling with Ivan Bellarosa third and the hard working Daren Burke and Sarah Reader fourth.

The Speed EuroSeries has proved the revelation of the 2011 European racing scene. There has been 12 races at six events in five countries, an average grid of 16 cars and more than 60 drivers have scored points during the season. Going into the final event four chassis marques vied for the title, three teams could take their specific trophy and seven drivers were in with a mathematical chance of taking the first ever FIA Speed EuroSeries  champion’s title.

Plans for 2012 expansion are well established already with an agreement to become even closer to the Patrick Peter run LMS series but also taking in the new World Endurance Championship support races expected to be at Spa and Silverstone next year. The final LMS calendar is yet to be ratified but races at Paul Ricard, RedBull Ring, Imola and Donington are being considered. Speed is campaigning to have two 90-minute races as a minimum each weekend, extended practice time and testing available on Thursday before the meeting. Honda Europe will develop their partnership with the Speed programme, TV coverage will continue to reach the farthest corners of the globe and additional sponsorships and benefits are in negotiations presently.

Italian ace Ivan Bellarosa, double winner in the SPEED EuroSeries at Imola and Silverstone in his Wolf GB08 chassis, has taken pole position after a stunning qualifying performance at the season finale at Estoril.

Bellarosa was well over a second ahead of teammate and joint points leader, Dean Stirling whose second position on the grid represents his best qualifying performance this season and makes him favourite to clinch the inaugural SPEED EuroSeries crown.

Stirling’s closest challengers, the #14 drivers Warren Hughes and Jody Firth, suffered problems in the qualifying which saw them finish down the reduced field. The Xero Competition WFR cars will be fettled overnight and are sure to be more competitive in the first of two races this weekend which takes place tomorrow afternoon (Saturday).

The SPEED EuroSeries organisers and scrutineers have confirmed that following the Silverstone event, the engine from car #45, the Wolf GB08 of double race winner Ivan Bellarosa was dismantled and subjected to rigorous technical check for conformity and has proved to conform to championship regulations.

The engine – which had the cam cover sealed at the previous round at Imola and was sealed on further components following qualifying at Silverstone – was taken to the National Motorsport College at Silverstone where it was stripped in the presences of SPEED Technical Delegate, Trevor Johnson, the scrutineer from the Imola event, Nigel Jones and a representative from Honda who provided stock components for comparison and gave valuable technical input.

Following thorough checks the engine was proved to conform completely with SPEED regs.

Following confirmation of regulatory adherence, the event stewards declared the results from the Silverstone races final.

The decision will be tranmitted to the Italian Federation to enable the stewards from the event to reconvene and declare the Imola results final in due course.

To download the Silverstone Stewards’ Decision, click here: Steward Decision 1

Following a first race of contrasting fortunes, the Silverstone SPEED EuroSeries second round was initially one of nose to tail racing but ultimately delivered the same winner, Wolf’s Ivan Bellarosa. Whether over 60 minutes or, in this case, 90, his solo drive technique seemed to be the way to victory.

The early laps were frenetic, as Ivan and his rivals from the first race, Daren Burke and Fred Makowiecki circulated in close company. As in the morning, the Italian set off from pole while ‘Mako’ came charging through the field from the back. The flying Frenchman was knocking out personal best sectors with monotonous regularity and, by lap four, he was taking an inside line on WFR03 driver Tom Bradshaw and moving into a podium position. By lap eight there was less than two and half seconds between the leading trio.

Two laps later Ivan looked to be held up by a backmarker but, before Daren could take advantage, Frank was through into second. Down the Wellington Straight the three seemed as one. Two laps later Daren turned the proverbial tables on Frank as the Frenchman made a move on the leader, aborted and was then re-taken by the Englishman. At this stage Ivan appeared, if anything, the slowest of the three but was still able to just hold onto the lead. Less than one second between first and third had almost become the norm.

If that was not hectic enough then laps 15 and 16 provided the real drama. There was slight contact as Mako aimed for a closing gap down the inside of Daren and the fantastic entertainment ended in tears as he spun off the track and came to a halt on the entrance to Luffield. Now, without Mako to worry about, Daren could take the lead himself, much later than he had done in the first race. Once past he pulled away and by lap 24 had an advantage of over 12 seconds. Ivan pitted on lap 25, Daren left it to the last possible minute and came in two tours later, leaving Sarah with a 15.99 second lead and half an hour to maintain it.

It was now that race two repeated the pattern of race one as Ivan whittled down the Stratford-on-Avon lady’s lead. By lap 28 it was down to 10 seconds, by lap 31 it was well below five. One circuit later and Ivan was in a lead he was to keep to the end. This time there was no heartache for Sarah as she kept up the pace to finish just 12.55 seconds behind Ivan after 43 laps. Again it was the Warren Hughes/Jody Firth WFR03 that came through as the best of the rest, the latter having closed down a troubled Jono Coleman (HGRT Ligier) at Becketts. The Coleman/Nigel Greensall car also fell into the clutches of the Jean Rihon/Nick Padmore Norma as the race came to a close.

Drivers/Teams etc with race reports and information are invited to send details for inclusion to info@speedeuroseries.com

The first SPEED EuroSeries race at Silverstone was one of pit stops and ultimately, of bad luck. Ivan Bellarosa in one of Team Avalon’s Wolf GB08s led at the start; he led at the finish too but in between the green and chequered flags there were others scenting victory at the head of the field.

The Italian had the pole and was first off the grid with Darren Burke in a TFL Racing Juno in pursuit. Perhaps significantly, GT regular Fred Makowiecki was already moving through the field in his Springbox Concept Ligier having been forced to start at the back following fuel pump problems in qualifying. Initially, Ivan seemed to have the edge but then Darren closed up as the pair left the rest of the field behind. By the third lap Darren was up behind Ivan, taking the lead coming out of Copse.

Behind, Tom Bradshaw (WFR03), Nick Padmore (Norma) and the fast catching up Makowiecki were scrapping over third. The Frenchman was rattling off a series of fastest laps as he got the better of this battle. On lap eight he slipped past Ivan into second place and was looking good to eventually take the lead. However, late braking into Village, he spun through 180 degrees and the gap between himself and the leader rose from just over two seconds to a tad under seven. Still the fastest driver on the track he again closed in on the leader and was again not far behind as the time came for those all too crucial pit stops. The TFL Juno was in for just 1.14 minutes as Sarah took over from Darren. Mako handed over to former Grand Prix driver Philippe Alliot but the car was reluctant to restart and a tardy 2.7 minutes stop put the pair well down the field and effectively lost them any chance of victory.

Ivan remained in his Wolf for a solo drive and the story of the race now settled down to a steady erosion of Sarah’s lead. Darren reported that he had been lapping consistently, not wanting to push to hard in order to preserve the tyres for his co-driver’s stint. At the start of this the gap was just over 17 seconds but within two laps it was below 10 seconds and with Ivan’s Wolf now the fastest car on the circuit, it was only a matter of time. With eight minutes to go to the end of the one-hour race, the gap was below a second and, after one aborted attempt to take the lead, Ivan swept past Sarah.

There was still drama waiting. On the penultimate lap Sarah felt the Honda engine falter as a fuel pick up problem manifested itself. For another tour it kept going but at Vale, with the end in sight, the engine coughed a final time and her Juno ground to a halt. Second place was inherited by the chronically understeering WF03 of championship challengers Warren Hughes and Jody Firth who just managed to hold off the fast closing Norma of Jono Coleman and Nigel Greensall.

For results sheets click here.

Drivers/Teams etc with race reports and information are invited to send details for inclusion to info@speedeuroseries.com

Italian Wolf driver Ivan Bellarosa took as hard-earned double at Silverstone this weekend in the Avelon prepared Wolf GB08. The victories follow-up on his brace at Imola in the previous rounds and make him the man on form for the SPEED EuroSeries title which will be decided at Estoril in a fortnight’s time.

Frantically close racing, heartbreak for some and two wins for Italian Ivan Bellarosa were the order of the day for this weekend’s Silverstone rounds of the SPEED EuroSeries. Once again performing on the same card as the Le Mans Series and proving to be an ideal final step to international endurance racing, the two 60 and 90 minute races provided green light-to-chequered flag thrills.

The first race was one highlighted by pit stops and heartbreak. The hard charging Frenchman Frederic Makowiecki looked a potential winner as he sliced through the field, having had to start at the back following a fuel pump problem during qualifying. However, reluctance on the part of his Ligier to restart once former Grand Prix driver Philippe Alliot had taken over after half distance destroyed any chance of victory.

Earlier in the race, Ivan had lost the lead to TFL Racing’s Daren Burke. Daren pulled out a reasonable lead to hand over to co-driver Sarah Reader. The Italians had chosen to race solo and in the second part of the contest relentlessly hounded Sarah down to retake the lead. Heartbreak followed for the lady when fuel pick up problems brought her to a halt with one corner to go.

The 90-minute race was even more exciting even if the story was ultimately similar. The battle between Ivan, Daren and Fred was frenetic for lap after lap with, at times, a mere second between them. However, in diving for the lead Frank spun off the track. Freed from his attentions, Daren was then in a position to move ahead and build up a 16 second lead to hand over to Sarah. Again Ivan chased her down to take the lead. However, this time there were no last minute dramas for the TFL Juno and Sarah was able to finish second 12.5 seconds behind the winner.

Finishing second and then third in the two races, the WFR pair of Warren Hughes and Jody Firth moved up to level points with long-term leader Dean Stirling at the top of the championship table. It left all to play for during the final two races at Estoril, Portugal on September 23-25.