SPEED EuroSeries News

Following discussions with teams, manufacturers and drivers, the SPEED EuroSeries calendar has been reshaped in line with competitor requirements.

The new look schedule will feature an 8 race, 4 meeting championship with runs at Donington, Dijon and Spa making up the series following the opening 2 rounds at the FIA World Touring Car Championship event at the Hungaroring in May.

Oli McCrudden, SPEED coordinator: “The constructive meeting we held recently indicated that there is a clear desire for the series to continue. The specific points that were made clear included a desire for a series of events consolidated around more northern European venues and sticking with the traditional SPEED 2-race format.”

The Donington event will replace the Nurburgring meeting originally included on the calendar. The German organisers, under schedule pressures at their busy event, had been forced to reduce the SPEED content to 3 x 20 minute sessions and required the series to join with another championship on track, neither of which would fit in with the championship’s FIA regulations.

“Its a shame not to be at the Ring but circumstances dictate the change and we will aim to run a full programme there in 2014,” continued McCrudden. “Donington and the BRSCC have been extremely accomodating in welcoming SPEED at late notice. Its a fantastic track which SPEED has visited previously and gives the UK teams an important opportunity to race in front of their home crowd before we head back into Europe for the remainder of the season.”

The planned Navarra event has also been cancelled at the teams’ request. “The Navarra organsers were offering a fantastic opportunity to race in a new location at a high quality facility and we will certainly work to get there in 2014, but clearly the challenge for 2013 is to focus on traditional race venues in established markets for teams and manufacturers,” said McCrudden.

The Donington event schedule will see qualifying and Race 1 take place on Saturday 13th July, with a second race on the Sunday. Testing is available on Thursday 11th July booked through the circuit. A full day test in £375 plus £50 for a garage. To book, contact Donington on 01332 819 531 or email dani.galpin@donington-park.co.uk

Alessandro Latif and Ivan Bellarosa (Honda Wolf) won both races in front of an electrifying crowd of tens of thousands at the FIA WTCC event at the Hungaroring as the SPEED EuroSeries got under way for 2013.

Despite a disapponting entry, the SPEED machines were beautifully presented and the huge Hungarian crowd that was in attendance for local WTCC star Norbi Michelisz appreciated the spectacle. IN qualifying, the Wolf was challenged by the RLR Msport Honda Ligier of Simon Phillips and Rob Garofall. The latter mounted a challenge to the Bellarosa lap times having not been in a car for over 18 months and showed why he is a driver to be reckoned with. Julien Schell (Pegasus Racing Honda Ligier) and Niki Leutwiler were also keeping the Wolf in their sights during qualifying but ultimately the 2012 Champion prevailed. Behind the three leading protagonists, the second Pegasus Ligier of the excellent Amandine Foulard and returning Gentleman racer, Belgian Jean-Lou Rihon vied for position with the Dean Stirling/Matt Draper and Garry Findlay/Fraser O’Brien Tigas. O’brien was making his debut in the series.

Race 1 was a 90 minute affair which saw strong battles between the drivers with the front there cars seeing the ‘pro’ drivers starting the race. After the driver changes, youngster Latif was charged with teh task of maintaining the lead and his lap times remained impressively steady to secure his first podium visit in SPEED. The Wolf pairing were joined on the podium by the two Ligiers of Phillips/Garofall and Leutwiler/Schell. Leutwiler made a fantastic effort to chase down Phillips after the driver change, closing at over a second per lap but as the cars drew alongside each other on the start-finish straight with just 10 minutes remaining, the Swiss racer span out of the fight at turn 1 and had to settle for third.

In race 2, Latif lead the first half hour when he changed to Bellarosa. After that the Wolf was not challenged for the lead and whilst entertaining races were had throughout the field, the same drivers made the podium – with Schell and Leutwiler ahead of Garofall and Phillips this time.

With a Euro 10,000 prize fund offered by the Series organisers and suppliers, all drivers went away with a win bonus on their accounts.

Full results and details on the Hungaroring event page on the SPEED website.

Some familiar faces will be on the SPEED EuroSeries grid at the Hungaroring this weekend when the championship kicks off as part of the huge FIA World Touring Car Championship event.

Rob Garofall, a previous winner of the UK SPEED Series, will be at the wheel of the RLR Msport prepared Ligier JS53 alongside anotehr former SPEED UK racer, Simon Phillips. Garofall was a runner up in the inaugural Daytona Challenge in 2010 when he narrowly missed out on a Daytona drive prize when his car failed at the last race of the season. Phillips, part of the Norma UK outfit in 2009-10 seasons, went on to race in the RLR LMP2 ELMS entry in 2011 alongside Garofall and Barry Gates.

Elsewhere, Simon Phillips’ former Norma UK teammate, Jean Lou Rihon, will be joining racy lady Amandine Foulard as the pair take to the track in the Pegasus Racing Ligier JS53 – one of two cars run by the outfit this weekend. The other will be driven by former SPEED EuroSeries race winner, Julien Schell who partners with Swiss ace, Niki Leutwiler.

Last year’s Champion, Ivan Bellarosa, will this season run with his Wolf driving with young star in the making, Alessandro Latif. The pair have already competed in other races this season and collected honours so should be one to watch. Other racers expected are Stef Romecki and Dom Cauvin.

SPEED EuroSeries competitors will be based in the pit box garages at the Hungaroring event. The box is included in the race entry fee.

There will be 2 – 3 cars per garage.

Access details and timetable will follow in due course.

Example of Hungaroring garage layout shown below:

SPEED EUROSERIES KICKS OFF AT HUNGARORING WITH €10,000 PRIZE FUND BOOST

The SPEED EuroSeries will offer a €10,000 prize fund for the first event of the rescheduled 2013 season at the WTCC meeting at the Hungaroring on 3-5 May.

The overall winner in Hungary will collect €2000, with €1500 for second and €1000 for third. Other prize monies are available (see details below). There is an even bigger prize fund for the end of season awards making this the best rewarded SPEED EuroSeries ever.

SPEED EuroSeries Hungaroring Prize Fund

These awards will be made for the results of Race 2 on Sunday May 5th at Hungaroring.

“Following the decision to cancel the planned Monza event we sat down with our partners including the very enthusiastic Eurosport Events who run the WTCC events and they really want to have our sportscars running to broaden the event offering. Together we have been able to put this excellent prize fund on the table to attract the best possible grid. We want to run a slimmer calendar this year with an even more attractive overall prize package with an even better budget and including a LMP2 test drive and with two brand new Honda K20A engines, one for the outright points winner and one for the earlier class victor. Remember we also have the fabulous Sunoco Daytona Challenge open to SPEED competitors which was won last season by our reigning champion, Ivan Bellarosa,” says Oliver McCrudden, CEO of SPEED EuroSeries organiser World Sports Car Organisation.

The SPEED EuroSeries will commence at the WTCC event at the Hungaroring 3-5 May.

The event will run over 3 days with SPEED competitors having 2 x 60 minute free practice sessions on the Friday followed by a 60 minute qualifying sessions and 90 minute race on Saturday. The Sunday will see another 90 minute race take place before the main WTCC event.

“Following the decision to cancel the planned Monza event we sat down with our partners including the very enthusiastic Eurosport Events who run the WTCC events and they really want to have our sportscars running to broaden the event offering. Together we have been able to put an excellent prize fund on the table to attract the best possible grid, the details of which will be communicated next week. We will run a slimmer calendar this year with an even more attractive overall prize package including a LMP2 test drive and two brand new Honda K20A engines for the winner overall and the class winner for earlier chassis machines. We also have the fabulous Sunoco Daytona Challenge open to SPEED competitors which was won last season by our reigning champion, Ivan Bellarosa,” says Oliver McCrudden, CEO of SPEED EuroSeries organiser World Sports Car Organisation.

Timetable, hotel partners and information regarding garages will be issued next week (commencing 08/04/13).

Pegasus Racing will run two Ligier JS53 chassis in the 2013 SPEED EuroSeries with one car piloted by the promising young French pairing of Amandine Foulard and Lionel Comole.

Amandine is a rising star in French motorsport and has been a regular feature of the SPEED EuroSeries’ first two seasons whilst Lionel, a professional sportsman whose career was prematurely ended by a degenitive arthritic condition, joined the SPEED grid at Dijon in 2012 and immediately displayed the competitive instinct to be a winner.

“Its fantastic to have Amandine and Lionel involved in 2013,” said Oli McCrudden, SPEED organiser. “Amandine has clearly developed her race craft and improved her speed over the two seasons in which she has raced with SPEED. Lionel is a real competitor with experience in rallying and other race formats. His high profile as a sportsman in France has lead to his significant involvement in the Arthritus Foundation charity, a cause very personnal to him, and one which SPEED will be championing this season.”

Pegasus Racing has been involved in SPEED EuroSeries campaigns since 2011 but this year will be the first time that the Strasbourg-based outfit will contest a full season. Having been on the top step of the podium in past events, they are one to watch in 2013.

French Norma M20FC race team, JMP Racing – which made its debut in the 2012 SPEED EuroSeries event at Dijon – has announced its driver line up for the 2013 SPEED challenge.

French racer Dominique Cauvin, Third in French Formula 3 Cup in 2007 will partner 24 year old Stephane Romecki in the car. Romecki has extensive CN race experience having driven for the Ibanez Racing Team in previous years’.

The team, hailing from Champforgeuil, will race as the number 8 car in the championship.

Following the launch in the U.S. of the Wolf GB08 last December by Motorsport Southwest, the new WOLF RACING CARS dealer for the North America, the marque achieved its first notable acievement recently when Max Papis tested a car at AD HARRIS HILL ​​ROAD, and promptly recorded the new track record (1m 13.4), beating the previous record set by Papis himself in a Ferrari 458 by almost 2 seconds.

Giovanni Bellarosa: “It is a great honor for us to have had Max in our car and we’re working to bring him across to Europe to race as a STAR INVITED driver in the SPEED EuroSeries.”

The first G-Cat Racing Wolf driver line-up has been announced with Neil Primrose and Garry Findlay set to pilot the #6 car in the 2013 SPEED EuroSeries championship.

Findlay and Primrose both drove in SPEED in 2012 with former Formula Ford ace Findlay in a Juno whilst Primrose, drummer with the band Travis, raced his own Wolf at the final event in Barcelona.

Oli McCrudden, SPEED organiser: “Neil and Garry will be a team to look out for in 2013 and bring a great competitive spirit to the series. Greg Caton’s G-Cat Racing team is a superb outfit and the together with the Wolf, they’re sure to be challenging for honours this year.”

More entry details to follow…