ULTIMATE MOTORSPORT COMPLETED A CHALLENGING BUT PROMISING DEBUT IN THE ZANDVOORT FORMULA THREE MASTERS AT ZOLDER LAST WEEKEND WITH A COMPETITIVE SHOWING AGAINST THEIR RIVAL TEAMS FROM THE BRITISH F3 INTERNATIONAL SERIES.
The British team, based in Northamptonshire, had expected to build on the increasing potential of their French-build Mygale chassis but found themselves having to withdraw one of their cars and replace it with a loaned Dallara chassis.
It was a hard weekend for the team, who worked overnight to prepare the new machine only to see Devaney knocked into retirement two laps in, but there was reward for team-mate Esteban Guerrieri as he ran most of his race as the second of the British teams before dropping down the order to finish 18th.
Team manager Jonny Ostrowski said: "It was good to come here straight from Spa and take part in the Masters for the first time. Competing against the best teams in Europe is not an easy task.
"We found ourselves in an awkward position on Friday night that resulted in us having to withdraw one of our Mygale cars. We had an option to borrow a Dallara car from Carlin and with the aim of putting Mick in the race we went for it! I would like to thank all of the team principles for their sporting gesture by signing the agreement document that allowed us to make the chassis change and everyone at Carlin for the car and their advice and assistance.
"The down side is that we all had to work through the night, giving up wasn't an option. It is a shame that Mick was involved in a racing incident on lap two and was unable to continue in the race. We came away from Zolder not only with an 'all-nighter' but also a great sense of having pushed to the maximum and a job well done, it really was a credit to the whole team.
"Esteban had a tough qualifying but made a storming start and by lap two he was running just behind Marco Asmer, who was the highest placed driver from the British F3 International series. For most of the race he was 'P2' of the British cars, but ultimately he succumbed to some intense pressure and finished 'P4' of the British category."
Devaney, who had limited time to get used to his Dallara chassis before qualifying, started the race from 32nd on the grid and was hit by Jelley in the last corner of lap two, which caused radiator damage on his car and forced his retirement from the race.
Guerrieri started in 21st, promoted a place after Sam Bird took a 10 place grid penalty for an engine change, and by the end of lap two he was up to 12th. He defended his position from Arte Mustonen for most of the race, but dropped to 18th after running wide.
Guerrieri said: "It was not bad, but could have been better. We had a really challenging weekend as a team and once again we showed how well we can cope with that kind of pressure. I had a great start and we were running really well, but Arte was pushing hard for the entire race and we could not quite hold on."
Devaney added: "It has been a long weekend for all of us and I really have to thank the team for all their effort. I was faced with not taking any further part in the weekend after Friday's running. The team could have left it at that, but they chose not to take the easy option and did a great job.
"It was an unbelievable achievement to get into qualifying and to get onto that grid, so it was a shame we could not do more with it, through no fault of our own. We are now looking forward to Silverstone."
