Two wins on debut for Yorkshire-built cars

The first two races in the Honda-powered SPEED EuroSeries proved an ideal debut for the Yorkshire-based WFR cars. Having seen off an initial challenge from the Italian built Wolfs, the two cars of Warren Hughes/Jody Firth and Joey Foster/Nigel Moore finished first and second in both races

The first race saw Warren hard on the heels of former Grand Prix driver, Alex Caffi right up until the pits stops. His WRF03 was stationary for a mere 31 seconds before his co-driver Jody was on his way. By contrast the Italian-built Wolf made a tardy stop and had not gone much further before a fuel pump switch problem brought it to a halt. Nigel presented the team with a perfect result by taking second place in the closing stages of the race despite a spin.

In the second of the two 90-minute races, the two WRF03s quickly pulled ahead of the field, circulating in close company for much of the time, the Hughes/Firth car just ahead. A formation finish was on the cards but, as Jody admitted, “I celebrated too early!” A slightly embarrassed Nigel observed, “I didn’t expect him to back off like that” after having slipped past to win by about a tenth of a second.

Team owner, Jonathan France was understandably delighted that his four drivers now share the lead of the series, particularly as the engine in Warren and Jody’s car had been changed overnight. Both cars had suffered from niggling problems but had, this time, proven their competitiveness over the lighter Wolfs during a full 90 minutes. Third place in the two races was taken by the Ligiers of Jono Coleman/Nigel Greensall and Dean Stirling/Massimo Vignali respectively.

From rounds one and two, which took place at the Paul Ricard Le Castellet circuit, the SPEED EuroSeries now moves on the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit on May 5-7 where it will again be the main supporting event for the Le Mans Series.