Team WFR dominated the opening round of the revamped SPEED Euroseries at Paul Ricard at the weekend as the British squad scored 1-2 finishes in both races at the French circuit.
Despite missing out on pole position to the Wolf of Alex Caffi during Friday’s qualifying session, Warren Hughes chased the former F1 driver during the opening stint of race 1 and co-driver Jody Firth emerged from the pit stops ahead.
When Maurizio Fratti, who took over from Caffi, cruised to a halt soon after with a fuel pump issue, Firth was able to cruise to comfortable 43-second victory.
The Yorkshire squad’s superb start to the season was completed on the penultimate lap when the second car, which Nigel Moore shared with Joey Foster, passed the HGRT Ligier to grab second place.
HGRT’s Jono Coleman and Nigel Greensall settled for third ahead of the If Motorsport Ligier of Dean Stirling and Massimo Vignali, while Humaid al Masaood and Steven Kane took fifth for HMR,
Fratti and Greensall made better starts than Hughes in race 2, but the Newcastle-born driver quickly recovered to take the lead.
When Firth took over, he seemed set to cruise home for a second victory, but backed off in the dying stages of the 90 minute race to allow Moore past and ensure the wins were shared between the Team WFR cars.
The podium was completed by If Motorsport’s Stirling and Vignali, while the Lanan Racing Ligier shared by Robbie Kerr and Alex Craven finished fourth ahead of a charging Caffi.
SPEED Euroseries results – Round 1, Paul Ricard
Race 1
1 Warren Hughes / Jody Firth, Team WFR, WF03, 43 laps
2 Joey Foster / Nigel Moore, Team WFR, WF04, +42.867
3 Jono Coleman / Nigel Greensall, HGRT, Ligier, +46.498
4 Dean Stirling / Massimo Vignali, If Motorsport, Ligier, +1:09.266
5 Humaid al Masaood / Steven Kane, HMR, Ligier, +1 lap
6 Lars Viljoen / James Rigby, RLR Msport, Ligier, +1 lap
7 Ivan Bellarosa / Antonio Mastrobernadin, Wolf, Wolf, +2 laps
8 Alex Craven / Robbie Kerr, Lanan Racing, Ligier, +2 laps
9 Sarah Reader / Darren Burke, TFL Racing, Juno, +6 laps
10 Marco Maneschi / Beppe Barresi / Francesco Mann, Island Motorsport, Juno, +7 laps
Not classified
Amandine Foulard / Ines Taittinger, Springbox Concept, Ligier, 31 laps
Alex Caffi / Maurizio Fratti, Wolf, Wolf, 28 laps
Philippe Alliot / Didier Wozniak, Springbox Concept, Ligier, 26 laps
Julian Schell / David Caussanel, Pegasus Racing, Ligier, 14 laps
Bruce Jouanny / Jazeman Jaafar, Lanan Racing, Ligier, 13 laps
Lucas Foresti / Harry Tincknell, If Motorsport, Ligier, DNS
Race 2
1 Joey Foster / Nigel Moore, Team WFR, WF04, 43 laps
2 Warren Hughes / Jody Firth, Team WFR, WF03, +0.176
3 Dean Stirling / Massimo Vignali, If Motorsport, Ligier, +1:07.181
4 Alex Craven / Robbie Kerr, Lanan Racing, Ligier, +1:32.936
5 Alex Caffi / Maurizio Fratti, Wolf, Wolf, 1:55.568
6 Sarah Reader / Darren Burke, TFL Racing, Juno, +1 lap
7 Amandine Foulard / Ines Taittinger, Springbox Concept, Ligier, +4 laps
8 Marco Maneschi / Beppe Barresi / Francesco Mann, Island Motorsport, Juno, +5 laps
Not classified
Lars Viljoen / James Rigby, RLR Msport, Ligier, 22 laps
Jono Coleman / Nigel Greensall, HGRT, Ligier, 20 laps
Philippe Alliot / Didier Wozniak, Springbox Concept, Ligier, 13 laps
Humaid al Masaood / Steven Kane, HMR, Ligier, 9 laps
Ivan Bellarosa / Antonio Mastrobernadin, Wolf, Wolf, DNS
Julian Schell / David Caussanel, Pegasus Racing, Ligier, DNS
Bruce Jouanny / Jazeman Jaafar, Lanan Racing, Ligier, DNS
Lucas Foresti / Harry Tincknell, If Motorsport, Ligier, DNS
Championship Standings (after 1 round)
1 Warren Hughes, 28pts
= Jody Firth, 28
= Joey Foster, 28
= Nigel Moore, 28
5 Dean Stirling, 20
= Massimo Vignali, 20
Next round: 5-7 May, Spa-Francorchamps
Watch SPEED Euroseries highlights from Paul Ricard on Friday 13 May at 7:25pm (BST) on Motors TV.
Andy Wilkinson
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