Team TFT scored a brace of race wins with its Normas in round 2 of the SPEED Euroseries at Spa-Francorchamps at the weekend, but If Motorsport’s Dean Stirling moved to the top of the championship standings.
With both works WFRs, which won both races convincingly at the season opener in Paul Ricard, missing from the grid the events at the Belgian track were wide open and the first wasn’t settled until the very last lap of the race.
Damien Toulemonde looked set to clinch victory in the LD Autosport Norma he shared with Philippe Haezbrouck, but after Franck Lamanna has reeled him in having taken over from pole man Andre Vilarino, Toulemonde succumbed to the pressure at the Bus Stop on the final tour as Lamanna muscled his way past to win.
Julien Schell and David Caussanel completed the podium in the Pegasus Racing Ligier, with the TFL Racing Juno of Sarah Reader and Darren Burke in fourth.
Lamanna and Vilarino looked set to repeat their race 1 victory in the second event as the latter pulled out a big advantage early on, but a mid-race Safety Car period, called after Scott Marshall went off in his RLR Msport Ligier, wiped out their lead.
The entire field pitted under Safety Car conditions and Lamanna was shuffled way down the order as the second TFT car of Nick Padmore emerged ahead.
Padmore, who had also led the first race, was driving alone after regular co-driver Jean Rihon suffered an injury crashing in race 1, and he made no mistake, bringing the Norma home to an 8.630 second victory at the flag.
Haezbrouck and Toulemonde scored another second place finish for LD Autosport while Stirling finished third in the If Motorsport Ligier he shared with Matthew Draper.
SPEED Euroseries results – Round 2, Spa-Francorchamps
Race 1
1 Franck Lamanna / Andre Vilarino, Team TFT, Norma, 37 laps, 1:31:01.184
2 Philippe Haezebrouck / Damien Toulemonde, LD Autosport, Norma, +0.364
3 Julian Schell / David Caussanel, Pegasus Racing, Ligier, +22.905
4 Sarah Reader / Darren Burke, TFL Racing, Juno, +49.246
5 Duncan Williams, If Motorsport, Ligier, +1:17.701
6 Dean Stirling / Matthew Draper, If Motorsport, Ligier, +1:32.360
7 Jono Coleman / Nigel Greensall, HGRT, Ligier, +2:02.929
8 Alex Caffi / Maurizio Fratti, Wolf, Wolf, +2:06.712
9 Alex Craven / Robbie Kerr, Lanan Racing, Ligier, +1 lap
10 Jonathan Wright / Lars Viljoen, RLR Msport, Ligier, +1 lap
11 Mohsin Rashid / Charlie Hollings, Lanan Racing, +2 laps
12 Pedro De Mello / Manuel De Mello, Team Prebuild, Ligier, +2 laps
13 Scott Marshal / Melroy Heemskirk, RLR Msport, Ligier, +2 laps
14 Hugues Taittinger / Christophe D’Ansembourg, Springbox Concept, Ligier, +3 laps
15 Christophe Burrick / Simon Phillips, RLR Msport, Norma, +3 laps
16 Scott Tucker, Horag Racing, Ligier, +3 laps
17 Marco Maneschi / Beppe Barresi / Francesco Mann, Island Motorsport, Juno, +5 laps
18 Antonio Mastrobernadin, Wolf, Wolf, +7 laps
19 Dominique Wazniak / Violette Arnaud, Springbox Concept, Ligier, +9 laps
Not classified
Jean Rihon / Nick Padmore, Team TFT, Norma, 23 laps
Ivan Bellarosa, Wolf, Wolf, 17 laps
Jamie Constable / Michael Cantillon, TFL Racing, Juno, 6 laps
Race 2
1 Jean Rihon / Nick Padmore, Team TFT, Norma, 23 laps, 1:00:03.207
2 Philippe Haezebrouck / Damien Toulemonde, LD Autosport, Norma, +8.630
3 Dean Stirling / Matthew Draper, If Motorsport, Ligier, +15.475
4 Julian Schell / David Caussanel, Pegasus Racing, Ligier, +15.725
5 Alex Craven / Robbie Kerr, Lanan Racing, Ligier, +20.195
6 Franck Lamanna / Andre Vilarino, Team TFT, Norma, +24.722
7 Jono Coleman / Nigel Greensall, HGRT, Ligier, +25.970
8 Sarah Reader / Darren Burke, TFL Racing, Juno, +28.517
9 Duncan Williams, If Motorsport, Ligier, +32.440
10 Scott Tucker, Horag Racing, Ligier, +45.683
11 Alex Caffi / Maurizio Fratti, Wolf, Wolf, +2:18.314
12 Mohsin Rashid / Charlie Hollings, Lanan Racing, +1 lap
13 Pedro De Mello / Manuel De Mello, Team Prebuild, Ligier, +1 lap
14 Christophe Burrick / Simon Phillips, RLR Msport, Norma, +1 lap
15 Hugues Taittinger / Christophe D’Ansembourg, Springbox Concept, Ligier, +1 lap
16 Dominique Wazniak / Violette Arnaud, Springbox Concept, Ligier, +1 lap
17 Antonio Mastrobernadin, Wolf, Wolf, +1 lap
18 Jamie Constable / Michael Cantillon, TFL Racing, Juno, +3 laps
19 Marco Maneschi / Beppe Barresi / Francesco Mann, Island Motorsport, Juno, +6 laps
Not classified
Scott Marshal / Melroy Heemskirk, RLR Msport, Ligier, 11 laps
Jonathan Wright / Lars Viljoen, RLR Msport, Ligier, 4 laps
Ivan Bellarosa, Wolf, Wolf, 2 laps
Championship Standings (after 2 rounds)
1 Dean Stirling, 38
2 Warren Hughes, 28pts
= Jody Firth, 28
= Joey Foster, 28
= Nigel Moore, 28
6 Damien Toulemonde, 26
= Philippe Haezebrouck, 26
= Alex Craven, 26
= Robbie Kerr, 26
Next round: 17-19 June, Donington Park
Watch SPEED Euroseries highlights on Motors TV in 2011.
Andy Wilkinson
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