The first Euro Boss round of the 2009 season gave the opportunity to run out the 1994 ex-Schumacher F1 Benetton-Ford of David Shelton. Supported by Kockney Koi and ably driven by well recognised sportscar driver Phil Keen. Having driven a sister car to victory in the wet at Zolder this would be the first time that Phil had driven a Formula 1 car in the dry. Likewise for the team a big adjustment would be required from the usual Viper and BMW preparation to suit the Benetton.

Free practice provided the first chance to drive the car for Phil, to show the capability of these cars with a quick driver the out lap saw over 160mph reached! With the warm up over and in the single day format attention quickly turned to qualifying. At the end of the allocated time, Phil was getting comfortable with the car and the Avon tyres and had secured a berth on the front row alongside the similar but Judd powered Bennetton of Marijn van Kalmthout. The gap to the pole sitter a mere 0.03 seconds and with a comfortable gap to the 2007 Ex-rocketsports Panoz ChampCar in 3rd a solid platform had been achieved.

At the start of the first race Phil shadowed Marijn carefully at a distance of just under a third of a second. The Judd powered car enjoying a power advantage that allowed it to pull away slightly on the straights before being caught again in the corners. With the situation well under control Phil waited patiently until lap 11, when a slight mistake allowed the 13 car to slip past into the lead. The lead started to expand rapidly and was confirmed when the 2 car spun at Druids a few laps later. Clearly enjoying himself Phil pushed on to the end recording the races fastest lap in the process.

The Sunday morning started brightly and with the overnight change of wing from a Monaco hi-downforce spec to a more moderate wing the car, tteam and driver were in with a good opportunity of a repeat performance. This advantage was increased by the race 1 pole sitting Benetton being relegated to the back of the grid after a DNF. As the lights went green Phil's increasing confidence with the Benetton lead to the establishment of an early lead that was not to be challenged during the race. By the end a 22 second lead had been established and a second victory secured.

For a driver that had not driven a Formula 1 car in the dry before and a team in its first outing with a Formula car of any type let alone an ex-Schumacher formula 1 Benettong the double victory was especially pleasing. Next up for the team back to the day job with the Viper at Snetterton.

All photos by Mick Herring