Phil Quaife scored a stunning victory on his debut in the V de V championship last Sunday after putting in an impressive performance behind the wheel of the IF Ligier at Croft.

The 22 year-old Porsche Carrera Cup regular was sharing the drive with ex touring car racer Gareth Howell for the three hour mini-enduro having not driven a high downforce prototype for over two years. The pair had looked imperious from the moment the car turned a wheel during the weekend’s free-practice sessions and Phil duly delivered in qualifying, needing just a single set of tyres to take pole position.

“It’s a serious championship and there are some top quality drivers in it.” Phil said after qualifying. “So to come in and put it on pole feels good. I couldn’t fault the car, it was fantastic.”

Come Sunday co-driver Howell would start the race. A solid start saw him stretch his advantage over second place man Ally McKever to 15 seconds before Croft resident Charlie Hollings was able to get by and give chase.

Howell’s lead began to crumble as Hollings started to put his local knowledge to good use and moments before the end of his 90 minute stint, took the lead. The fight at the front remained fierce though as the pair came in to make their mandatory stops.

A combination of swift pit work by the IF team and a rapid driver change saw Phil emerge in the lead. With second placed man Chris Randell still in contention though, nothing but fast, consistent lap times would suffice. Quaife duly delivered, stretching the gap out to some 45 seconds before Paul O’Neill span and stalled at the penultimate corner. Although brief, the ensuing safety car period would negate his good work.

At the re-start, Phil maintained position on the drag down to the first corner and never looked back. With 45 minutes of the race remaining, he quickly dropped the second placed man to take an untroubled victory by a full 1min 20secs from Graham Fennymore and Chris Bialan. So dominant were they in fact that the pair finished nearly four laps ahead of the next Ligier.

“I really enjoyed the weekend, the whole experience of V de V and it was nice to get back into a high downforce machine.” said Phil. The car’s very different to the Porsche but I believe to be a top driver you’ve got to be capable of driving different machinery and I think I adapted pretty well.

“I really enjoyed working with IF Sport and a big thanks to the guys for giving me the opportunity. Fingers crossed that I did a good enough job and they invite me back for the final round at Silverstone.”