Stefan's Formula 3 debut over a wintry Easter weekend at the Cheshire circuit proved a disappointment as a car handling problem led to him finishing near the back of the field in both of the races. "It wasn't the start to the season I was hoping for," he said afterwards.

His first day on track was difficult as he lost practice time while the team worked on the car and he then found himself well down the timesheets in the qualifying sessions. The second of these came to an early end when Stefan went off the track at Old Hall Corner - fortunately he was unhurt. He qualified seventh out of nine in the National Class for both races, 25th and 23rd overall respectively.

On race day, Easter Monday, a snow shower half an hour before the first event made for tricky track conditions, but Stefan's main problem was his car. "It was handling really erratically which meant I couldn't push as hard as I wanted to. It's really hard to comprehend. I've been quick throughout testing and even on my first day I was in the top three with times, so to be off the pace like that was really demoralising." He finished seventh in class in both races, 21st and 23rd overall.

Stefan's team, Fluid Motorsport, were equally puzzled about the handling problem, so now they will work to find out what was wrong and put it right. They will make good use of several days of testing and Stefan is confident that all will be well for the next event, which takes place at Croft in North Yorkshire on 27 April.