Warwick joins forces with ‘speed freak’ Zef
DARREN WARWICK’S racing retirement plan is now on hold after Guernsey’s own ‘speed freak’ zoomed to the rescue.
New sponsorship from Zef Eisenberg, reflected in the Madmax Race Team livery of Warwick’s two-litre Dallara, will allow the Sarnian star to contest the last three fixtures of this year’s FIA European Hill Climb Championship.
Warwick now heads to the big St Ursanne ascent in Switzerland – where he is a previous class winner – with reignited hopes of securing the hefty financial backing needed for the 2020 season.
‘Zef is a star, really, because he’s come along and obviously realised my plight, if you like,’ he said.
‘Yes, we may be quick enough but without the funding, we’re doing nothing.
‘We’ve had a good group of guys for the last 10-12 months and we’ve been putting portfolios together – we’ve approached at least a dozen good companies over here and, unfortunately, nobody’s been interested.
‘We had a good chat over a coffee and, gratefully, he’s decided to give him some help.’
Eisenberg is also incredibly grateful to have Warwick on the team.
The clincher had been seeing the Guernseyman, whom he terms a ‘fantastic driver’, defy a non-existent build-up to place second against outstanding opposition in the island’s own National Hillclimb round last month.
‘He hadn’t been in the car since October last year and he was invited down to do the “National” – wasn’t fresh, hadn’t been in a car, everything was last-minute – and he drove phenomenally well.
‘At Madmax Race Team, if we can get Darren to do the last three European Nationals, then that would just be wonderful.
‘The hope and the plan is that if he does really well, then we can all get together and find him the big-name sponsor for next year, because to do the full European Nationals is big money.’
More in Wednesday's Guernsey Press.
