Hodges-Walter Racing Conducted Tire Test?

Hodges-Walter Racing Conducted Tire Test?

While it was no secret that Hodges-Walter Racing tested at Barcelona with TM Europe drivers Daniel Mendoza and Juho Kivela, various reports are circulating that Hodges-Walter Racing was actually conducting a tire test. The team's regular drivers, Adrien Devereux, Luciano Soveral, as well as team owner Alan Hodges were reportedly testing with the tire compounds that are going to be debuted at the Round of Wales. Private tire tests are not permitted for tire compounds that have not been tested in an official test session.

In a Thursday press release, Hodges-Walter Racing claimed that they had received permission to use the tires in the Barcelona test, however that claim was disputed by some of the other teams. A spokesperson for Gessler Richter claimed that Hodges-Walter Racing's apparent rules breach was "blatant", whereas other teams, such as Manticore Engineering and BlackDiamond Racing called for penalties that would apply for the Round of Wales.