Chipping Norton’s Sean Walkinshaw experienced a disappointing opening round in the European Formula 3 Open series in France.

Walkinshaw had spins while finishing ninth in both races in the Copa class during the rain and fog-affected meeting at Paul Ricard.

On course for the rostrum during the second of two races, a spin for the Team West-Tec driver on a drying track wrecked his chances.

Forced to settle for ninth in class in round one qualifying, the 19-year-old climbed to fourth before a spin resulted in ninth at the finish, with Cameron Twynham winning.

Round two saw the Dallara F308 driver spin while battling hard in the tricky, drying conditions, and he again had to settle for ninth in the Copa battle, with South Africa’s Liam Venter the winner.

He said: “Paul Ricard was a disappointing start to the season overall, but there were definitely some positives to take away because I made huge strides in the wet in comparison to last year.

“I made a mistake in the first race when I was trying to re-take fourth in class, it led to me having a spin unfortunately, so that was quite disappointing as the race was a big improvement.”