Aaron Steele's bid to make history as the first driver to race a biodiesel-powered car at Formula 3 level was shattered when championship officials prevented him taking to the track.

The Kent racing driver, a McLaren Autosport BRDC Awards finalist, was due to give the WorldFirst Racing F3 car its competitive debut at Brands Hatch but red tape stopped him from doing so. The Motor Sports Association (MSA), which oversees the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) Cardinus Formula 3 Championship, earmarked as the ideal series in which to debut the envrionmentally-friendly car, failed to gain the necessary approval from all its registered officials.

The embarassing slip up confined Steele, 20, from Rochester, to the pitlane, with marshals stood in front of his futuristic car's nosecone to stop him racing around the Kent circuit. To the disappointment of a bumper crowd, Steele was allowed to complete just three demonstration laps. The WorldFirst Racing car had impressed in practice, finishing fifth overall, and had attracted unprecedented interest from across the globe – even featuring on BBC children's television show Blue Peter.

The innovative car, fuelled by chocolate, steered by carrots and built partly from potatoes, has been developed by researchers at the University of Warwick and is regarded by many as the future of motorsport.

Steele, a British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Rising Star, said: “It was bitterly disappointing, not just for myself but for the enitre WorldFirst Racing team who put so much effort into preparing the car for what should have been a fantastic end to the motor sport season. Nevertheless, this car undoubtedly has a strong future. I've seen what it's capable of in testing and it's now up to the officials to let the racing world and all the fans see what an exceptional piece of engineering it is.”

Kevin Steele, Aaron's manager, added: “It was a frustrating weekend all round. So many fans had come to watch what they thought would be history in the making and we had a whole host of corporate guests who left Brands Hatch disappointed too. As is so often the case, politics got in the way of the racing and that isn't good for Aaron's promising career or for motorsport in general.”

Notes to editors:

Images and video: High resolution pictures of Aaron Steele and the WorldFirst Racing F3 car are available from http://www.speed-pr.co.uk/hires/4.jpg and http://www.speed-pr.co.uk/hires/5.jpg. Broadcast quality video can be downloaded from the University of Warwick at http://tinyurl.com/c3836v.

Additional information about Steele's motorsport career can be found at http://www.aaronsteeleracing.com.

The WorldFirst Racing team comprises James Meredith (project manager), Dr Kerry Kirwan, Dr Steve Maggs, Ben Wood and Steve Lambert. A full description of the car and its components can be found at the official WorldFirst Racing website, http://www.worldfirstracing.co.uk.

WIMRC was established in 2001 and draws on the considerable resources of several departments at the University of Warwick. It applies design, technology and management research to challenging problems in the vehicle and healthcare sectors with a focus on sustainable development in two areas: intelligent and eco-friendly vehicles and next generation healthcare. More information about WIMRC is available at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wimrc/.