Review of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Snetterton, 29-30 July

The Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship visited Snetterton circuit last weekend, once again supporting the BTCC and racing in front of capacity crowds as well as live TV cameras.

Snetterton Circuit

Address: Norwich, Norfolk, NR16 2JU

Tel: 01953 887303
Fax: 01953 888220

Website: www.snetterton.co.uk

Daniel Harper has been nothing short of a revelation in the Junior series thus far and the Douglas Motorsport driver continued this strong form into qualifying- taking fourth place. Enzo Fittipaldi continued to improve with seventh with series leader Stuart Middleton in an unaccustomed eighth place.

In race one, Harper belied his lack of experience with a stunning drive, working his way to the front by the third lap and then withstanding incredible pressure in the closing stages to take not only his second outright win in the series, but his sixth Rookie win to boot. Fittipaldi, continuing his improvement, had looked set for seventh but a spin in the closing stages dropped him down the order. Unfortunately Stuart Middleton made little progress crossing the line in eighth place.
In race two, Harper led away from pole position and in an action packed race appeared to have taken his second victory of the day. It was not to be though as the Stewards demoted the young Northern Irishman to third for his involvement in some of the hard fought action at the sharp end of the field. Once again Middleton struggled, at least by his lofty standards, coming home in seventh but losing his series lead.

Daniel Harper: ““It’s been an absolutely incredible weekend. I can’t believe that we came away with two wins on the road, and I can’t thank the whole Douglas Motorsport team enough for their hard work this weekend. Everything was thrown at me across the two races and they were definitely two of the hardest races of my career so far. Everyone wanted to win out there and did everything they could to beat me, so it was such hard work. Qualifying didn’t go perfectly to plan, but we knew we could work from fourth on the grid and look to make progress, and to come through to first on the road in both races is incredible for us. While the penalty is frustrating, the pace we’ve shown over the weekend gives me huge confidence for the rest of the season.”

Wayne Douglas, Team Principal, Douglas Motorsport “Daniel drove superbly all weekend and it was great to get two wins on the road. Enzo also drove well and had his best qualifying position of the year so far. Unfortunately, Stuart had a bad qualifying and the championship is so close it is hard to recover. I have no doubt he will be back on the ultimate pace in Knockhill in two weeks time though!”

Race Preview by Ginetta.com

The Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship continues at Snetterton Circuit this weekend as a packed grid of teenage drivers enjoys the motorsport experience of a lifetime. The UK’s premier series for aspiring racing stars of the future, this is the ideal place to begin the journey towards racing stardom. Ruth Harrison looks at how the drivers line up as the second half of the season begins.

It’s been a nail-biting season so far as the championship lead has swung back and forth between title rivals Stuart Middleton and Will Tregurtha. The pair arrive at Snetterton split by just four points and with Middleton taking three wins from four here on his way to the 2015 Ginetta Junior Winter Series, expect him to show a similar dominance this weekend.

Keep your eyes on Lewis Brown and Dave Wooder too. They each enjoyed Winter Series podiums last year and have taken wins this season. Brown has already enjoyed a first, second and third place whilst Wooder has become something of a regular on the podium, finish half of the 12 rounds on the rostrum.

Elsewhere on the grid Charlie Fagg, Connor Grady and Seb Perez each made an appearance on the podium here during the Winter Series. Fagg is the only one of the three to have added to his trophy collection this season, but you can be sure they will each be running at the sharp end this weekend along with Geri Nicosia and Kyle Hornby who are also chasing their maiden podium.

Leading the Rookie Class honours is Scholarship winner Daniel Harper. He’s been on the overall podium an impressive five times and holds a 42 point advantage over his closest class rival, Seb Priaulx.

The pair should be on the lookout for Harry King though. He took three out of four Rookie Class wins during last year’s Winter Series, losing out just the once to current rival Max Bird who made it onto the top step of the podium in the final race of the weekend.

Currently third in the Rookie Class, Tom Gamble will be doing his upmost to keep King (in fourth) behind him in the points, but they will need to keep an eye on Tom Wood, Enzo Fittipald, Jordan Collard and Anthony Ayres who may come under pressure from Dhyllan Skiba and Greg Johnson.

Having impressed on his championship debut at Croft with a rookie podium, Olli Caldwell will be hoping for a repeat performance, but he’s no longer the new kid on the block; Alex Day is set to make his first appearance of 2016 having contested the 2015 season.

With two races on the bill, it’s set to be another exciting weekend for the teenage racers as their inter-championship battles begin to become even more exciting. Make sure you never miss a minute by following @GinettaCars on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.