Harper Stars at Snetterton

by admin | Aug 4, 2016 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News

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.

Practice

Qualifying

Race 1

Stuart Middleton:

Grid Pos: 8
Finished: 9th
Pts: 12

Daniel Harper:

Grid Pos: 4
Finished: 1st
Rookie: 1st
Pts: 35

Enzo Fittipaldi:

Grid Pos: 7
Finished: 15th
Rookie: 7th
Pts: 6

Race 2

Stuart Middleton:

Grid Pos: 9
Finished: 7th
Pts: 16

Daniel Harper:

Grid Pos: 3
Finished: 3rd
Rookie: 2nd
Pts: 18

Enzo Fittipaldi:

Grid Pos: 15
Finished: 18th
Rookie: 9th
Pts: 3

Your Douglas Motorsport Drivers:

Stuart Middleton

Championship Position after Round 14:

2nd (352 pts)

Daniel Harper

Championship Position after Round 14:

5th (263pts)
1st place Rookie

Enzo Fittipaldi

Championship Position after Round 14:

17th (92pts)
7th place Rookie

Gallery

Countdown to Knockhill

Day(s)

Hour(s)

Minute(s)

Second(s)

Ginetta Junior Championship Review, Croft Circuit 18-19 July

by admin | Jun 17, 2016 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News

Review of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Croft Circuit, 18-19 July

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

Croft Race Circuit

Address: Croft Circuit, West Lane. Dalton On Tees, North Yorkshire, DL2 2PL

Website: www.croftcircuit.co.uk

Circuit Length: 2.12 miles

In qualifying, Stuart Middleton produced a stunning lap for pole. Not only was he the only driver to break the 1m 40s barrier, but he became the only driver to qualify on pole twice in 2016 in this ultra competitive class. Rookie class leader Daniel Harper impressed once again with seventh, whilst Enzo Fittipaldi, as predicted by team boss Wayne Douglas, continued to improve with 10th on the grid.

In race one, Middleton made no mistakes to take an impressive lights to flag win, crossing the line 8 tenths of a second ahead of his nearest challenger for his fourth win of 2016. This also put the Douglas Motorsport driver back at the head of the title standings. Team mate Harper had another great run, shadowing runner up Seb Priaulx for the duration to take his fourth overall podium of the season. Fittipaldi was embroiled in a hectic race for 10th, eventually crossing the line 13th and sixth of the Rookies.

In race two, Middleton again made the perfect start to lead the pack away, whilst team mate Harper snatched Fittipaldi-Podium-01second from Priaulx on the opening lap to make it a Douglas Motorsport 1-2 at the head of the field.

Harper shadowed his team mate all the way to the flag for a superb result- Middleton increasing his championship lead and his younger team mate taking Rookie Cup honours once again. Fittipaldi finished 12th and fourth Rookie.

Race three, however, was a very different affair, as Douglas Motorsport were about to find out, with both Middleton and Harper being tagged and spun out on the opening lap. Middleton and Priaulx touched with the series leader being eliminated from the race immediately whilst Harper was knocked well down the order. Douglas Motorsport honour was to be upheld however, by the ever improving Fittipaldi who drove superbly to come home home eighth and take his maiden Rookie Cup victory, with the recovering Harper just behind.

Wayne Douglas, Team Principal, Douglas Motorsport “The first two races were exactly what we worked for. Race three? Well, sometimes that’s just motor racing. Overall it was a good weekend for us and I am delighted with Enzo’s first Rookie Cup win and we now lead both the overall championship with Stuart and the Rookie Cup with Daniel.”

Race Preview by Ginetta.com

Will Tregurtha (HHC) arrives at Croft having snatched the championship lead by just a single point at Oulton Park a fortnight ago. The HHC driver became the 13^th different pole sitter in 14 meetings, an advantage he translated into a pair of wins.

As we reach the mid-point of the championship at Croft, Stuart Middleton (Douglas) will be doing everything he can to reclaim the series lead, and having been on the podium seven out of the nine races ran thus far, you can expect to see him running at the sharp end.

Don’t discount Dave Wooder (TCR) and Lewis Brown (HHC) though, the pair have each shone in recent meetings. Wooder took his maiden win at Thruxton whilst Brown celebrated victory at Donington Park and between them, have taken eight overall podiums whilst busy fighting over third in the driver standings.

Fifth overall and leading the Rookie class is Daniel Harper (Douglas). He failed to score any points at Oulton Park due to a pair of retirements, and you can be certain he will be looking to make hay here as he aims to extend his advantage over closest class opponent Tom Gamble (HHC).

Splitting the two rookie rivals are Geri Nicosia (Elite), Cameron Roberts (JHR) and Charlie Fagg (HHC), with the latter celebrating his best result yet at Oulton Park as he made his 2016 podium debut with second place in the opening race, a positive result he compounded with fourth in race two, moving him well up the championship standings.

Behind Harper, the rest of the rookie top five are split by just five points. Gamble leapfrogged Seb Priaulx (JHR) to take second in class after the latter struggled in the races at Oulton although he did claim a front row start following qualifying. With one of the strongest Rookie contingent than ever before, Harry King (Elite) claimed his first rookie podiums of the year with a win and third in class meaning he now sits just one point adrift of Max Bird (TCR) in class.

Elsewhere, JHR will be hoping some strong results at Croft will help Kyle Hornby, Seb Perez and Cameron Roberts’ title bids, whilst Enzo Fittipaldi is hoping for more luck in his Douglas Motorsport prepared car. Completing the grid are Tom Wood (Elite), who has already made a number of Rookie class podium appearances this year, as well as Anthony Ayres (Mectech) and Connor Grady (TCR).

With three races instead of the usual two, 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.

Preview of the weekend’s action:

Race Timetable

Practice

Practice, Friday 18th June

Practice 1:

Practice Session 2:

The Ginetta Junior drivers took to the track for two sessions on Friday. Douglas drivers took a 1-2 in the second session, with Stuart Middleton leading Daniel Harper.

Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 10:25.

Qualifying

Stuart Middleton took his second pole of the season, while Enzo Fittipaldi took 10th position and his best qualifying result of the championship. Daniel Harper starts in P7.

Race 1

Stuart Middleton:

Grid Pos: 1
Finished: 1st
Pts: 36

Daniel Harper:

Grid Pos: 7
Finished: 3rd
Rookie: 2nd
Pts: 26

Enzo Fittipaldi:

Grid Pos: 10
Finished: 13th
Rookie: 6th
Pts: 8

Race 2

Stuart Middleton:

Grid Pos: 1
Finished: 1
Pts: 35

Daniel Harper:

Grid Pos: 3
Finished: 2nd
Rookie: 1st
Pts: 31

Enzo Fittipaldi:

Grid Pos: 13
Finished: 12th
Rookie: 4th
Pts: 3

Race 3

Stuart Middleton:

Grid Pos: 4
Finished: DNF
Pts: 0

Daniel Harper:

Grid Pos: 3
Finished: 9th
Rookie: 2nd
Pts: 12

Enzo Fittipaldi:

Grid Pos: 12
Finished: 8th
Rookie: 1st
Pts: 14

Footage of Race10:

Your Douglas Motorsport Drivers:

Stuart Middleton

Championship Position after Round 12:

1st (324pts)

Daniel Harper

Championship Position after Round 12:

5th (210pts)
1st place Rookie

Enzo Fittipaldi

Championship Position after Round 12:

17th (83pts)
7th place Rookie

Gallery

Countdown to Snetterton

Day(s)

Hour(s)

Minute(s)

Second(s)

MIddleton Wins again for Douglas Motorsport

by admin | May 11, 2016 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News

Douglas Motorsport continued their winning ways last weekend as the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship visited the sweeping curves of the ultra fast Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

Race finish, Stuart Middleton (GBR) Douglas Motorsport Ginetta Junior leads Will Tregurtha (GBR) HHC Motorsport Ginetta Junior.

Series leader Stuart Middleton qualified second, just .001 off pole position in a typically close fought Ginetta Junior session. Team mates Daniel Harper and Enzo Fittapaldi fared less well, qualifying in 14th and 18th positions respectively. Typically, Middleton grabbed the lead on the opening to set up what was described as one of the best races of the season as Will Tregurtha immediately challenged. The pair, working their way clear of the pack, repeatedly ran side by side through the fastest sections of the track, arriving to the chicane on the last lap door handle to door handle. Middleton held his nerve though, to cross the line just .168 seconds ahead of Tregurtha. In their wake, Harper had uncorked one of his trademark charges and managed to climb as far as seventh, before a spin dropped him back to fifteenth. Crucially though, his fastest lap was less than a tenth away from that of his winning team mate. Fittipaldi had not tested at the high speed track but continued to reduce his lap times, coming home in seventeenth place.

Enzo Fittipaldi (BRA) Douglas Motorsport Ginetta Junior.

In race two, Middleton again led with Tregurtha in pursuit. A safety car bunched up the pack early on though and allowed Dave Wooder to join the leading duo. Middleton was bundled back to third but as he challenged to regain the lead, he was edged wide at Goodwood corner and dropped well back. Finishing in ninth place, Stuart and the team could take some consolation in the fact that he claimed fastest lap, with second fastest being team mate Harper. The young Northern Irishman had damaged his bumper on lap one and finished in eleventh with a hugely improved Fittipaldi right on his bumper in twelveth, having come all the way from the back.

Stuart Middleton, Douglas Motorsport “It’s obviously great to have won again and to be leading the championship still, but we should’ve been challenging again for the win in race two. We had the pace to win the race and I proved that with fastest lap at the end. Oulton is next and another good circuit for us, we had good pace there last year and I was on for third until I had an unfortunate spin. It’s another track I enjoy driving so I’m looking forward to it and aiming to do well..”

Wayne Douglas, Team Principal, Douglas Motorsport “It is always good to get a win, but realistically we should have won two races today. Stuart still leads the championship though, Daniel was as quick as ever but unlucky and I am delighted to see Enzo continue to improve.”

The next rounds of the Ginetta championships take place at Oulton Park in Cheshire over the weekend 4th/5th June

Thruxton Weekend Gallery

Photos: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Douglas Motorsport Keep On Winning

by admin | Apr 25, 2016 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News

Middleton and Harper share wins at Donington Park

Douglas Motorsport continued their superb season with more victories at Donington Park last weekend.

The Simpson Race Products Ginetta Juniors once again did not disappoint. In qualifying, with times as close as ever and just .075 splitting the top four. Series leader Stuart Middleton claimed second whilst rookie Daniel Harper continued to impress with an incredible fourth place and Enzo Fittipaldi securing seventeenth place.

In the first race of the weekend, Middleton continued his superb 2016 form, claiming second place and increasing his all important series lead. Despite his relative lack of experience, Harper was sensational from the off, finishing in a superb third place and easily taking the rookie win to boot.. Fittipaldi also improved from qualifying making huge progress from seventeenth to cross the line in twelfth.

Race two brought more good news for Douglas Motorsport as Middleton claimed yet another win, once again increasing his championship lead. Harper also continued to shine as he finished right behind Middleton in second, for the team’s first ever Ginetta Junior 1-2. Fittipaldi improved again finishing in a respectable tenth position, his first top ten finish in this competitive series.

The final race rounded off a memorable weekend for Douglas Motorsport and rookie Harper as he took his first win in the Ginetta Junior Championship. Middleton finished up in a respectable seventh position and Fittipaldi was classified eighteenth, having spun out.

Stuart Middleton, Douglas Motorsport “ It was another fantastic weekend for me and the team. I managed to extend my championship lead from 11 points to 23 points with 1st and 2nd place finishes. Also teammate Dan Harper got his first main podium win and worked his way up to third in the championship, so we’re now also leading the team championship thanks to all the great team effort!.”

Daniel Harper, Douglas Motorsport. “It was a memorable weekend for me and and Douglas Motorsport as I didn”t only take my first podium in the overall results but my first win and Douglas Motorsport took their first 1-2 finish in Ginetta Juniors- Fantastic!!”
Wayne Douglas, Team Principal, Douglas Motorsport: “We have worked hard to achieve these results and it is great to see Stuart continue to lead the championship. Daniel showed his pace at Brands Hatch and I am delighted he has converted this into his first win already.”

Images: Jakob Ebrey

Douglas Motorsport excels at Brands Hatch

by admin | Apr 6, 2016 | Ginetta GT Supercup News, Ginetta Junior Championship News, News

Having taking a win in the opening rounds of the BRDC F3 series last week, Douglas Motorsport carried their rich vein of form onto Brands Hatch for the opening rounds of the 2016 Ginetta championships at the weekend.

Harper excelled in Round 2

As reigning winter series champion, Stuart Middleton was the favourite ahead of the opening rounds of the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior series- and he certainly didn’t disappoint. Starting from pole position in the opening race, Stuart fell back initially, but fought his way into the lead before a robust move from Dave Wooder dropped him to fourth place. He fought back yet again though, and crossed the line in second place, also setting fastest lap. Race two, described by many as the race of the day, was a close fought affair, with Middleton grabbing the lead on the opening lap and soaking up the pressure for the duration to take an impressive win, and with it the lead of the close fought Junior series! In his wake, however, all eyes were on rookie Daniel Harper who was tackling the more experienced drivers with aplomb, incredibly running as high as third at one stage, before contact sent him back down the field. He recovered to take a fine sixth though and won the Rookie class comfortably. Enzo Fittipaldi was unlucky to receive contact on the opening lap, spinning him to the back, in no way reflecting the pace he had shown in free practise at the start of the weekend.

Will Burns Tops the Podium

In the opening round of the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup series, Douglas Motorsport’s Will Burns drove superbly to take his debut GT4 win. having finished fourth in race one and third in race two, he didn’t put a foot wrong in a shortened race three to take a popular win- rounding off a hugely successful weekend for the Corby based team. Team mate Chris Ingram drove well to take a podium in the Am class of the Supercup while Mike Newbold progressed well over the weekend and enjoyed his first race weekend as part of the BTCC package.

Stuart Middleton, Douglas Motorsport “ It has been an amazing opening weekend of the championship for me and my team, Douglas Motorsport. We hope to continue our strong form and keep achieving consistent podium finishing results throughout the year.”

Daniel Harper, Douglas Motorsport. “It was a brilliant start to the championship for both me and Douglas Motorsport with some really strong results in the Rookie championship with a third and a win I race two and also with Stuart leading the overall championship. A big thanks to everyone at Douglas Motorsport and to all my family and sponsors.”
Wayne Douglas, Team Principal, Douglas Motorsport: “It has been another strong weekend for the team. Stuart drove beautifully for the win, as we have come to expect. Daniel was a revelation and was unlucky not to join Stuart on the podium, whilst Enzo showed great pace, but luck was not with him this weekend. For Will to take a debut 2016 Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup win was the icing on the cake for us too!”

The next rounds of the Ginetta championships take place on April 16/17 at Donington Park, once again supporting the BTCC.

Images from Jakob Ebrey.

ENZO FITTIPALDI SIGNS WITH DOUGLAS MOTORSPORT FOR GINETTA JUNIOR ASSAULT.

by admin | Feb 3, 2016 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News

Joining Douglas Motorsport and the established Stuart Middleton in the 2016 Ginetta Junior campaign will be 14 year old karting star Enzo Fittipaldi.

14 year old Fittipaldi is the grandson of double Formula 1 World Champion and Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi. whilst his uncle Max Papis and cousin, Christian Fittipaldi have both competed in Formula One. Not only that, but with a Brazilian-American heritage, the Skyline Apts. and Air Commander Aerospace-backed driver now lives in Camberley, Surrey with his racing driver brother Pietro, who was 2014 BARC Formula Renault Champion and now is driving FIA Formula 3. Enzo makes his move to car racing with 34 wins in kart racing already to his name.

The Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Series 2016 kicks off at the famous Brands Hatch Indy circuit on the 2nd of April.

Enzo Fittipaldi: “I’m really looking forward to this season. For sure switching from karts into sports cars will be a challenge, but I’m a fast and aggressive driver and I’ll be going for the win in every race! The Ginetta Junior Championship allows young drivers like myself to familiarise myself with all of the UK’s big race tracks, whilst also being a highly competitive and well-televised series; what’s not to love?!”

Wayne Douglas, Team Principal Douglas Motorsport- “We have always run competitive campaigns in the Ginetta Junior Series and this year will be no different. I am honoured to run Enzo in 2016. His heritage and track record are both hugely impressive and I have no doubt he will be a contender for the Rookie Cup this year.”