by admin | Nov 13, 2015 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News
Having dominated the KICK Start Energy Drink Ginetta Junior Winter Series at Snetterton last weekend, WE are happy to announce that Stuart Middleton has re-signed with Douglas Motorsport for an assault on the 2016 title.
Stuart Middleton (GBR) Douglas Motorsport
Middleton was the recipient of the Ginetta Junior Scholarship last year, receiving a fully funded drive in the KICK Start Energy Ginetta Junior Championship. Teaming up with Douglas Motorsport, he was on the pace almost immediately and belied his lack of experience by running at the front for most of the season. At the Ginetta Junior Winter Series last weekend, Middleton was dominant, winning three races and subsequently being described in the press as being “head and shoulders above the rest”
Stuart Middleton– “I’m happy to have my plans in place so early. I learnt a lot in my first season last year and I think last weekend showed that both Douglas Motorsport and I will be a force to be reckoned with in 2016″
Wayne Douglas– Team Principal Douglas Motorsport- “I’m delighted that Stuart is staying with us for 2016. He was hugely impressive in his debut season as witnessed by his dominant performance at the Winter Series. He is ready to win the title in 2016 and so are we.”
by admin | Nov 8, 2015 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News
Stuart Middleton claimed the Ginetta Junior Winter Series title today at Snetterton with one race to spare. A hat-trick of wins was enough to give the Douglas Motorsport drvier an unassailable points lead.
The two-day event featured one qualifying session and a pair of races on both Saturday and Sunday, with rain dampening play a little for the first encounters. A self-confessed lover of the rain, Middleton started the opening race from second on the grid.
Snatching the lead into turn one, the Middleton’s love for the rain only grew as he crossed the line an impressive 17.596s ahead of Charlie Fagg and Connor Grady, who rounded out the podium.
In race two, it was a slightly tougher win for Middleton, as he lost out to Fagg on the start. Making a comeback, Middleton regained the position on lap two before once again pulling out an 8.823s advantage over Will Tregurtha and Billy Monger, who finished second and third respectively.
A drier day beckoned for Sunday, with Middleton only qualifying fifth after a rather disjointed session due to a red flag midway through. With the title within his grasp, Middleton picked off a number of rivals off the line, before claiming the lead of the race as the pack crossed the line for the first time.
With his position at the head of the field, the championship then went down to the positions of Middleton’s closest rivals, Fagg and Grady, who needed to finish inside the top three in order to keep the title fight alive.
Starting third, Fagg lost out on the frantic start and dropped to fifth. Although he picked up another place, a fall down the order to eighth in the closing laps was enough to give Middleton enough of a points gap to claim the championship as he took another win.
Joining him on the podium was Lewis Brown, who was making his first appearance on the rostrum after a tough opening day. In third, and taking home his first ever Ginetta trophy was Seb Perez, much to the delight of his father and Junior Championship sponsor, Steve Perez.
The final race of the day was then all about who would become vice-champion. Middleton led after lap one as Monger and Brown traded places over second, until a problem for the leader lost him time and allowed the pair to slip past, with Wooder following them through.
Once out front Monger held firm, and the result was enough to earn him the Winter Series vice-championship. Not only that, but his impressive display of overtaking throughout the weekend afforded him an additional prize of the coveted ‘Hard Charger’ award.
Position-swapping all the way to the flag, Brown and Wooder fought over second position, with the former ultimately taking the place and third overall in the championship standings. Middleton meanwhile, took the final flag in fourth place.
Taking the final Rookie race win was Max Bird, and with two second places in class earlier in the weekend, the points were enough to see him second in class, just ahead of Sebastian Priaulx, who finished third.
by admin | Nov 8, 2015 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News
From Ginetta.com…
Stuart Middleton kicked off his final race weekend of the year in style at Snetterton today (07/11/2015) as he took a pair of wins in the opening day of the KICK Start Energy Drink Ginetta Junior Winter Series.
Having qualified second, Middleton translated his front row start into his first ever car racing win in race one. It wasn’t all plain sailing though, as a storming start from Billy Monger saw the JHR Developments driver snatch the lead off the line.
By the time the cars had reached Agostini for the first time, Middleton was in the lead as Monger ran wide and dropped down the order to 15th. Pulling out nine seconds over the rest of the field, the outgoing Ginetta Junior Scholar was unassailable for the remainder of the six lap race.
The battle for second saw Will Tregurtha in prime position after lap one, but Charlie Fagg made a move stick on lap two and held onto the place until the flag. It didn’t come easy though, as Tregurtha and pole man Lewis Brown stuck with him for a good three laps, until he was able to break the tow.
With Grady in a comfortable third, rookie driver Harry King continued to impress on his debut. Having started sixth, he took full advantage of an excursion for the two HHC Motorsport drivers ahead to take fourth on lap five.
King did come under pressure from Seb Perez, who started 11thbut drove brilliantly to move into fifth by the penultimate lap. However, the recovering Dave Wooder (who dropped five places on the opening lap) swept past on the final tour, taking with him Max Bird, Lewis Brown and Alex Day.
Seb Priaulx finished his debut race as third placed rookie driver, just ahead of fellow newcomers James Roe Jnr, Jordan Dempsey and Anthony Ayres.
In race two, it was Fagg who got the better start. He streamed into the lead and forced Middleton backwards and into the clutches of Grady and King. However, by lap two, Middleton had reclaimed the lead at Oggies.
With the leader down the road, it was once again the battle for second that dominated the commentary. Fagg held the position for much of the race, but Tregurtha and Monger (who had gained 10 places in the opening four laps) stayed within touching distance, before Tregurtha snatched the position on the penultimate lap.
Grady retained fifth from King and Perez, whilst behind, Nicosia, Day, Priaulx, Dempsey and Wooder had a fantastic fight over eighth. Priaulx consistently picked up positions from lap one to four, before losing out to the recovering Day and Wooder on the final lap.
As the flag fell, Middleton celebrated a second win, whilst King took a consecutive Rookie class victory. Tregurtha – who was strong here during the main series – celebrated his second position, whilst Monger was content in third having also taken the day’s ‘Hard Charger’ award.
Provisional standings are below, with a second qualifying session and further two races set for tomorrow.
1 Stuart Middleton 71
2 Charlie Fagg 52
3 Connor Grady 46
4 Harry King 40
5 William Tregurtha 40
6 Dave Wooder 35
7 Billy Monger 34
8 Sebastian Perez 28
9 Lewis Brown 26
10 Alex Day 25
11 Max Bird 23
12 Geri Nicosia 23
13 Rowan Bailey 17
14 Jordan Dempsey 15
15 Sebastian Priaulx 13
16 James Roe jnr 13
17 Frank Bird 8
17 Anthony Ayres 5
17 Charlie Digby 3
by admin | Sep 6, 2015 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News
Wonderful day for our man Stuart Middleton Racing today at Rockingham Motor Speedway! He qualified third, just two hundredths off pole, and drove superbly to take a strong second with fastest lap in race one, with another impressive runner up spot in race two- and two Rookie wins!
by admin | May 14, 2015 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News
The KICK Start Energy Ginetta Junior Championship visited the ultra fast Thruxton circuit in Hampshire last weekend and Douglas Motorsport’s Stuart Middleton was at the sharp end all weekend.
Having tested well, Middleton qualified the Quinton Hazell (QH) backed car on pole position ahead of the usual competitive field. This was the first time in the series’ history that a rookie had taken pole position, with just .036 separating the top three! Unfortunately, when the lights went out, Stuart bogged down slightly and was beaten away. A mid race safety car period stymied his challenge for the lead and in the subsequent hectic three lap charge to the flag, he dropped to third to claim another podium position.
In race two, Middleton was again involved in a thrilling battle at the head of the field, eventually crossing the line to take fourth and another healthy dose of championship points.
Stuart Middleton- We had great pace all weekend and we managed to qualify P1 and get a podium finish. We were informed that I was the first Ginetta Junior scholarship winner to qualify in pole position, this was a great result for me and the team. My ambition now is to take a race win. Big thanks to Douglas Motorsport and to Quinton Hazel.
Wayne Douglas– Team Principal Douglas Motorsport- “It was great to get pole position. Stuart is a novice remember, and has shown winning pace from the beginning of the season. I have no doubt he will be on the top step of the podium before long.”
The next round of the KICK Start Ginetta Junior series is at Oulton Park on June 6th.
Images from Jakob Ebrey
by admin | Apr 14, 2015 | Ginetta Junior Championship News, News
Stuart Middleton made his Ginetta Junior debut last weekend at Brands Hatch with Douglas Motorsport. Driving the QH backed car, Middleton was on the ultimate pace all weekend in a grid of 25 cars. In official qualifying, the 15 year old qualified on the front row of the grid, just missing out on pole position by an incredible .083! Having matched the poleman off the line in race one, Stuart found himself boxed out at Paddock Hill Bend and dropped a few places. He recovered to challenge the leaders again however, and crossed the line fourth, right with the leaders. In race two, starting from fourth on the grid, a legacy of his finishing position in race one, The Ginetta Junipr Scholarship winner climbed immediately to second and began to challenge for the lead. Unfortunately contact saw him spin off the track. Despite a slow puncture and some loose bodywork after the contact, Stuart charged up from the back to cross the line in 15th and he left the Kent circuit seventh in the championship standings.
‘We seem to have really good pace,’ says Middleton of his first competitive drive in his Douglas Motorsport Ginetta G40. ‘It’s encouraging to know we’re up there with the fastest cars. I wasn’t really expecting to finish so high up the grid, so we’re all really pleased.’
Marium Ali, Marketing Director for QH: ‘We knew Stuart would be fast after we saw him testing, but his performance in the opening rounds show what a talent he is – and how deserving he is of his scholarship. We are all very proud to see him driving so professionally while bearing the QH flag.’
The next rounds of the KICK Start Energy Ginetta Junior Championship will be held at Donington Park on 18 and 19 April, 2015.
Douglas Motorsport also welcomed former Caterham Chris Ingram to the team at Brands Hatch, the gentleman racer competing in the GT4 Supercup for the first time. Crossing the line sixteenth in race one, Chris’ laptimes fell each time he took to the track and by the third race he finished thirteenth and 3rd in the Am Class after some exciting battles.
