Seb Morris has been the man to beat in the Ginetta Junior Championship, which heads to Oulton Park this weekend.
Five wins out of six races is an impressive start to the season in any category but when it is in the school of hard knocks that is the Ginetta Junior Championship, it is even more remarkable. Seb Morris (Hillspeed) has been the star of the 2011 series and will be aiming to continue his winning ways here this weekend, especially as George Gamble (TJ Motorsport) defeated him in the first of Thruxton’s two races. To lose a 100 per cent winning streak was bad enough, but to lose it by 36-thousandths of a second was pretty galling!
Morris has been so successful that he has a 76-point lead in the title race but his rivals will be eager to narrow that gap this weekend. Thruxton winner Gamble will be the man most likely to, and after steadily working his way into contention, the Nottingham-based 14-year-old will be after a second win of the season.
Privateer Max Coates lies third in the championship, 15 points behind Gamble, and two third places at Thruxton have moved him back into contention after a quiet start to his season.
Others to look for include Tom Howard (Tollbar Racing with WIRED) who is using his experience from last season to score good results, while the HHC Motorsport cars of Charlie Robertson and Mikey Day have both been rapid in their rookie drivers’ hands. Robertson was quick at Donington but was frustrated to get caught up in an incident with Struan Moore in race two at Thruxton, although that gifted team-mate Day a maiden top six finish. They will be joined this weekend by Patrick McClughan who moves from the Kelvin Jones Motorsport team.
The Ginetta G40, in detuned form for the teenage drivers, is the ultimate motor sport classroom and with a six-speed sequential gearbox for 2011 and a new track-designed tyre, the championship is refreshing itself all the time. One thing remains though: great racing.
Free practice for the Ginetta Junior Championship takes place on Saturday June 4th at 09:05 with qualifying taking place at 14:20. Race one runs at 17:50 over 10 laps, while race two on Sunday starts at 16:30 and will be an eight-lapper. You can catch Sunday’s action live on ITV4.
