Gamble Wins At Oulton Ginetta GT5 for Total Control

AS CAROLINE SEALS FIRST Ginette Junior PODIUM AT DONINGTONTotal Control Racing’s George Gamble made an outstanding start to the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge season at Oulton Park International Circuit on Saturday, 19th April, with a hat-trick of podium finishes and a richly deserved victory during round three.Ending the first weekend of the campaign second in the provisional championship standings, Gamble underlined his title credentials from the outset. Team-mate Callum Pointon, meanwhile, had three highly eventful races – the last of the trio the most fruitful with a seventh place finish.On a busy weekend for the Wednesbury team, 75 miles away at Donington Park in Leicestershire the squad’s Ginetta Junior Championship drivers were in action for the second event of their season. There, Jamie Caroline starred with his first car racing podium in only his third race, as well as setting the fastest race lap, while Matt Chapman battled a tough weekend with a best finish of 19th place.“We’re back on track this weekend”, said TCR team principal Lee Brookes, “Superb results up at Oulton for George with a win and podium in every race, on a track that isn’t his favourite. It was a bit mixed for Callum, he’s much quicker than his results showed but just had a bit of bad luck.“At Donington it was a like a breath of fresh air to get our first podium in Ginetta Junior with Jamie, to get fastest lap too was great. It’s what we thought we should have had at Brands but it didn’t work out there. Unfortunately Matt was out of position after qualifying so it was a tough weekend for him but he’ll be back on form at the next one.”Gamble sets his stall out for Ginetta GT5 Challenge title bidGamble started round one of the Ginetta GT5 Challenge on Saturday in second place and after an early Safety Car period he set about pressuring race leader Gary Simms. Although unfortunately elbowed down to fourth place on lap five, the TCR racer mounted a determined recovery and set fastest race lap before grabbing third position on the final tour.In round two, Gamble went one better with the runner-up spot but the result was somewhat frustrating having led until mid-distance. Converting third on the grid into the lead on lap one, the Nottingham racer saw his one second lead eroded and on lap five he was nudged back to second where he remained to the flag.The third and final race of the weekend was the best for Gamble, delivering his first win of the year and capping a very strong weekend. Taking the lead on lap one, the TCR racer was under pressure for the most part but controlled the action to win by 1.2 seconds.Pointon made an excellent start to round one, climbing into seventh from ninth place on the grid, but a big moment on lap five dropped him to 15th position before he eventually recovered to 13th place before the finish.Starting round two from ninth position again, the Cheddleton driver moved up into eighth and seventh in quick succession but his great progress was halted on lap three when slipping back to 12th place. Pointon managed to reclaim one spot a couple of laps from the end to finish in 11th position.From the sixth row of the grid in round three, he made a good getaway and moved into the top eight on the fourth tour. Three laps from the end, Pointon climbed into seventh place and remained there to the chequered flag on lap 11.Caroline stars with maiden podium in JuniorsRound four of the Ginetta Junior Championship season at Donington Park on Sunday, 20th April, was a breakthrough moment for 14-year-old car racing rookie Jamie Caroline as he stormed to his maiden podium from seventh on the grid – TCR’s first since debuting in the category at the start of the year.Climbing into the top six on the opening lap, he produced fastest lap pace on his way to moving into fifth on lap three. Claiming fourth a lap later, the youngster posted the quickest lap of the encounter on the sixth tour, a time of 1m25.383 seconds (83.44mph), before taking third on the final lap.In Saturday’s third round, Caroline started in ninth position and after an excellent getaway he moved into the top six. Although shuffled back to ninth on lap two, he battled back into sixth by lap seven where he remained to the finish.Team-mate Matt Chapman encountered a much tougher weekend, with a lower than expected 19th position finish in race one and a retirement in race two – frustrating after a consistently strong debut at Brands Hatch three weeks ago.Beginning round three in a lower than anticipated 16th place, Chapman gained a spot on lap one but slipped back to 19th on lap three and had a further moment at mid-distance which left him at the tail of the field. He eventually ended the encounter in 19th position. On Sunday, Chapman was 16th early on but an unfortunate excursion into the gravel on lap four from 17th position led to retirement.Total Control Racing’s Ginetta GT5 Challenge squad and its Ginetta Junior Championship team will be back in action a fortnight from now. The latter will travel to Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire for rounds five and six of its season on 3rd/4th May while the Ginetta GT5 Challenge will resume on Sunday, 4th May, and Bank Holiday Monday, 5th May, at Rockingham in Northamptonshire.Provisional 2014 Ginetta GT5 Challenge Driver Standings (after Rd3):2nd George Gamble, 93pts; 11th Callum Pointon, 34ptsProvisional 2014 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd4):7th Jamie Caroline, 59pts; 19th Matt Chapman, 16pts


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