Talented racing starlet Jamie Chadwick returned to the track at Donington Park National Circuit this week, taking the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Ginetta G40 which her brother, Ollie, steered to the Vice-Champion’s position in this year’s Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge.
Tetbury based 16-year-old Jamie, the 2013 Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner, joined the Xentek Racing team for a full day of testing in the 165bhp Ginetta G40 on Thursday, 30th October, with brother Ollie on hand to provide key advice.
To help guide Jamie’s transition from the ‘Junior’ specification G40, which she campaigned in 2013 and 2014, to the ‘senior’ variant of the Ginetta, Ollie set benchmark times for his sister to try and match…and Jamie’s performance didn’t disappoint.
Lapping very consistently, Jamie was quickly on the pace and within a mere 0.2 seconds of her brother’s best time of the day – the Gloucestershire sixth former leaving a lasting impression with the Xentek squad.
With a range of options to consider for next season, Jamie’s latest performance comes just a week on from a highly competitive maiden outing at the wheel of a GT4 specification Aston Martin V8 Vantage from the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, which also took place at Donington.
Reflecting on this week’s Ginetta run, Jamie said: “Ollie and I are bitter rivals, even on a relaxed test day, so I had a point to make! We used his race winning car from the season just ended, with his ‘set up’, and I knew Ollie would be quick, but I was able to shadow his times throughout the day.
“It had rained overnight so I had my first experience of ‘wets’, then swapped to slick tyres as it dried out. Coupled with the extra performance, different diff, tyres and other bits and pieces, it felt quite grown up after the 97bhp ‘Junior’ I’ve been racing this year.”
Jamie added: “It’s still a brilliant little car to push to the limits in search of all the available grip and speed. Last week I tried the AMR GT4 and I’d like to think both are under consideration for 2015 – we need to work hard now to secure the budget and support we need to progress up the ladder.”
