AS SHE MAKES TOCA TOUR HISTORY!
Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance front-runner Sarah Moore wrote her name into the history books at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire this weekend, 25th/26th April, after securing an amazing double win to move to the head of the driver standings by a single point.
By claiming her first ever win on Saturday afternoon, the 15-year-old starlet from Harrogate became the first female in the history of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship’s TOCA Tour support package to take a race victory.
Leaping up the driver standings in the process, she then wrapped up a hugely popular double win with an outstanding triumph during round four of the Ginetta Junior series today, Sunday, 26th April, and has now marked herself out as a genuine threat in the 2009 title battle.
With misfortune befalling erstwhile championship leader Jake Cook and fellow front-runner Jake Hill, Moore now sits atop the standings on 104 points, just one ahead of second placed Alex Austin who, in turn, is a single point in front of Cook. The category really couldn’t be any closer.
“It was great today, there was lots of action and I managed to come through and win so it’s absolutely brilliant”, said a beaming Sarah after round four, “Luckily the people behind me came together towards the end and after that I managed to pull a big gap, kept it cool and took the win. Thruxton is definitely my favourite circuit now, it’s amazing!
“I think most of the improvements I’ve made this year are just down to experience but we have been working on the car a lot and I’ve been getting some help with the racing lines from my brother Nigel (2008 Ginetta G50 Cup Champion). After this weekend, it’s good to know I’m on form and it’s looking good for the rest of the season.”
At the start of round four, Hill took the early advantage around the outside of pole position driver Alex Austin on the run through Allard as Aaron Williamson moved into third past Sarah Moore while her younger sibling David slipped back following a poor getaway.
Under pressure for the lead into the chicane, Hill was passed by Williamson at the end of the opening lap while Austin ran in third and Cook was up to fourth after a storming opener, rising from eighth on the grid.
After trading the lead at almost every corner with Hill, Williamson then slipped back to fourth on lap two but further behind the lead quartet, Sarah Moore was beginning to push on as she started to string together some fast laps. Into the chicane, Cook took second place and Williamson slipped through to third past Austin.
On lap five at the complex, the race took an unexpected turn when Williamson collided with Cook which allowed Sarah Moore through to second and forced Cook down to third place. Moore wasted no time in climbing further up the order and at Church, the most fearsome corner on the track, she snatched the lead from Hill with a gutsy move.
Hill retook first place into Club Chicane at the end of the fifth tour but a lap later, it was Moore’s turn to move through at the final corner as she tenaciously strived for that dream double win.
Lap seven was where the dream started to become reality when Williamson collided with Hill at the complex, forcing both into retirement with something of a rash move. Taking avoiding action, Cook also ran off the circuit but he at least recovered to finish in the top five behind David Moore who lost third place to Tom Ingram on the penultimate tour at the chicane.
Out of all of the carnage emerged Sarah Moore with a substantial lead from second placed Austin and on lap nine she took the chequered flag with a huge – by Ginetta Junior standards – winning margin of 3.3 seconds.
On a great day for the young lady racers, Pippa Coleman secured a career best sixth place finish ahead of Louise Richardson in a similarly great seventh position. Poole-based Ashley Craig, for whom Thruxton is his local track, raced to eighth, just ahead of Thomas Howard and Mitchell Hale.
Championship newcomer, Belgian youngster Anthony Sauvan, recorded a fine 11th place during the second Ginetta Junior outing and missed out on the top 10 by less than four 10ths of a second.
The 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance now has a three-week break from action with the fifth and sixth rounds of the season set to take place at Donington Park National Circuit in Leicestershire over the weekend 16th/17th May.
Provisional 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance Positions (after Rd4):1st Sarah Moore, 104pts; 2nd Alex Austin, 103pts; 3rd Jake Cook, 102pts; 4th Tom Ingram, 72pts; 5th Thomas Howard, 72pts; 6th Ashley Craig, 62pts
