AS MOORE SIBLINGS MAKE OULTON PODIUM FAMILY AFFAIR
Tockwith Motorsport secured a podium lock out during round seven of the 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance at Oulton Park in Cheshire today, Saturday, 30th May, as Alex Austin took a very well deserved first win of the season – from 10th on the grid!
Joined on the podium by brother and sister team-mates David and Sarah Moore, Austin’s victory places him just three points behind Sarah at the top of the driver standings with her younger sibling David rocketing into the championship top six after claiming his first ever car racing podium.
Round seven was easily the most unpredictable race so far of the fantastically action-packed Ginetta Junior season, more than half a dozen drivers leading the encounter at some point during a frenetic eight laps of the challenging 2.23-mile Island Circuit configuration.
During qualifying Tom Ingram took a surprise pole position, 0.146 seconds quicker than Jake Hill, with Pippa Coleman an outstanding third on the grid ahead of Max McGuire, Chris Swanwick and Aaron Williamson. Points leader Sarah Moore could only manage the eighth best time, a mere 100th of a second faster than brother David, with Austin rounding out the top 10 starters.
When the race itself got underway, under gloriously sunny skies, Hill made the better start at the front to lead while Coleman also moved ahead of pole-sitter Ingram. Valley Motorsport’s Coleman soon hit the front though, passing Hill with a good move at Lodge Corner.
Into lap two, Coleman looked to be pulling away from her pursuers but she slid wide at Cascades and then spun back onto the track, collecting several cars. Resulting in a bitterly disappointing retirement for Coleman, the incident also meant an immediate end to the race for the very unfortunate Ingram and series front-runner Max McGuire.
Coleman’s spin across the track also delayed a few drivers, Sarah Moore being the highest profile as she plummeted down the order to 15th place. Ashley Craig, who started an uncharacteristic 17th on the grid, emerged from lap two with damage to his car and after pitting he too retired.
Due to all of the chaos the Safety Car was deployed on lap three with Williamson having inherited the lead ahead of Hill, Swanwick, David Moore, Austin and Carl Stirling. At the re-start on lap five, Williamson led by a couple of 10ths of a second but more drama was quick to arrive when Hill had a moment at Old Hall and spun out of second place. He eventually finished in 10th position.
At Island Bend on the fifth tour, it was Williamson’s turn for some misfortune which meant Swanwick moved into the lead but by the time the train of leaders reached Lodge, Stirling had assumed first place.
Swanwick hit back immediately into Old Hall to move back ahead but then ran wide at Cascades, bouncing heavily over the grass and doing his car little good. This gave the initiative to Stirling once more ahead of David Moore with Sarah, meanwhile, up into 11th position.
Into lap seven, Stirling led by eight 10ths of a second from Swanwick and David Moore but Jake Cook and the charging Austin both managed to get by Moore on the run from Cascades past Lakeside. At Island Bend, Cook then grabbed second.
Heading into the final lap, Stirling had an advantage of just four 10ths of a second from Cook and after the leader ran wide at Cascades, the top two ran nose to tail along Lakeside. Out of the hairpin though, it was Austin who emerged in first place after Stirling and Cook made contact – Stirling forced to retire on the spot and Cook coming home in 12th place.
Austin was delighted to take such an unexpected win with siblings David and Sarah Moore making their own bit of championship history in second and third places respectively. Sarah also set the fastest lap of the race on the final tour, a new lap record, after an incredible recovery drive.
Commenting on the race, Austin said: “Going into the hairpin on that last lap I thought something was going to happen and it did! There was a lot of trouble out there today but thankfully we kept out of it. I wanted to get a top three finish this weekend, to win is fantastic!”
Podium debutant David Moore added: “It was a great race. We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying and had some problems during the practice too but it’s a good result to get my first podium. It’s nice to be on the podium with my sister Sarah too, she did well again.”
Mitchell Hale finished in fourth place, just a couple of 10ths of a second ahead of Thomas Howard, with Williamson sixth. Belgian racer Anthony Sauvan recorded a career best finish of seventh ahead of the similarly impressive Shane Stoney in eighth.
The eighth round of the 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance is scheduled to take place at 16.30 tomorrow, Sunday, 31st May, and will be screened live on ITV4 which is available at Freeview channel 28, cable channel 117 and digital satellite channel 120. Ingram starts from pole position again ahead of Williamson, Swanwick, Hill, Stirling and Sarah Moore.
Provisional 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance Positions (after Rd7):1st Sarah Moore, 183pts; 2nd Alex Austin, 180pts; 3rd Jake Cook, 153pts; 4th Aaron Williamson, 133pts; 5th Thomas Howard, 111pts; 6th David Moore, 103pts
