Ginetta Junior with Henderson Insurance Championship front-runner Jake Cook made it four wins in as many races at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland earlier, Sunday, 16th August, to move to the head of the title standings following another weekend of dominance.
Pulling four points clear of Aaron Williamson in the championship chase, with erstwhile series leader Sarah Moore slipping to third in the standings after a non-finish in the opening Knockhill encounter, Cook heads into the final three meetings of the 2009 campaign in the ascendancy.
Backing up his Snetterton double from a fortnight ago with two more wins today, the TJ Motorsport driver has now won a total of six rounds in 2009 – three more than both Williamson and Moore.
At the start of this morning’s 13th round, Cook made a good getaway to lead second-placed Chris Swanwick but the latter ran wide out of Scotsman Corner which allowed Williamson to leap into second place. Swanwick then fell back to fourth position on the run out of Carlube after being passed by Moore but she was then elbowed back to seventh at the hairpin after being forced wide.
Into lap two, Cook led Swanwick and Williamson with Carl Stirling now in fourth place, Mitchell Hale in fifth and Alex Austin in sixth position. Hale moved into the top four on lap three and on the run to the hairpin he also took third place from Swanwick. Meanwhile, Moore set about regaining lost ground and by the end of the third tour she was fourth before grabbing third from Hale on lap four.
As Cook and Williamson controlled the race at the front, further behind positions continued to shuffle on a lap-by-lap basis. The battle for third raged on as the race entered its second half with Moore and Hale running side-by-side into lap eight, the latter taking the place with a superb move around the outside at the first corner.
Bitter disappointment was to follow for Moore though just a mile further into the race when contact with Swanwick at the exit of the hairpin caused the steering rack on her Ginetta to fail. Marking her first non-score of the season, the incident also eroded her advantage in the championship.
Third placed Hale ran wide out of Scotsman on lap 10 to slip to fifth, enabling Swanwick to go back into third place and Louise Richardson – enjoying a fantastic weekend – to take fourth position.
During the last two laps, Williamson challenged Cook for the lead but the latter maintained his winning streak by taking his third victory on the trot on lap 12. Swanwick, although having some gearbox troubles, finished third ahead of Richardson while fifth went to Hale who just emerged on top of a terrific five car scrap which also involved Stirling, Tom Howard, Jake Rattenbury and Austin.
Speaking at the end of round 13, race winner Cook said: “I got a good start but Aaron (Williamson) reeled me in to be fair. I made a mistake along the back straight, missed a gear and that allowed him to catch me. I managed to keep him behind though so I’m really pleased.”
Williamson, whose second place gave him the series lead at that point, commented: “Let’s hope we can finish the season strongly now! We’ve had too many non-finishes this season, we need more points and hopefully we’ll be able to take some more wins before the end of the year.”
Unstoppable Cook continues his winning momentumWith Cook and Williamson sharing the front row for round 14, the start to the race would prove crucial and as it turned out both youngsters made an even getaway. Cook managed to nose ahead at the first turn but at Leslie’s Williamson edged into the lead with a superb piece of driving around the outside. His lead only lasted three corners though as Cook moved back ahead at Carlube.
Swanwick then moved ahead of Williamson at the hairpin to take second but soon after the Safety Car was deployed due to Shane Stoney’s car being situated in a dangerous position at the John R Weir Chicane, having been tipped into a spin on the opening tour.
The re-start came on lap five and due to the delay a decision was taken by officials to limit the race to a maximum duration of 15 minutes rather than the originally intended 12 laps. Cook led away well and as Swanwick and Williamson fought hard over second, the leader managed to open a gap.
By lap nine, Cook’s advantaged was up to 1.5 seconds as the fight for second place became a three-way battle with Moore jostling for position too. Williamson managed to get ahead of Swanwick at the hairpin at the end of the lap but on the exit he went wide and dropped back behind.
Williamson ran through the gravel at Leslie’s on the following tour, an error which looked to have ruined his chances of a podium, but he produced a superb final four laps to battle back into third at the finish. Swanwick had his own moment at the very same corner on lap 12 to drop behind Moore and he then lost out on the line to Williamson on lap 14 by a mere 0.099 seconds.
Fifth place went to Richardson, capping a very strong weekend for the rookie, with Hale sixth, Austin seventh, David Moore eighth and Jake Rattenbury in ninth place ahead of Tom Howard. There was no doubting the winner though and a delighted Cook commented: “We’ve had two great weekends, Snetterton and now here at Knockhill. Hopefully we can carry on from here and keep winning!”
Silverstone National Circuit will host rounds 15 and 16 of the 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance a fortnight from now over the weekend 29th/30th August.
Provisional 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance Positions (after Rd14):1st Jake Cook, 322pts; 2nd Aaron Williamson, 318pts; 3rd Sarah Moore, 303pts; 4th Alex Austin, 268pts; 5th Mitchell Hale, 221pts; 6th Tom Howard, 217pts
