Team Parker Racing made a strong debut on its expansion into the Ginetta Junior Championship, with Chris Swanwick taking second place at Thruxton.
Swanwick, Adam Bonham and Finlay Ratcliffe represented the team on its first move into the series, for 14 to 17-year-old drivers, and which supports the hugely popular British Touring Car Championship.
Swanwick qualified third and was part of the leading group throughout the first race, which took place in the wet. He led during the middle portion before settling for second place – a crucial result in a championship where consistency is vital.
Once again Swanwick ran with the leaders in the second race, but a move to take the lead in the closing stages ended with a collision and a spin. He finally finished in seventh place after losing one place on the last lap due to a minor gearbox problem, and narrowly missed out on setting a new lap record.
Team-mate Bonham had a strong opening race after qualifying 11th. Bonham, who like Swanwick is in his second year in Ginetta Juniors, drove consistently to take sixth position, before backing that up with 10th in race two.
Ratcliffe, who has very little karting experience and was competing in his first-ever car race, qualified an encouraging 13th. He suffered incidents in both races but took a best result of 14th.
Team Parker Racing’s Ginetta Junior driver coach Danny Buxton said: “For our first race as a new team it was awesome, but I was so nervous! I’ve spent all winter in the car with our drivers, and it was so rewarding for Chris to get such a great result.
“The second race was ours for the taking until Chris’s spin, but it bodes well for the championship because he’s obviously the quickest out there.
“We know Adam’s talented and he proved he can do it in the first race, while considering his lack of experience Finlay obviously has natural ability that needs honing.”
Swanwick added: “I could have won the first race, but I didn’t want to do anything drastic or silly and throw it away. I need the points because I’m aiming for the championship, so it’s a shame what happened in race two.”
The Ginetta Junior Championship again enjoyed live coverage of its second race at Thruxton on ITV4, and was streamed live on itv.com. The second round takes place at Rockingham, Northamptonshire, over the weekend of April 24/25.
