Tom Ingram and Seb Morris each produced noteworthy performances during the third and fourth rounds of the 2010 Ginetta Junior Championship at Rockingham over the weekend, 24th/25th April, to help lift Hillspeed into third position in the team standings.

While High Wycombe-based Ingram was happy to secure a brace of top four results to move into equal second in the driver’s championship, the 16-year-old was frustrated to have lost a podium finish during round four when adjudged to have ‘gained an unfair advantage’ while passing Louise Richardson at the final chicane on the last lap.

Nonetheless, Ingram’s consistently strong effort throughout the weekend keeps him well within reach of the top of the driver standings – a mere seven points adrift – and all at a circuit he had never driven on prior to Friday afternoon’s test session.

Rookie team-mate Morris, who at 14-years-of-age is the youngest driver on the entire Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship support package, continues to stun with his pace and racecraft. After recording a career-best 11th place finish on Saturday during round three, the Marford teenager was an incredible eighth in round four, a truly exceptional performance.

Speaking on the weekend’s action, Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “It’s been a great team effort this weekend, Tom and Seb have both driven very well indeed but we’re certainly disappointed with the judicial decision to strip Tom of his third place in race two. Looking at the in-car video footage, his pass was fair as far as we’re concerned and should have stood.

“What can you say about Seb? He’s doing an unbelievable job in a very tough championship and to beat the likes of David Moore and Sarah Moore (the reigning Ginetta Junior Champion) in race two, and to hold off an experienced driver like Chris Swanwick right to the last lap, was incredible. He’s showing excellent promise and we’ll hopefully keep building on that throughout the season.”

During qualifying on Saturday morning, Ingram posted the sixth fastest time for round three and secured an improved fourth on the grid for round four thanks to his second quickest lap. Morris, meanwhile, was an excellent 11th fastest and his second best time was 13th quickest.

Saturday afternoon’s third round produced a good start for Morris in particular as he shot into the top 10 inside the first couple of laps. Ingram lost out on his starting position but soon battled back and at mid-distance he and Morris were sixth and ninth respectively.

Although Morris slipped back just outside the top 10 before the finish, he made pole-sitter Jake Hill work very hard indeed to get past him as the Tollbar driver recovered from a lap one spin out of the lead. Ingram, meanwhile, moved into the top four on the penultimate tour and took the chequered flag just 1.4 seconds outside the podium.

During the televised fourth round on Sunday afternoon, Ingram ran inside the top four from the off while Morris edged further and further into the top 10 as the race progressed. By lap six, the Liberty Properties Plc-backed youngster was in seventh place and although passed by the vastly experienced Chris Swanwick close to the finish, eighth position was a stunning result for the Hillspeed rookie.

Ingram’s podium charge really gathered momentum three laps from the end of the race when he posted a new lap record of 1m38.832 seconds (70.66mph) and started to apply huge pressure to third placed Richardson.

Running nose-to-tail around the final lap of the 1.94-mile circuit, Ingram almost got the position at Tarzan before slicing up the inside into Brook Chicane to grab third. Unfortunately though, he was later given a four second penalty for the move to drop him back to fourth on the results sheets.

Hillspeed’s Ginetta Junior squad will return to track action just a week from now, 1st/2nd May, for the fifth and sixth rounds of the championship at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent.

2010 Ginetta Junior Championship driver standings (after Rds3&4):=2nd Tom Ingram & Louise Richardson, 100pts; 12th Seb Morris, 40pts

2010 Ginetta Junior Championship team standings (after Rds3&4):3rd Hillspeed, 140pts