Tom Ingram heads the Ginetta Junior Championship as the teams head to Croft this weekend.
After eight races, all full of drama, the Ginetta Junior Championship is continuing to provide some of the best racing on the TOCA package. With the teenager sensations adapting to the new-for-2010 Ginetta G40, new teams entering the championship and the lure of a BTCC test drive at the end of the season, it’s no wonder that the racing is fierce this year.
After another solid weekend at Oulton Park where he steadily collected points, Tom Ingram heads the championship by 10 points from Jake Hill and while Ingram doesn’t seem to have the ultimate pace of Hill at present, he does have an ability to keep out of trouble and score points. This will be crucial at the end of the 20-round championship and you can expect him to be in the leading group this weekend as usual.
Jake Hill (Tollbar) has taken more wins than anyone, four out of the eight rounds held to date and all of his winning has come on Sunday whereas the Saturday race seems to be when he has his dramas. Hill remains a very quick driver but has his occasional wild moments. They are fewer than before but a clash with reigning champion Sarah Moore at Brands Hatch cost him championship points and hence he is still playing catch-up, despite his impressive tally of wins. If the pattern continues, expect him to be on the top step of the podium on Sunday, at the very least.
Jody Fannin was impressive at Oulton Park where he took a win to back up his Brands Hatch success and the Ginetta rookie (named after 1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter) has become a major thorn in the side of the more experienced car racers. Fannin isn’t short of seat-time though: he enjoyed a busy and successful karting career and tests as much as he is able to. Croft will be another new circuit to him but he adapted to Brands Hatch and Oulton Park so impressively that Croft shouldn’t be a problem!
Louise Richardson impressed at Oulton Park as well where she took pole for race one and a second third place finishes over the two races. Her battle with Hill in race one was a highlight of the weekend and her never-say-die attitude marked her out as a real racer. If anyone overtakes Louise, they expect her to drop back at their peril: time and time again she retaliated and her racecraft was impressive. If she maintains the same form here, Ginetta Junior racing could have another female race winner.
Reigning champion Sarah Moore looks to be struggling in terms of results although Ginetta insiders reckon she is driving better than ever – it is luck she is short of, not ability. True, Sarah has been involved in a few incidents this season and has proved she can still race well, while her brother David is getting faster all the time and drove well at Oulton Park last time out. The two siblings are run by Mike Jordan’s Eurotech Racing squad and it won’t be long before they are celebrating a maiden victory.
For Ingram, though, he needs to outscore Hill this weekend. The championship is building up very nicely, thank you.
Free practice for the Ginetta Junior Championship is at 10.50 on Saturday June 19 with qualifying at 15.45. The two races, both 8 laps in length, are on Saturday at 15.45 and Sunday June 20 at 15.55.
