Ginetta Junior Championship rookies Jamie Caroline and Matt Chapman both showed excellent potential on their respective car racing debuts at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 29th/30th March, as top team Total Control Racing also made its bow in the one-make series.
The karting graduates, both aged just 14, delivered strong performances across the course of the opening event of the 2014 season at the 1.2-mile Kent track with Caroline achieving a best result of eighth position in round one and Chapman taking away a ninth place result in round two.
Caroline qualified an impressive sixth fastest for his car racing debut, second quickest of the Rookie Cup drivers, and although some wheelspin off the line demoted him to eighth place, the reigning British KF3 Open Karting Champion fought back superbly with attention-grabbing overtaking.
Slicing back into seventh place at the start of lap three into Paddock Hill Bend, the Waringham racer repeated the move on the very next tour to re-take sixth spot. Aiming to reel in the lead quintet, Caroline held onto sixth until the beginning of lap 10 when he was nudged back a place.
Determined to hit back quickly, the TCR racer moved back into sixth at Paddock Hill but lost out once more on the run from Druids into Graham Hill Bend. He was then elbowed back into eighth with a couple of laps remaining but the result, third best Rookie Cup runner, marked a promising start.
Team-mate Chapman started round one in 14th position, one of several drivers to have their best lap times expunged after being adjudged to have exceeded track limits in qualifying, but he made great progress to end his debut car race inside the top 10.
Moving up into 13th place on lap one, the Oxford driver climbed into 12th position three laps later and then avoided being caught-up in a spin for Brazil’s Pedro Cardoso at the end of the fifth tour to move into 10th place. Remaining there to the chequered flag on lap 14, the result also meant a solid top four finish in the Rookie Cup.
Chapman had the better of the running in round two after Caroline was caught-up in a multi-car tangle on the approach to Paddock Hill Bend on lap one. Lining-up eighth on the grid, he got away cleanly but after being tagged his race ended before the first corner with heavy front-end damage.
Chapman, meanwhile, managed to thread his way neatly through the stricken cars and by the end of lap one he had climbed into the top 10. Following a four lap Safety Car period, racing resumed on lap six and Chapman swiftly moved into ninth but was nudged back to 10th place three laps later.
After being attacked by two cars in quick succession on lap 10, the TCR rookie found himself in 12th position but he fought his way back into ninth place before the finish – just 0.3 seconds outside the top eight and fifth in the Rookie Cup.
“I think both drivers did extremely well on their first weekend in cars, the pace has been good”, said TCR team principal Lee Brookes, “It’s been a big learning curve for Jamie and Matt, they’ve had a lot to take on board but both of them definitely showed great potential.
“Jamie showed he can race, he can pass, and he proved he’s one of the top rookies – it’s just a shame he didn’t get to show what he was capable of in race two after the accident. Matt produced a good performances in both races, he’s developing well, and they’re both only going to get quicker.”
Donington Park National Circuit in the East Midlands will host rounds three and four of the Ginetta Junior Championship over Easter weekend, 19th/20th April. Before then, TCR’s Michelin Clio Cup Race Series squad will be in action for the opening two races of its season next weekend, 5th/6th April, at Rockingham in Northamptonshire.
2014 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd2):11th Matt Chapman, 23pts; 14th Jamie Caroline, 14pts
2014 Ginetta Junior Championship Team Standings (after Rd2):5th Total Control Racing, 37pts
