Dan Zelos conquered his nerves and belied his lack of experience as the 2014 Ginetta Junior Championship revved into life at Brands Hatch last weekend, unleashing podium-threatening pace and claiming a top five finish as he settled into the popular ITV4-televised series in style.
Following an assiduous testing programme behind the wheel of his JHR Developments-run, Evergreen Tyres-sponsored Ginetta G40, Zelos arrived at Brands Hatch bidding to build upon the promising form he had evinced on his car racing debut in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series at Snetterton in November, when in treacherous conditions and as the only true rookie in the field he had tallied an eye-catching double top ten finish.
The talented young Norfolk ace did that and then some in the opening free practice session, lapping a stunning fifth-quickest amongst the 21 contenders, a mere half-second shy of the outright benchmark and ahead of a good many second-year competitors. Just as remarkable was Zelos’ consistency, and after ending the day ninth overall, he headed into qualifying in optimistic mood.
Whilst not entirely happy with the set-up of his car, the highly-rated Dereham-based hotshot was nonetheless firmly in the mix, lining up 11th for race one and tenth for race two around Brands Hatch’s short Indy layout. Unfortunately, a stall at the start of the first encounter left Zelos at the back of the pack, but thereafter he displayed no shortage of bravery as he scythed determinedly through to 14th at the chequered flag, pulling off some superb overtaking moves along the way.
Getting stuck in with real brio, on one occasion, the 15-year-old found himself forced onto the grass but boldly kept his foot in, whilst he drew gasps of admiration from spectators as he went fully around the outside of another driver through Druids hairpin.
Race two the next day took place in front of a capacity crowd and live television cameras, given that the Ginetta Junior Championship is one of the key support series to the high-profile Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Making a much better start this time, Zelos artfully and intelligently threaded his way through a first corner mêlée to emerge in fifth.
Subsequently rising to fourth following a rival’s mistake, he very nearly snuck through into third at half-distance, only for light contact to cost him momentum and a couple of places. Undeterred, the Northgate High School pupil immediately reclaimed fifth spot with a brilliant manoeuvre and spent the remainder of the race embroiled in a tight three-way scrap over the final step on the rostrum.
A truly impressive effort as he harried two second-year drivers right the way to the flag, fifth position earned Zelos the rookie trophy and an excellent eighth in the championship table. As he reflects upon the weekend, he admits that he is pleased to have made his mark in such emphatic fashion.
“I did feel nervous at the beginning,” confessed the East Anglian teenager. “Given my complete lack of experience, the Winter Series had been more of a glorified testing opportunity, whereas I regarded this as my first proper car racing weekend. I knew I had a lot to learn, and the target was to finish both races and bring the car safely back in one piece with hopefully a few points on the board, too.
“It’s a big and very strong grid in Ginetta Juniors this year, with a lot of competitive drivers out there from second-year contenders to former karting rivals. The main championship is a totally different ballgame to the Winter Series, with tens of thousands of spectators at the track and millions more watching on live TV – it’s a whole new level, and because the stakes are that much higher, so too is the pressure.
“To be immediately on the pace in practice was a massive confidence boost, and whilst I was disappointed with qualifying, my JHR Developments crew worked really hard to improve the car for the races. It was a shame about the stall in race one. The grid at Brands Hatch is on a slope and I was pointing slightly downwards; I hadn’t done a hill-start before and I was conscious of not creeping forward, but I let the revs drop too low and the engine cut out. I was really annoyed with myself, but I got my head down and treated the rest of the race as overtaking practice.
“Thankfully, race two went a lot better. For starters, I actually got away from the line this time, which was a plus, and I reacted quickly to squeeze my way past the collision at Paddock Hill Bend. After that, we were fast enough to fight for the podium, which was hugely encouraging, and overall, I really enjoyed the whole experience – it was one of the best weekends of my life. I learned so much, worked really well with the team and generally just felt like I was meant to be there.”
He looked it, too...
If you are interested in getting involved in life in the fast lane by sponsoring Dan, please contact his dad Andy at andy.zelos@weselltyres.com
