Tough weekend for TCR's Juniors at Snetterton

Total Control Racing experienced a challenging outing at Snetterton 300 Circuit over the weekend, 2nd/3rd August, during the latest two rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship – power issues for all three drivers limiting their potential as the second half of the season got underway.Marking the first event with TCR for 16-year-old William Taylforth, joining team regulars Jamie Caroline and Matt Chapman, the teenage trio endured difficulties with straight-line speed which had an adverse effect on qualifying and race performances.Round 12 on Sunday was the best outing of the two for the Wednesbury squad, Caroline finishing in fifth position, Taylforth claiming ninth place – from 14th on the grid – and Chapman ending the race just outside the top 10 from the eighth row at the start.“Our big problem this weekend has been we’re struggling with straight-line speed, all three cars are down so that has to be looked at”, explained TCR team principal Lee Brookes, “It’s making all three of our lads over-drive, to be honest, which isn’t what you need.“The engines are sealed so we need Ginetta to take a look at it and find out what the problem is, whatever it is it’s affecting all three cars. Our drivers did an excellent job, they just need more grunt to be level with the others.”Caroline, whose car sported a fresh livery this weekend in deference to his new sponsor Coco5, was the fastest of the TCR trio in qualifying on Saturday with seventh on the timesheets, Taylforth next up with the 13th quickest time and Chapman qualifying 16th on the grid for round 11.Holding station on lap one, Caroline broke into the top six the next time around but was then elbowed to seventh and ninth soon after prior to the emergence of the Safety Car after he was involved in a tangle with Jack Rawles. With the recovery process taking quite some time, no further racing was possible and the action ended under yellow flags.Taylforth and Chapman concluded lap one in 13th and 15th positions respectively, but the former slipped back to 17th on the second tour to elevate Chapman into 14th place. Prior to the appearance of the Safety Car, Chapman had moved into the top 12 while Taylforth climbed back into 14th place. Post-race, Caroline was excluded from the results by officials for his part in the Rawles incident.“The penalty was a bit harsh for what actually happened”, reflected Brookes, “It’s not good as it’ll have a big impact on Jamie’s championship unfortunately, but he’s not the sort of driver to let it affect him.”In round 12 on Sunday, Caroline was elbowed back to eighth place on the first lap from sixth on the grid but mounted a strong recovery and was back into the top five by the third tour. Remaining there to the finish, he ended the event holding on to seventh in the championship despite the difficulties.From 14th position on the grid, Taylforth gained places on the opening couple of laps to move into 12th and on lap four he managed to break into the top 10. Grabbing ninth spot on the final lap from Ben Pearson, the TCR newcomer capped a strong performance.Chapman, who had a lot of work to do from 16th on the grid, performed strongly and after moving into 14th position on lap one he continued to make further gains – rising into 11th place on the fourth tour. Holding position to the chequered flag, he crossed the line more than seven seconds clear of his closest pursuer.“William has done a grand job on his first weekend with the team, we had some problems with his car at the start but we got those sorted out”, said Brookes, “If you don’t qualify near the front you’re going to struggle all the way through and that’s what happened with the speed issues. Hopefully all of that will be sorted out for Knockhill and we can be back at the front.”Knockhill in Scotland is next on the Ginetta Junior Championship schedule with rounds 13 and 14 of the season taking place on 23rd/24th August.Provisional 2014 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd12):7th Jamie Caroline, 185pts; 11th William Taylforth, 131pts; 14th Matt Chapman, 107ptsProvisional 2014 Ginetta Junior Championship Team Standings (after Rd12):4th Total Control Racing, 294pts


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