19-year-old takes pole position hat-trick and podium in each raceXentek Motorsport driver climbs back into second place in championshipGinetta GT5 Challenge title contender Ollie Chadwick, who began his motor racing career in the British Touring Car Championship supporting Ginetta Junior series back in 2012 aged just 15, this weekend notched-up his 100th race at the wheel of a Ginetta race car – marking the occasion in style with two victories.
At Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent for rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the Protyre GT5 Challenge series, the 19-year-old from Tetbury in Gloucestershire locked out pole position for all three races and went on to claim a brace of stunning wins, only missing out on a third by 1.1seconds in the final contest.
Dominating qualifying, lapping the challenging GP track a full 0.8 seconds faster than his nearest rival, James Kellett, Ollie delivered a superb performance under huge pressure in round 13 on Saturday, 1st August, to secure the win, and did the same in round 14 on Sunday, 2nd August, with a faultless drive.
In round 15, the Xentek Motorsport team racer should have been in contention for the win but a slow start, followed by a minor ‘moment’ at Clearways in the early stages of the race, resulted in Ollie slipping to fourth place. An assured fight back, though, saw him recover to take second position – increasing his podium tally for the year to 13 from 15 races.
“I love driving these cars, they are absolutely on the limit the whole time and it takes a lot of skill to get the very best out of them – but when you do it is very satisfying”, said Ollie at the conclusion of the weekend, “I’ve always enjoyed racing at the Brands GP circuit and it’s fantastic to take a couple of wins this weekend, especially to help celebrate my 100th race in a Ginetta.
“I’ve tested and raced GT4 and GT3 cars, prototypes, single seaters…but for the simple joy of racing, the Ginettas have a purity that is unbeatable fun. The wheel-to-wheel, door handle-to-door handle, racing is edge of the seat stuff for spectators and they invariably love it.
“I’d, of course, like to thank Ginetta for all their support over the last four years. They’ve made top level motorsport possible for hundreds of young racing drivers.”
Ginetta Cars, which is based in Garforth near Leeds, has a proud history in building road and race cars but in recent years, under the stewardship of Lawrence Tomlinson, the brand has become a major player at the forefront of supporting British motorsport and aspiring young drivers.
Many competitors, like Ollie, move from karting to Ginettas for their first taste of car racing at the major UK circuits. Ollie spent two and a half years in the BTCC-supporting Ginetta Junior category, with races broadcast live on ITV4, and achieved numerous pole positions, fastest laps, race wins and podiums during a stellar tenure. He then progressed up the Ginetta ladder into the more powerful ‘senior’ G40 car in the GT5 Challenge series in 2014, where he was Vice-Champion.
