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Provisional 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship Positions (after Rd8)
1st Dino Zamparelli, 250pts; 2nd Thomas Carnaby, 175pts; 3rd Josh Hill, 165pts; 4th Daniel Lloyd, 143pts; 5th Jake Farndon, 128pts; 6th Cassey Watson, 119pts

More information available at www.ginettacars.com/Junior.htm

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 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship

Ginetta Junior Championship leader Dino Zamparelli extended his advantage at the head of the driver standings to a substantial 75 points at Donington Park today, Sunday, 4th May, after bagging a brace of superb race victories – his fourth and fifth successes from eight races contested so far in 2008.

 

While Josh Hill dominated qualifying on Saturday afternoon with two pole positions starts for rounds seven and eight of the campaign, it was Zamparelli who took a pair of contrasting wins while main title rival Thomas Carnaby endured a disastrous raceday.

 

“The guys at Muzz Racing have done a fantastic job”, said the double Donington Park victor, “It’s great to win both races, and to also get the fastest lap each time. It’s been a very good weekend for us.”

 

Round seven will undoubtedly go down as one of the most entertaining races of the year in any category, not just for the great action but also for the bizarrely memorable finish which enabled Zamparelli to win and saw Hill somehow manage to climb onto the rostrum after looking like his race was over prior to the start of the final lap.

 

At the beginning, Hill led away from pole position with Zamparelli moving past front-row starter George Richardson for second at Redgate Corner. Joining Richardson and Zamparelli was Aaron Williamson but at Goddards Chicane at the end of lap one the series leader had a spin which dropped him down to 14th place.

 

While Jake Farndon nudged Thomas Carnaby out of fourth position and into the gravel at McLeans on lap two, back at the front Richardson successfully challenged Hill for the lead at Goddards.

 

Hill soon regained the advantage at Redgate on lap three but that wasn’t the end of it as the duo brilliantly traded positions for almost the entire duration of the nine lap encounter. Further behind, Daniel Lloyd moved inside Williamson for third under the Dunlop Bridge but as they entered Goddards, contact saw Lloyd pitched into a spin.

 

While the two leaders continued to take turns at the front, Zamparelli had unbelievably scorched his way back through the order and into the top three on lap five. Some three seconds behind Hill and Richardson, Zamparelli quickly closed the gap and was in a position to mount his own bid for the lead by the end of lap seven.

 

As Zamparelli posted a new lap record of 1m 27.429 seconds (80.59mph), a three-way battle for the lead was on but the complexion of the scrap changed at the end of the penultimate lap when a small mistake from Hill at Goddards saw him collect the plastic covered foam bale on the exit of the chicane.

 

With the remnants of the structure lodged under his car, Hill somehow managed to continue but as he rounded Coppice for the final time, the plastic bale cover came loose and caused a couple of drivers to spin in avoidance. Hill, who referred to his bizarre final lap as a “unique experience”, was third with Zamparelli taking the win from Richardson.

“It was a fantastic race”, said Richardson, “It was a shame I couldn’t get P1 but I’m still happy. We put some good points back on the table after an absolute nightmare at Rockingham. I want to say a very big thank you to Tollbar Racing and my sponsors.”

 

Ashley Craig finished an outstanding fourth, having qualified 12th on the grid, with Alex Austin similarly impressive having risen from 15th to fifth. Lloyd fought back brilliantly from outside the top 12 to achieve a richly deserved top six but much more was to come from him during round eight where he would secure his maiden podium finish.

 

Once again, Zamparelli seemed to be in a class of his own in terms of race pace in the second of the day’s outings – taking the lead on lap two from Hill. The start was problematic for several drivers, not least Richardson who found himself turned around and into the path of Tollbar Racing team-mate Carnaby causing damage to both cars.

 

On lap two at Redgate, further troubles ensued when contact saw both Tollbar drivers forced into the gravel, while Craig ended up on his roof in the middle of the track. The strength of the Ginetta Junior cars came into play with all of the drivers thankfully walking away without injury.

 

Following a Safety Car period, the race re-started on lap five and Zamparelli was never headed, taking the win by three seconds from Hill – the latter’s best ever finish just eight races into his car racing career and a result he classed as “really good”.

 

The battle for the final podium place was highly entertaining but it all ended in tears on the final lap for Farndon and Williamson with both crashing out at the Old Hairpin.

 

Quick thinking Lloyd kept a watching brief as the four-way scrap played out and when Farndon and Williamson came together, he nipped by Dominic Pettit with a great piece of overtaking at the Old Hairpin to grab his maiden podium. Alice Powell, meanwhile, did a fantastic job of climbing from 14th on the grid to fifth at the finish.

 

“It’s great to finally get on the podium”, commented Lloyd, “The car has been great all weekend, it all came down to the final lap in the end but it was a fun race to drive. We’re getting stronger and stronger all of the time.”

 

The Ginetta Junior Championship will return to action a fortnight from now on 17th/18th May at Hampshire’s Thruxton Circuit for the ninth and 10th rounds of the season.

PERFECT ROCKINGHAM WEEKEND FOR CARNABY CLOSES UP TITLE RACE 

Tollbar Racing’s Thomas Carnaby is just five points shy of the top of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship standings after what can only be described as a perfect weekend for him at Rockingham in Northamptonshire. 

Taking his second win on the bounce during the sixth round of the season on Sunday, 13th April, Carnaby also posted the fastest lap of the race and started from pole position to make it a clean sweep. Added to an identical maximum score on Saturday during round five, he is now within striking distance of Cadwell Park dominator Dino Zamparelli. 

“I’d been to Rockingham just once before and Tollbar, as a team, were very quick”, said Carnaby, “I’ve always loved circuits that are fast and Rockingham plays to what I like. I knew this weekend could be one of the best we’d had and after going well in practice we kept it up in qualifying by taking pole position for both races and then the two wins. 

“It’s been good, I’ve really been wanting this kind of result so I’m very happy. I don’t want to be at all unrealistic but if we can keep going like this then I’d like to think we can fight for the top three in the championship – that’s what I’d like!” 

At the start of Sunday’s race, it was second placed Zamparelli who looked set to nose into the lead on the approach to Turn One but a missed gear saw him lose a fistful of places. Carnaby, meanwhile, made the most of the opportunity and he rapidly scurried away at the front to open up a substantial early lead. 

Behind the two leaders, the rest of the starting order looked slightly different than planned due to third-placed qualifier George Richardson pulling out ahead of the race following on from his contact with the Rockingham Oval wall during Saturday’s outing. 

Alice Powell made a good getaway from fifth on the grid and at Deene Hairpin on the first lap she was embroiled in a tight scrap for second place with the even faster starting Aaron Williamson, who rose from eighth. 

Williamson edged ahead out of Deene but later in the lap at Tarzan, Powell made her move up the inside and after drifting wide on the exit, contact with Williamson resulted in the latter retiring from the race. 

Into lap two, the round five victor already held an advantage of more than three seconds over the pursuing pack, headed by Josh Hill with Alice Powell in third and Zamparelli in fourth place. 

As Zamparelli nipped past Powell through Turn One on lap three, so Hill took the opportunity to push as he attempted to close the gap to Carnaby which had grown to over four seconds. By the end of the lap though, championship leader Zamparelli had made his move by taking second place at the Brook Chicane. 

The battle for runner-up honours allowed Carnaby to only increase his already huge lead. Hill moved into second position at Yentwood but then Zamparelli fought back and with three laps remaining he began to stamp his authority by moving ahead.  

Third placed Hill then came under attack from Powell and Jake Farndon, the latter managing to get through into fourth with Powell in fifth, Daniel Lloyd in sixth and Dominic Pettit in seventh place. 

Problems for Powell on lap seven saw her fall back down the order but she still managed to finish in eighth place. On the same lap, Pettit got ahead of Lloyd into Tarzan. 

The close fight between Hill and Farndon raged on to the end with the pair split by less than four 10ths of a second at the chequered flag. On the eighth and final lap of the 1.94-mile track, the pair raced side-by-side from Deene to Yentwood and then, into Tarzan, Hill put his car up the inside. 

This meant he was on the outside for Brook Chicane though and so Farndon was able to get the drive he wanted out of the final corner to just edge out his rival for the last podium place – the result ensuring the rostrum was identical to that of Saturday’s race. 

Pettit finished fifth, Lloyd in sixth and Nick Ponting was seventh ahead of the recovering Powell. Carnaby’s winning margin, meanwhile, was an impressive 7.570 seconds

Thomas Carnaby did his hopes of closing down Ginetta Junior Championship leader Dino Zamparelli the power of good at Rockingham International Sports Car Circuit this afternoon with a truly faultless performance.

 

Having scorched to pole position by over six 10ths of a second during the 15-minute qualifying session at the Northamptonshire track, the Tollbar Racing driver went on to claim a largely unchallenged lights-to-flag victory and also set the fastest lap of the race into the bargain.

 

Carnaby was pressed hard through Turn One by Zamparelli but the pole-sitter managed to keep his nose ahead as they ran towards Deene Hairpin and the entrance to the tricky infield section.

 

Behind, Jake Farndon had passed Brands Hatch race winner George Richardson for third place with Dominic Pettit climbing from the third row into fourth position. Pettit would, however, slip behind Daniel Lloyd soon after with Richardson further adrift.

 

On lap two, the unfortunate Alice Powell saw a spin at Tarzan seemingly ruin any hopes of a decent result but a stunning fightback through the order saw her climb into the top eight before the chequered flag.

 

At the front, Zamparelli pressured Carnaby and into lap three just 0.6 seconds separated the pair but the race leader maintained excellent composure and didn’t show any signs of cracking.

 

On lap six Richardson fought his way back into contention for the top four but Lloyd produced a good overtaking manoeuvre at Pif-Paf to regain the place. Richardson, knocked somewhat out of his stride, then dropped another place to Pettit.

 

By this point, Carnaby’s win looked assured but the eighth and final tour did provide plenty of drama a little further behind when contact between Josh Hill and Richardson at Turn One resulted in the latter spinning into the wall on the outside of the Oval banking.

 

He managed to get going again but a long way down, eventually finishing in 14th place, while Hill took the chequered flag in seventh position having lost a potential top six result to Aaron Williamson who zipped through in the aftermath of the Turn One incident.

 

While Carnaby won by just under two seconds from Zamparelli, Farndon took a deserved podium in third, albeit some 11 seconds shy of the leaders. Lloyd finished an excellent fourth – having started five places lower – just ahead of Pettit with Williamson rounding out the top six ahead of Hill in seventh and Powell in eighth.

 

“That was good fun, we’ve been quick all weekend and it was great to get pole, the win and fastest lap”, said Carnaby at the conclusion of round five. Chief rival Zamparelli added: “I had to settle for second in the end today, I tried and tried to close the gap but fair play to Thomas, he raced well and did a good job.”
Zamparelli, who won three of the opening four rounds of course, still holds the box seat in the title chase, 12 points clear of Carnaby with Hill and Farndon sharing third place.

 

Round six of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship is scheduled to take place at 15.25 tomorrow, Sunday, 13th April, and will be screened live on Freeview, digital satellite and cable channel ITV4 as part of the British Touring Car Championship package broadcast.

Cadwell Park – Ginetta Juniors 

Gannett Junior driver Cassey Watson would not usually be thrilled with qualifying 9th on the grid, but at Cadwell Park on Sunday that was the case after breaking an anti roll bar link early in the session leaving her with an extremely difficult car to drive.

Cassey said, "I set my fastest lap on my very last lap mainly due to the fact it took me awhile to work out how I was going to set a lap time in a car that didn't want to turn left. I have to be pleased, this is a tricky circuit and I certainly didn't make my job any easier for myself."

With the car repaired the RDA student made an excellent start to race 1, eventually joining in a 4 car race for 3rd, as the quickest car of the group Cassey managed to move up to 4th with the chequered flag coming too soon for her to make a move on, son of Damon, Josh Hill for the podium.

Unfortunately race 2 saw a repeat of the earlier problems in qualifying leaving Cassey in a battle to hold onto her start position, "I think I've been a little over zealous with the kerbs today", a disappointed Cassey said, "this is the first time I've raced at Cadwell and that is a lesson I've learnt for next time."

Cassey won't have to wait long to try and make amends as the Ginetta Juniors return to the BTCC package next weekend at the fabulous Rockingham Speedway in Corby.  

LIGHTS TO FLAG VICTORY GIVES RICHARDSON CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

With the first weekend of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship complete, George Richardson has taken an early series lead following a superb lights-to-flag victory during round two at a partially damp Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. 

Having dominated qualifying on Saturday with a double pole-position, Richardson could only manage third place during round one yesterday. Today, however, he managed to convert his round two pole into a terrific start and an unchallenged win to open up a 15 point lead in the driver standings. 

Behind Richardson, the impressive Alice Powell battled hard for third place to make a deserved trip to the podium while second position went to the outstanding Jay Southern who fought his way through from 11th on the grid. 

“We decided to gamble and go with the dry set-up today and it paid off”, said Richardson following the race, “On Saturday we went with wet weather settings and it didn’t go so well as the track dried out. Today it was predominantly dry if a bit damp at the start, a little greasy in different places, but other than that it was great.  

“It was a brilliant race, unfortunately the Safety Car upset me a little bit when it appeared both times but I still managed to hold the lead. I think I handled myself well, I had some great advice from my team and it paid off. I’m really happy to have won.” 

At the start, while Richardson led away cleanly from Powell, Thomas Carnaby held on to third place ahead of round one winner Dino Zamparelli. Under pressure into Paddock Hill Bend on lap two, Powell held off Carnaby but he soon found a way by. 

An unfortunate off for Aaron Williamson at Paddock Hill resulted in the Safety Car being deployed on lap two and with racing abated for a few laps while the stricken car was moved to safety, a glance further down the order showed Jake Farndon repeating his heroics of round one by making fantastic inroads in double-quick time. 

Having started the race a lowly 19th on the grid after a problematic qualifying session, Farndon had climbed into the top 10 by the time the Safety Car emerged. He would eventually finish a highly creditable eighth. 

The re-start came on lap six, Zamparelli immediately making an impression by taking third place from Powell around the outside at Paddock Hill. Fifth placed Dominic Pettit then came under attack at Clearways from Southern who bagged the position nicely. 

Powell drifted back to fourth place when Pettit found a way through at Paddock Hill on lap eight but the latter didn’t stay there long, running wide almost as soon as he had gained the position and ending his race in the gravel trap. This brought out the Safety Car for a second time. 

At the re-start, the complexion of the race would soon change when second-placed Carnaby and pursuer Zamparelli made contact at Surtees. Zamparelli produced a great pass on the inside but it would leave him on the outside for the run through McLaren. 

With both cars leaning on each other, contact was inevitable really and both ended up off the circuit. Carnaby recovered to eventually finish in seventh place while Zamparelli made his way into the top 12 on the very last lap at the expense of Josh Hill. 

The third generation racer had a tough debut weekend in Ginetta Juniors, compounded by a spin on the opening lap of Sunday;’s race at the corner named after his famous grandfather, Graham Hill. With dad Damon, Britain’s last Formula One World Champion, looking on he eventually finished in 13th place after a good recovery. 

Back at the front, race leader Richardson continued to press on and at the chequered flag on lap 14 he took victory by 1.2 seconds from Southern with Powell a further half a second shy in third. Nick Ponting did a great job to finish in fourth, having started eighth, while Daniel Lloyd starred too, climbing from 13th on the grid to fifth position at the flag. 

With its place on the British Touring Car Championship support package, live television coverage on ITV4 and exposure on the ITV1 magazine programme Motorsport UK, 2008 promises to be an exceptional year for the country’s most exciting junior racing series. 

Rounds three and four of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship will take place next weekend, 5th/6th April, away from the BTCC bill at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire. The series will rejoin the touring cars at Rockingham in Northamptonshire on 19th/20th April.  

Dino Zamparelli and Dominic Pettit provided a memorable start to the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent today – Zamparelli shading the round one win by a mere 0.025 seconds in a race hard to beat in terms of drama and edge-of-the-seat excitement.

 

With Pettit having taken the lead on lap nine after a terrific three-car duel into Druids Hairpin, he began to put a little bit of distance between himself and second placed George Richardson, the latter battling with an increasingly quick Zamparelli.

 

As soon as Zamparelli moved into second place at Paddock Hill Bend on lap 11, the stage looked set for a spectacular head-to-head with Pettit. Neither driver disappointed with a wonderful display in front of the British Touring Car Championship team bosses.

 

As the pair headed through McLaren on the penultimate tour almost touching, the final lap offered the prospect of a true grandstand finish. Pettit crossed the line just three 10ths of a second ahead into lap 14 and although running slightly wide into Graham Hill Bend, he managed to stay ahead along Cooper Straight.

 

Into Clearways for the final time though, Zamparelli saw his chance and grabbed it with both hands. Moving to the inside of Pettit, the pair then ran side-by-side all the way to the chequer with Zamparelli taking a literal photo-finish by the narrowest of margins.

 

“I was in sixth place early on and losing pace so I thought to myself I have to try and make up some places”, said the round one victor, “I managed to pick people off one by one and when I got into second I thought I had a good chance of winning the race.

 

“My pit board said there were three laps to go when actually there were only two so on what turned out to be the last lap, I went up the inside of Dominic – he gave me space which was nice – but then I could see he was coming back at me. I just put my foot down and we ran side by side to the line. It was such a good race, I’m so happy to win.”

 

The start of the 14-lap encounter saw George Richardson make a good initial getaway from pole position but fellow front-row starter Alice Powell got better drive overall and headed the field into Paddock Hill Bend.

 

On lap two, Powell was forced wide at Druids and dropped to third with Richardson going through into the lead and Thomas Carnaby moving into second place. Sadly for Powell things only got worse as, on lap five, a spin on the run from Druids saw her lose a huge number of places as she dropped well outside the top 10.

 

Battling hard, a superb recovery saw Powell fight back into ninth position at the end ahead of Nick Ponting who received a 10 second penalty for a jump start.

 

Jake Farndon, who started in 17th place after problems in qualifying, raced impressively early on and on lap six was in eighth place. Just one lap later though, a spin on Cooper Straight put paid to any further progress. He eventually came home down in 15th place behind Sarah Moore, sister of 2007 Ginetta Junior Champion, Nigel.

Back at the front, while Zamparelli and Pettit could hardly be separated, Richardson took a deserved podium in third place while Carnaby was fourth, Fergus Walkinshaw fifth and Jay Southern rounded out the top six. Casey Watson finished in seventh place, one spot ahead of car racing rookie Josh Hill, son of 1996 FIA Formula One World Champion, Damon.

 

Supporting the BTCC for the first time, the Ginetta Junior Championship served up absolutely outstanding action during the opening round today. Not only a superb advert for the Ginetta marque and the quality of the championship itself, the arrival of the Ginetta Juniors is also wonderful news for the BTCC package as a whole.

 

Action resumes at Brands Hatch tomorrow, Sunday, 30th March, with round two scheduled to begin at 12.10. Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4 will be live on air from Brands Hatch from 12.30pm and it’s possible the Ginetta race will receive delayed coverage – please check listings for further details.