The Grid

Bristol teenager Dino Zamparelli finally secured the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship title during the last round of the season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent on Sunday afternoon, 21st September.

Winning the championship by 16 points in the end from chief rival Thomas Carnaby, the Muzz Racing driver is now eyeing a career in single-seaters as he aims to carry all he has learned in Ginetta Juniors forward in 2009.

Heading into the final race of the year, Zamparelli really had to fail to finish for Carnaby to stand any chance of usurping his rival but in the end a superb effort by Zamparelli ensured the title was his after visiting the podium for the 15th time in 24 races.

Claiming 10 race victories along the way, the new champion has been at the forefront of proceedings throughout the campaign but congratulations too must go to Carnaby who, particularly during the second half of the season, really took the fight to his rival and became firmly established as the only driver who could offer a title threat.

Speaking after Sunday’s race, Zamparelli said: “I almost lost my championship earlier in the year, I made quite a few mistakes but I learned so much from them and now we’ve won the championship. It’s fantastic to finally win the title, Ginetta Junior is a great series to race in and it’s taught me a lot.”

Carnaby did finish round 24 in second place, ahead of Zamparelli, to secure his 16th podium of the year and end the championship a huge 124 points clear of third placed car racing rookie Josh Hill.

Ending the year a very deserving runner-up, the Scunthorpe based driver said: “It could have been a bit better this weekend but Dino drove a great race so congratulations to him. My tyres started to get a bit too warm but I managed to hold on and I did all I could. It’s been a great year for us, we’ve had a lot of success, so I’m very happy with it.”

While the championship plaudits went the way of Zamparelli, race success once again fell to Dominic Pettit who produced another dominant performance to win round 24 almost seven seconds clear of his pursuers.

The Cambridge racer’s Brands Hatch double also ensured he leapfrogged Daniel Lloyd in the driver standings by edging ahead into fourth place behind Hill. Lloyd, meanwhile, finished 43 points ahead of sixth-placed George Richardson.

At the start of round 24, Pettit scorched away from pole position as he did during the Saturday encounter and he was never headed en route to a superb victory after 14 laps.

Seventh placed starter Richardson made a lightning getaway himself to rocket into the top four at Paddock Hill Bend behind Alice Powell and Carnaby. Lloyd slotted into fifth place on the run to Druids Hairpin before Hill edged ahead out of the turn to push Lloyd down to sixth place.
On lap four, Richardson saw his pressure on Powell pay off as he moved into third place on the run to the hairpin and then, through Clearways, Lloyd carried good momentum underneath Hill before taking fifth position back over the line into lap five. Hill then ran slightly wide on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend to allow Zamparelli to move into sixth.

While Pettit and Carnaby edged further away from the chasing pack at the front, the fight over third continued to develop. Into Druids on lap eight, Zamparelli managed to get the best out of a three-car tussle which also involved Lloyd and Powell. As Lloyd was forced wide on the exit of the corner, Zamparelli moved through into fifth place.

Lap 10 saw Zamparelli pass Powell for fourth at Paddock Hill Bend and Lloyd followed him through into Druids to demote Powell to sixth place. On the next tour though at Graham Hill Bend, Lloyd got a bit out of shape and ran onto the grass on the exit.

Slipping to seventh, Lloyd hit back before the finish to claim a top six result behind Powell and Hill. Drama on the penultimate lap, however, almost saw Zamparelli’s championship dream destroyed when a spin for Richardson at Hailwood Hill saw him almost make contact with the eventual champion.

Luckily, Zamparelli avoided the incident by a mere whisker and inherited third place into the bargain as Hill moved into fourth, Powell fifth and Lloyd sixth. On the final lap, Jake Farndon, who had been embroiled in a great battle with Fergus Walkinshaw, had a spin at Graham Hill Bend to drop him out of the top 10.

Speaking on his second win of the weekend, Pettit said: “I wanted to end the season on a high as we’ve had a pretty down year so to win again this weekend is fantastic.”

Serving up a truly outstanding year of action, the Ginetta Junior Championship has most certainly proven its worth as a support category to the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship this season…here’s to another fantastic title battle in 2009!

Dominic Pettit claimed a long awaited, and very well deserved, race victory at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Saturday, 20th September, during the penultimate round of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship.

Leading from pole position, the Cambridge-based youngster immediately surged into a huge lead, by Ginetta Junior standards, on the opening lap and a relatively comfortable victory looked on the cards.

The emergence of the Ginetta G50 Safety Car, however, on lap four did erase Pettit’s substantial advantage. Shortly after the re-start on lap seven, he found himself staring at the back of Daniel Lloyd’s car as the Huddersfield driver made his way through on the exit of Druids and the run down to Graham Hill Bend with a great piece of driving.

Pettit was soon back ahead though with a quality overtaking move at Paddock Hill Bend on lap eight and from that point on he was unchallenged as he took the chequered flag on lap 11 – race officials choosing to truncate the encounter early after the cars of Sarah Moore and Jake Rattenbury both ended up stranded in the gravel at Clearways.

Having come within just 0.025 seconds of race victory during the opening round of the season, also at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, this win was even sweeter for Pettit.

He said: “This win pays off the hard work we’ve done, it’s something very special. I really wanted to win this weekend and so I’m obviously very happy. The car wasn’t that brilliant but I drive to suit the car, not the other way round, and that seems to work very well here at Brands Hatch Indy.”

While all eyes at the weekend are on the exploits of Dino Zamparelli and Thomas Carnaby in relation to their titanic battle over the destiny of the 2008 Ginetta Junior title, in today’s race it was Pettit, Lloyd and third place finisher Alice Powell who all came to the fore.

Lapping quickest in morning practice with a time over three 10ths of a second faster than anyone else, Pettit continued his performance in qualifying where he secured a double pole position start for both of the weekend’s races.

The Dominant Motorsport driver’s excellent qualifying effort also bagged him a brace of extra points in his fight over fourth place in the championship with Lloyd – the latter holding the upper hand heading into this weekend’s season finale.

As Pettit scorched into a healthy early lead at the start of round 23, Lloyd started well from fourth on the grid to run side-by-side with third-placed Powell through Paddock Hill Bend. On the run towards Druids Hairpin, the pair both passed Carnaby – who started on the front row – while further back, Zamparelli endured a disastrous opening lap.

Slipping from seventh on the grid to 17th after a very slow getaway, the series leader had to mount a pressure-fuelled fight back which he did in style, climbing his way back into a top seven finish.

Limiting the damage in championship terms with Carnaby ending the race in fourth, Zamparelli heads into the final race of the season, round 24, a full 20 points ahead of his rival when the category’s ‘drop score’ ruling is employed.

Following the aforementioned Safety Car period between the start of lap four and end of lap six, the race order read Pettit, Powell, Lloyd, Carnaby, George Richardson, Josh Hill and Fergus Walkinshaw. At the re-start Pettit was away well but behind, a huge battle over second place ensued.

Heading towards Druids, Lloyd got a great run and took the inside line with Powell in the centre and Carnaby on the outside. Richardson also tried to get involved in the mix meaning four cars all had a chance of emerging from the corner in second!

As it turned out, Lloyd moved into second but he quickly went into the lead of the race as well when Pettit ran wide on the exit of the hairpin. After Pettit got back ahead of Lloyd at Paddock Hill Bend on lap eight, the order from third to sixth was Powell, Carnaby, Richardson and Hill which is how they would finish.

Zamparelli ended the race in seventh, just ahead of Walkinshaw, with Alex Austin ninth and Jake Farndon rounding out the top 10.

With just two races now remaining in the incredibly close battle for the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship, it’s anyone’s guess who will claim the title victory after Thomas Carnaby once again made inroads into Dino Zamparelli’s points lead following his second win of the weekend at Mallory Park on Sunday, 7th September.

Doing exactly what he needed to ensure he has a realistic chance of usurping the Muzz Racing driver during the series finale a fortnight from now at Brands Hatch, Carnaby performed very well indeed to take maximum points from round 22 with bonus points for pole position and fastest lap to add to his win.

Zamparelli was a much bigger threat in the second Mallory Park encounter than in the first where his wet weather set-up didn’t pay off. This time he was a constant thorn in the side of Carnaby but a race stoppage on lap 13 blunted his attack.

Jake Farndon, meanwhile, was less than a second further back in third – his fifth visit to the podium of the year – ahead of Josh Hill, Daniel Lloyd and George Richardson.

As the lights went out at the start of round 22, Hill looked to have made a good getaway initially from fourth on the grid but third placed starter Farndon had other ideas as he managed to get back ahead through Gerard’s Bend.

Carnaby led Zamparelli through the first corner as he tried to build an early advantage but at a circuit renowned for slip-streaming, and with everyone running with dry settings in the second of the Mallory Park races, his task would prove to be much greater.

Into lap two, Carnaby led Zamparelli, Farndon, Hill, Walkinshaw and Jake Batty but on the following tour, the top two started to break away as a huge battle over third place erupted.

Quite literally, a blanket could have covered Walkinshaw, Farndon and Hill as they rounded Gerard’s on lap three. As the trio diced for position, Batty came through superbly to edge ahead of Hill into fifth place.

His glory was unfortunately short-lived though when contact with Walkinshaw, as they battled at Shaw’s Hairpin, resulted in a double retirement and the appearance of the Safety Car a lap later.

Through the chaos at Shaw’s came Daniel Lloyd, the Tockwith Motorsport racer having climbed up the order very well indeed from an uncharacteristically low grid start of 12th position – the result of an accident early in the morning’s qualifying session.

As the Ginetta G50 Safety Car circulated, the top eight was Carnaby, Zamparelli, Farndon, Hill, Lloyd, Alice Powell, George Richardson and Dominic Pettit. The latter, once again, was in stunning form having come through from 21st on the grid.

After a lengthy delay, racing resumed on lap 11 but a spin for Powell as she headed through Gerard’s on the following tour saw her car embedded in the gravel in a dangerous position very close to the edge of the track.

With no option but to bring out the red flags, officials acted swiftly and so the race was declared a result after 11 laps. Although a shame to see a great race cut short, safety is obviously paramount at all times.

Carnaby took the win from Zamparelli with Farndon rounding out the podium in third place. Hill took fourth ahead of Lloyd, the latter feeling a podium was well within reach had the race run its full distance, with Richardson sixth, Pettit seventh and Alex Austin in eighth. Jake Rattenbury took a season’s best of ninth place just ahead of Sarah Moore.

Speaking after the race, winner Carnaby said: “It was hard when the Safety Car came out but I was confident I could stay ahead as there were places I was quicker than Dino and if he had have got past me I was confident I could have re-taken the lead. I tried as hard as I could, drove as fast as I could and it paid off.

“The championship still isn’t over by any means, heading to Brands Hatch now for the final two races I am feeling confident. We were quick there last time at the start of the year, only unfortunate events dropped me down but I’m looking forward to it – the title is still all to play for.”

On overall scores, Carnaby now trails Zamparelli by 16 points with Hill in a clear third place some 70 points ahead of Lloyd.

Taking into account the championship’s ‘drop score’ ruling, which sees each competitor having to discard his/her worst four results of the season, Zamparelli leads by 25 points from Carnaby with Hill over 100 points shy in third. Lloyd still holds fourth ahead of Pettit and Farndon.

Thomas Carnaby led home a Tollbar Racing podium lock-out during the opening Ginetta Junior Championship encounter at Mallory Park’s special ‘Ginetta Festival’ event on Sunday, 7th September, to close in once again on Dino Zamparelli’s title lead.

Having been a true see-saw battle for supremacy for several race meetings now, the fight at the head of the driver standings is continuing to bubble away nicely with Carnaby carrying the momentum once again during round 21 with his sixth win of the campaign.

Dominating morning qualifying with an excellent performance from the off in tricky, wet conditions, the Scunthorpe racer took pole position with a time of 1m 00.939 seconds (79.75mph) – edging out Zamparelli by over three 10ths of a second.

Carnaby continued such form in the first of the weekend’s races, avoiding any mistakes to take a comfortable two second win from team-mate Josh Hill with Fergus Walkinshaw rounding out the podium for Tollbar.

“I had a bit of a bad start last weekend at Silverstone so that’s what we focused on here really”, said the round 21 race winner, “I pulled away from Dino luckily and got away cleanly during the first lap. I looked in my rear-view mirror and Dino looked to be getting swamped by the other Tollbar drivers so it worked well for me – brilliant.

“In order to save fuel as it was a long race, I took most of the corners in fourth gear to help – the tanks on these cars aren’t exactly big! Obviously you can do test sessions for 30 laps but you’re never full pelt all the way. I’d done a couple of really quick laps and I thought it was better to take it a bit easier near the end and make it home safely.”

Following earlier rain, the track was wet for the first Mallory Park encounter but it did dry as the race progressed. Some drivers benefited as they slanted towards drier settings while others counted the cost at the end after choosing to run with wet set-ups.

At the start of the race, Carnaby led away well from pole position with Zamparelli heading third place starter Hill as the trio made an initial break. At the John Cooper Esses, Hill moved into second past series leader Zamparelli but the biggest surprise was reserved for Jake Batty in fourth – a second row start marking a season’s best effort.

Batty became involved in a tight battle for third with Zamparelli but Walkinshaw spoiled his party by slipping through on lap two at Shaw’s Hairpin to take the place away.

While five cars fought tooth-and-nail over fifth position, at the front it was Carnaby still holding on from Hill with Zamparelli seemingly dropping back a little from the top two and falling into the clutches of Walkinshaw and Batty.

Walkinshaw then made a serious bid for third at Shaw’s and took the place from Zamparelli, the latter then coming under pressure from Batty who got a good run through Gerard’s and into the Esses.

As the top three headed towards welcome podium results, Farndon, George Richardson and Daniel Lloyd became embroiled in a close fight for the top six. Batty, meanwhile, saw all his promise and hard work come to nothing when he spun out of the race at Gerard’s on lap 14 – a great shame for the TJ Motorsport racer after a terrific run.

Dominic Pettit really started to come into play at this point. Having started at the back of the grid following car problems in qualifying which prevented him from posting a lap time, he scythed his way through after electing to run dry settings and regular tyres.

Starting 21st on the grid, by lap 15 he had moved into the top five and then three laps from home he passed Zamparelli for fourth into the Esses – a truly spectacular effort by the Dominant Motorsport racer who also took fastest race lap.

At the front Carnaby still led from Hill and Walkinshaw with Pettit fourth ahead of Zamparelli and Lloyd – the latter having climbed from 11th on the grid. Just behind were George Richardson, Aaron Williamson and Powell although Sarah Moore would get by her fellow lady racer before the finish to take ninth.

Into the Esses on lap 20, Pettit squared up to challenge Walkinshaw but the latter managed to hold on for the next lap and a half to deny Pettit what would have been an outstanding podium.

Victory during round 20 of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Silverstone National Circuit on Sunday, 31st August, saw Dino Zamparelli extend his new-found series lead over Thomas Carnaby to 39 points.

Claiming his second win of the weekend, added to a double pole position and also the fastest lap of the race during the wet round 20, Zamparelli enjoyed a near perfect weekend while several of the other front-runners encountered problems.

“I got off the line pretty badly, George Richardson and Daniel Lloyd both came past me but I managed to keep my nose clean for the first lap as others made mistakes”, said the championship leader, “I weighed up the options seeing where the grip was and then pulled away clearly. It’s great to have taken two wins this weekend.”

Not getting the best of starts as he explained, Zamparelli slipped to fourth position on the run through Copse Corner. Carnaby was away quite well from the inside of the front-row but fourth placed starter George Richardson made a better getaway, darting across to the inside line for Copse and forcing team-mate Carnaby wide.

As Richardson took the lead and Carnaby tried to recover onto the track, Daniel Lloyd shot through the upper order from seventh on the grid to snatch second place behind Richardson on the run out of Copse to Becketts – an awesome start.

Josh Hill maintained his grid slot of third but Zamparelli quickly mounted his recovery and sliced past Hill up the inside into Brooklands on the opening lap. At the next corner, Luffield, Lloyd had a slip up after spinning out of second position onto the grass on the exit – he did rejoin the race but a long way down with a car that looked a handful.

Following Lloyd’s spin, the order was Richardson, Zamparelli, Hill, Fergus Walkinshaw and Carnaby but at Becketts on lap two, Zamparelli took the lead and from that point he was never headed as he stretched out a good lead.

Walkinshaw moved up into third place at Brooklands but Hill didn’t want to relinquish the position and pressured his team-mate. Walkinshaw held on into the third tour and was given more breathing space on lap four as Carnaby, now in fourth place ahead of Richardson, started to put Hill under the microscope.

While several drivers a little further down the order had spins as the slippery track proved problematic, at the front the battles were good as Hill redoubled his efforts as he gunned for second place into Copse on lap six. Walkinshaw again held on to the place but as they squabbled, Carnaby got a run. The order remained unchanged though.

Slight contact between Hill and Walkinshaw at Luffield enabled Hill to move through into second position, just before the yellow flag zone which signaled the Safety Car had been deployed in time for the start of lap seven – the reason being Oliver Llewellyn’s car which was stranded in the gravel on entry to Woodcote.

As the clock ticked down the Safety Car remained on track and it looked as though the race would finish under caution. There was time for one last racing lap though and Carnaby made the most of it by passing Walkinshaw into Brooklands.

Unfortunately for the former series leader though, the race result was declared after 15 minutes and, therefore, the ninth lap of the race. This meant Zamparelli took the win from Hill with Walkinshaw third, Carnaby fourth, Richardson fifth and Dominic Pettit sixth.

Aaron Williamson came through well from 15th on the grid to seventh ahead of Ashley Craig, Jake Batty and the recovering Lloyd in 10th position.

In further news relating to Saturday’s 19th round of the season, three drivers were excluded from the results after failing ride-height checks post-race. These were Pettit, Jake Farndon and Llewellyn.

Mallory Park in Leicestershire is the next stop on the Ginetta Junior Championship calendar just a week from now, 6th/7th September, where the category will form part of the bill for the second ‘Ginetta Festival’ of 2008.

Away from its regular slot on the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship package, the Ginetta Junior competitors will race alongside the senior G20 series, the G50 Championship and some historic Ginetta action.

Dino Zamparelli regained control of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Silverstone National Circuit this afternoon, Saturday, 30th August, after easing to a dominant race victory during round 19 – his ninth win of the 2008 campaign.

Thomas Carnaby arrived at the 1.64-mile Northamptonshire track leading the driver standings but after being forced to retire from today’s race on the opening lap, he has now slipped 24 points behind his rival with just five rounds remaining.

Of course, the first of those will come tomorrow, Sunday, 31st August, at Silverstone but with Zamparelli lining up once again on pole position – as he did today – Carnaby will have plenty of work to do to try and regain the initiative. That said, the Tollbar driver will begin round 20 alongside his rival on the front row.

“That was a good race, I’m really happy and I want to say a big thank you to the Muzz Race team and all of my sponsors – credit to all of them”, said Zamparelli after retaking the series lead, “I want the same again tomorrow, hopefully I’ll be able to get away and put in those good laps on the way to another win.”

At the start of this afternoon’s 11 lap encounter, Zamparelli led away comfortably from the front of the grid with surprising second placed qualifier Aaron Williamson maintaining his position on the run through Copse for the first time.

Into the second turn, Maggotts, Carnaby saw his hopes of a seventh podium in as many races quickly ended when an incident involving Fergus Walkinshaw resulted in the then series leader being forced to retire.

As Zamparelli scampered away at the front leaving second placed Williamson, third placed George Richardson and fourth placed Dominic Pettit in his wake, Josh Hill crashed out on entry to Brooklands as he lost the car under braking.

This gave Daniel Lloyd the potential opportunity to close down Hill’s third place in the driver standings but the former saw his bid for a fine podium ended on lap seven following contact from Pettit at Luffield.

Having made an excellent getaway from an uncharacteristic ninth on the grid Lloyd – competing this weekend with a fractured metacarpal bone in his right hand – quickly climbed into the top five after avoiding the aforementioned lap one chaos at Becketts.

After grabbing fourth place from Williamson – who had earlier slipped behind Richardson and Pettit – on lap five at Maggotts, Lloyd went on to produce the move of the race into Brooklands a couple of laps later when he sliced past Richardson and Pettit to take second position.

Running through the next turn, Luffield, on the outside, Lloyd was then pitched into the gravel and retirement following contact from Pettit. With all of the squabbling behind enabling Zamparelli to increase his already substantial lead, Pettit was now second ahead of Richardson, Walkinshaw and Alice Powell.

The duel for third was incredibly tight into lap eight and with Richardson, Walkinshaw and Powell running side by side, contact seemed inevitable. Richardson came off worse with a spin, nose-first into the pit wall, but the two-time race winner luckily managed to recover and would eventually come home in 15th position.

As a result of the lap eight delays, Powell moved up into third place behind Pettit with Walkinshaw fourth, Jake Farndon in fifth and Williamson now sixth.

On the final lap, Williamson got the better of Farndon to gain a place but the top four remained the same. Walkinshaw, meanwhile, set a new Ginetta Junior lap record on the last tour with a time of 1m 14.368 seconds (79.34mph) to gain an additional point.

Zamparelli took the chequered flag some seven seconds clear of his pursuers with series front-runners Carnaby, Hill and Lloyd all ruing missed opportunities. Alex Austin did well to climb from 14th on the grid to seventh at the finish, just ahead of Sarah Moore – who started 12th. Jake Batty was ninth with Ashley Craig rounding out the top 10.

Daniel Lloyd raced to his third win of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship season at Knockhill on Sunday, 17th August, to fully make amends for the disappointment of crashing out during the earlier encounter at the Fife track.

While an error from Lloyd in the first race of the weekend cost him dearly and gifted Dino Zamparelli the chance to extend his series lead over Thomas Carnaby, a mistake by the championship leader himself part way through round 18 gave Carnaby all the invitation he needed to move ahead into the lead of the driver standings by 12 points.

Speaking after the race Lloyd said: “It’s fantastic to win again, especially as we were so competitive all the way through the race. I made a mistake at Scotsman Corner which allowed Dino to get back ahead but going into the fast right-hander at Carlube I pretended to put a move on him which pressured him into the mistake.

“I think I was quicker than Dino, when I was behind him I was just waiting there and I felt I could pull a decent move on him at several corners, I was just biding my time. The team made some changes to the car in between the two races and they worked brilliantly, so big thanks to Tockwith. If the car had been like that in the first race, the weekend would have been a lot different and we could have been celebrating a couple of wins.”

Having been punished for a false start during the first race, Lloyd was a little more cautious at the beginning of round 18 which gave Zamparelli the chance to hold the lead through SEAT and down to Leslie’s. Pettit maintained third off the grid while Walkinshaw moved up to fourth place.

For Josh Hill, lap one was a disaster with a helping hand seeing him take a trip over the grass at the first couple of corners, dropping him to the tail of the field and giving him plenty of work to do.

Into lap two, the top six read Zamparelli, Lloyd, Pettit, Walkinshaw, Richardson and Alice Powell. At the front, Lloyd started to apply huge pressure to Zamparelli and after getting a better run out of the Real Radio Hairpin at the end of lap two, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow winner moved ahead into the lead.

Carnaby, again starting down on row four, began to make his move through the order on lap three with a pass on Jake Farndon for seventh place while team-mate Hill had climbed into 11th place at that point. Farndon and Carnaby, meanwhile, continued to trade places for a couple more laps too.

On lap five, Zamparelli moved back ahead of Lloyd at the front after a mistake at Scotsman by the latter and around the same time, Pettit crashed out of third place, heading straight into the tyre barriers at the chicane.

More incident followed at the end of lap five at the hairpin when Richardson, Walkinshaw and Powell were caught up in contact. However, the biggest moment came on the sixth tour when Zamparelli ran wide when under pressure from Lloyd and came to rest in the tyre barriers – an instant retirement.

Lloyd, who had been all over the back of Zamparelli’s car just prior to his crash, gladly moved into the lead before the Safety Car was deployed in time for the start of lap seven. At that point, the race order was Lloyd, Alice Powell – who started seventh – Carnaby, Alex Austin and the recovering Hill in fifth place.

Racing resumed on lap 11 of 12 and although Hill pressed Austin hard during the final two laps, the top five remained unchanged to the flag with Lloyd taking a well deserved victory, Powell making a very popular return to the podium and Carnaby taking his second podium of the weekend and, with it, the championship initiative.

Proof of Lloyd’s pace was the fact he gained a bonus point for setting the fastest race lap of 1m 04.573 seconds (70.87mph) on his fourth lap.

Speaking after round 18, new series leader Carnaby said: “Starting from seventh in the first race and eighth in the second, I never thought I’d be anywhere near third place in both races. I was aiming to get on the podium but we really didn’t think it would happen.

“I think Zamparelli is on a bit of a downer now after the second race today and also what happened at Oulton Park so we’re in a good position right now. You have to cancel out the pressure of everyone around you and just race your own race at the end of the day and that’s what I’ve been able to do. The guys at Tollbar Racing have done a terrific job and I wouldn’t be on the podium without them, they’re a brilliant team.”

Ginetta Junior Championship points leader Dino Zamparelli made his long-awaited return to the top step of the podium at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland on Sunday morning, 17th August, when he won the 17th round of the season from pole.

The Bristol-based driver didn’t have it all his own way though as Daniel Lloyd held the lead of the race until a spin on lap 10 at Butcher’s, followed by a further off on the final tour, ended Lloyd’s podium chances and allowed Zamparelli through. The points leader crossed the line on lap 12 just under 2.7 seconds clear of Josh Hill in the end.

Lloyd had earlier been informed he would be given a 10 second time penalty due to what had been deemed a marginal jump-start. Therefore, the Huddersfield teenager knew he had to push as hard as possible to try and make a break at the front to extend his time advantage and lessen the impact of the time penalty.

In the end, Zamparelli took the victory – his eighth of the season – from Hill with Thomas Carnaby third, having started an uncharacteristic seventh on the grid following a tricky qualifying session. Dominic Pettit finished in fourth place, Fergus Walkinshaw was fifth and Alex Austin rounded out the top six.

Speaking immediately after the race, Zamparelli said: “That was definitely the result I wanted, I’m really, really happy. We’ve had a bit of bad luck lately but I believe in myself and I knew I could come back to the top. It was the best and most fun race I’ve ever had, I hunted (Daniel) Lloyd down and thought I was second but the pit-board said I was first.

“I still wanted to push though to get the fastest lap. I applied as much pressure as I could and made Lloyd make a mistake which allowed me to get through to the lead. From there, I was confident we could win the race.”

Starting on pole position, Zamparelli didn’t get away as well as Lloyd who made an excellent start – too good the officials would later declare – while George Richardson edged ahead into third ahead of Pettit, Hill slipping back behind Walkinshaw.

At the John R Weir Chicane, Pettit made his move to go back into the top three but both ended up off on the grass on the outside, making contact and losing places. It wouldn’t be the last time Richardson was in the wars either.

Into lap two, Lloyd led Zamparelli with Walkinshaw up to third, Hill fourth, Pettit fifth and Alice Powell in sixth position. Hill started his fightback through the SEAT Curves but while all the action happened at the front, title contender Carnaby was still down in seventh place.

Richardson, meanwhile, was in 10th after his lap one skirmish but on lap four at Real Radio Hairpin he ended up off the circuit again after yet more contact. About the same time, Lloyd’s team received news of his 10 second penalty and so he started to push even harder to try and build an advantage.
On lap eight, Pettit moved into fourth ahead of Walkinshaw at the hairpin but the talking point came on lap 10 when Lloyd had a spin, losing first place to Zamparelli and also slipping down the order. Carnaby, meanwhile, had been making great progress and was now in third place.

Into lap 12, Lloyd was sixth on the road but ninth overall on corrected times to include his penalty but the nightmare came at Scotsman Corner when the back end of his car snapped away and he was pitched into a heart-breaking retirement.

Along with pole position and the race win, Zamparelli also posted the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m 03.996 seconds (71.51mph) – almost four 10ths of a second quicker than anyone else.

Scunthorpe’s Thomas Carnaby capped off an outstanding weekend’s work in the Ginetta Junior Championship with his second victory of the race meeting during round 16 of the season at Oulton Park Island Circuit yesterday, Sunday, 27th July.

In scorching conditions – even hotter than those experienced on Saturday during round 15 – Carnaby closed to within just two points of long-time championship leader Dino Zamparelli by recording yet another victory and also the bonus points for pole position and fastest lap of the race.

The Tollbar Racing star was in a class of his own at Oulton Park, while Zamparelli could only manage fourth place and lap times a second shy of Carnaby’s best. With eight races remaining, the 2008 championship is heating up perfectly and Carnaby certainly appears to be in the ascendancy as the title pendulum begins to swing in his favour.

“It was unbelievably hot in the car, more so than on Saturday, and the track did seem to be breaking up a little bit, especially down at Knickerbrook”, explained the race winner, “The heat was getting to the track and you could definitely feel that in the car, it was so unstable in certain places but a great race even so.

“It’s good to have closed in on Dino (Zamparelli) even more but I’m not getting carried away, we’ll just focus on the rest of the championship and hopefully go past him and win the title! Hopefully we can continue this recent run, I’m sure we can.”

Much like Snetterton a fortnight ago, round 16 was a Tollbar podium lock-out with Josh Hill taking second place a mere seven 10ths of a second ahead of George Richardson. Zamparelli, in fourth, headed home Aaron Williamson and Fergus Walkinshaw but Williamson was later excluded for driving into Walkinshaw after the finish.

The incident wasn’t Williamson’s first of the race, contact with the rear of Daniel Lloyd’s car at the hairpin on lap two pitching the latter into a spin and relegating him down the order. Fighting back as hard as possible, Lloyd came home in 10th place in the end but the removal of Williamson from the points promoted him into ninth spot.

At the start of Sunday afternoon’s encounter, Carnaby and Hill led away fairly evenly from the front row with the pole-sitter maintaining the advantage. Just behind, George Richardson held third place ahead of Zamparelli. Lloyd, meanwhile, moved up to fifth from seventh while Williamson went in the opposite direction.

Walkinshaw pushed Lloyd back to sixth at the hairpin as Williamson closed on the pair, while for Dominic Pettit any hopes of a second visit to the Oulton Park podium were dashed during the opening lap exchanges – the front end of his car becoming re-arranged following contact. He eventually came home in 11th position.

As the race entered lap two, Carnaby was already beginning to stamp his authority on proceedings and pulled out a one second gap as Hill lost second to Richardson and Walkinshaw made his way past Zamparelli for fourth. At the hairpin, Lloyd’s podium bid came to an end after the aforementioned contact from Williamson.

At mid-distance, Carnaby started reeling off fastest laps and on the penultimate tour he posted a new Oulton Park Island Circuit lap record for the Ginetta Juniors of 1m 47.267 seconds (74.70mph).

Richardson, meanwhile, was still managing to keep Hill at bay but the latter got the smallest of opportunities at the hairpin on the final lap. As Richardson marginally locked a wheel under braking, it was all the invitation Hill needed and after edging alongside on the run over Hill Top, he made the pass stick into Knickerbrook.

Zamparelli came home in fourth and following the post-race exclusion of Williamson, Walkinshaw took fifth, Simon Austin was sixth, Jake Farndon ended the race in seventh position and Ashley Craig was eighth just ahead of the recovering Lloyd.

As on Saturday, the day belonged to Carnaby and after similar success at Snetterton a fortnight ago the Tollbar star heads to the next two rounds three weeks from now at Knockhill in Scotland as the form driver.

“I’ve never been to Knockhill before, I’ve seen the layout of the circuit though and it looks good to me”, he said, “I like circuits where there are crests and blind apexes, you have to learn them quickly and I think we should be able to do that at Knockhill. I’m really looking forward to it as the championship is getting very close.”

Knockhill Circuit in Fife will host rounds 17 and 18 of the Ginetta Junior Championship over the weekend 16th/17th August.

Thomas Carnaby dominated round 15 of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at a gloriously sunny Oulton Park Island Circuit this afternoon, Saturday, 26th July – the Tollbar Racing ace easing to his fourth victory of the season with a substantial 12 second winning margin.

Continuing his rich vein of recent form today, Carnaby looked in a class of his own having set the ball rolling perfectly by scorching to pole position for round 15 in searing temperatures with a time of 1m 46.573 seconds (75.19mph).

The only driver to lap under the 1m 47 second bracket, the Scunthorpe racer was a full seven 10ths of a second quicker than team-mate Josh Hill in qualifying – an impressive performance at a circuit renowned for its ability to either make or break drivers.

In the race itself, Carnaby was never seriously challenged. Leading away from the front of the grid, he maintained his composure at the head of the field throughout while, further behind, several of his major championship rivals encountered misfortune. He was, however, pipped to the bonus point for fastest lap by Tollbar’s Fergus Walkinshaw.

“That was a very tough race, it was extremely hot for starters – unbelievably hot as there was no air coming into the car really”, said Carnaby, “Behind me I hadn’t got a clue what was going on. I saw Josh (Hill) spin and George (Richardson) disappeared as well. It was definitely an excellent race for me though.

“We were seven 10ths of a second quicker in qualifying so I knew I could do it in the race, it was just a case of getting into that rhythm. You have to be confident and when I saw Josh starting to drop back a bit I thought I could have a go at it. If we can win again tomorrow, we can close Dino (Zamparelli) down in the championship further – maybe even overtake him!”

Joining Carnaby on the round 15 podium were Dominic Pettit in second, his fourth runner-up placing of the season, and Hill who recorded the sixth rostrum finish of his maiden year of car racing action. Jake Farndon claimed fourth, having started 11th on the grid, with Aaron Williamson fifth and Daniel Lloyd rounding out the top six.

Several drivers were in with a chance of finishing on the podium throughout the eight lap encounter but lots of overtaking, several incidents and some oil on the track all ensured the outcome couldn’t be predicted.

As Carnaby led away from pole at the start, Hill maintained second ahead of Richardson but fourth placed starter Zamparelli slipped backwards immediately as Pettit and Walkinshaw moved ahead. Into Cascades for the first time, Lloyd then demoted Zamparelli further with a great move up the inside to take sixth place – after the race it became clear Lloyd had off-set steering which made the pass all the more impressive.

On the run down to Knickerbrook Chicane on lap one, Lloyd made a bid for fifth place and managed to take the position from Walkinshaw with a good piece of overtaking but the latter took the position back before the start of lap two.
Entering lap two in ninth position, something clearly seemed to be amiss with series leader Zamparelli and then on lap four it all became clear when his Muzz Racing entered car sprung an oil leak which pitched the Bristol driver into a spin at the Avenue.

When the leaders headed for the Avenue on lap five, Carnaby wisely approached with caution after seeing the oil flags and this allowed Hill to close. Zamparelli, meanwhile, pitted at the end of his fourth tour having crawled back to the pits in his stricken car.

Lloyd found himself down in 10th place into lap five having been involved in contact with Pettit at Knickerbrook on the previous lap. Passing Walkinshaw into the chicane for fifth with a good move, there wasn’t room for Pettit and Lloyd on the exit – the latter spinning.

Second placed Hill also had a spin, this time at the hairpin on the fifth tour, and having recovered in fifth he mounted an excellent fightback. Promoting Richardson into second and Pettit into third, the new second placed runner had his own dose of misfortune on lap six and slipped to seventh position.

Scrapping with Lloyd on the final lap over sixth, having already seen Walkinshaw slip down the order from second to ninth with a moment at the hairpin, Richardson ended his race in retirement following contact at the chicane as he and Lloyd ran side-by-side.

Seventh place went to Jake Batty – having started down in 14th position – while eighth went the way of the recovering Walkinshaw following Richardson’s demise. Alex Austin took ninth ahead of Sarah Moore who rounded out the top 10.

While race victor Carnaby enjoyed a hugely successful afternoon, for championship leader Zamparelli it was a total nightmare. Following round 15, the driver standings see Zamparelli’s lead cut to just 16 points when taking into account Carnaby’s additional bonus point for the race two pole position.

Carnaby is, in turn, 94 points clear of third placed Hill who has moved ahead of Lloyd in the championship by just six points.

Snetterton continued to prove a very happy hunting ground indeed for leading Ginetta Junior Championship squad Tollbar Racing, the team achieving its second podium lock-out of the weekend on Sunday, 13th July, during the 14th round of the 2008 season.

George Richardson came through from third on the grid to make his return to the top step of the podium, leading home team-mates Thomas Carnaby – the round 13 race winner – and Josh Hill after nine laps of superb race action.

Richardson said: “I was hoping it wouldn’t be a repeat of Saturday’s race where I missed out at the end but, thankfully, it all went to plan today and I’m really happy to have won. I just managed to block Tom (Carnaby) on the last lap and that enabled me to win.”

Starting on pole position, Carnaby held the lead through Riches Corner from fellow front-row starter Hill while, behind, Daniel Lloyd and Alice Powell both made good starts and looked to challenge as the field headed round to Sear and the long Revett Straight.

Into the Esses on lap one, Hill took the lead while Lloyd and championship leader Dino Zamparelli ran side-by-side through the Esses and into the Bomb Hole as they battled hard over fourth place, Zamparelli managing to take the position.

Into lap two, the race order at the sharp end was Hill from Carnaby and Richardson with Lloyd moving past Zamparelli for fourth at the Esses with a good move. Dominic Pettit also started to get on terms with the series leader as the fight for third became a three-way tussle but both Zamparelli and Pettit got out of shape into Russell Chicane.

This allowed Fergus Walkinshaw to get involved too in fifth place as Zamparelli slipped to seventh following his minor excursion as the race entered its third tour. At the Esses, Richardson took second place from Hill while Lloyd in fourth started to pull away rapidly from Walkinshaw. Pettit had another off, this time at Coram, which ended in retirement.

On lap four, Lloyd staked his claim for a podium spot by moving ahead of Carnaby who had previously slipped down from the lead at the start of the lap. Running alongside Hill into Riches on lap five, Lloyd looked to be making good headway but he ran wide as Hill held on and this allowed Carnaby back through into third position.

Running nose-to-tail on lap six, Richardson, Carnaby, Hill and Lloyd was the order down Revett Straight but into Sear on lap seven, Lloyd and Hill again ran side by side but the latter held on. Lloyd wasn’t finished though and he braved it out on the inside at the Esses with an incredibly late braking manoeuvre to take third.

However, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner wasn’t on the optimum line for the exit of the Esses and Hill got better drive to move back ahead on the inside at the Bomb Hole.

The great battle over third allowed Richardson and Carnaby to break away at the front and although Carnaby moved into the box seat at Russell Chicane on lap eight, Richardson used the slipstream to perfect effect on the final lap into the Esses to retake the lead. He crossed the line just 0.332 seconds ahead of team-mate Carnaby.

“As I said yesterday, it’s incredibly hard to race that closely with your team-mates as the last thing you want to do is take one of them off”, commented Carnaby, “For me, this weekend has marked almost a re-start of the season with two great results.”

The battle for third continued to rage during the final two laps with Hill looking to have the faster car in a straight line. It soon became a three-car scrap though when the recovering Zamparelli suddenly appeared on the scene.

Into the Esses for the last time, Hill managed to make his way past Lloyd for his second podium of the weekend while Zamparelli followed suit and completed his pass on Lloyd to take fourth.

Lloyd came home in fifth, just six 10ths of a second shy of the podium with Walkinshaw sixth, Jake Batty a solid seventh, Simon Austin eighth, Sarah Moore ninth and Jake Farndon rounding out the top 10. Alice Powell wasn’t able to make her usual progress and finished round 14 in 11th place ahead of Jake Rattenbury.

Tollbar Racing’s Thomas Carnaby made a welcome return to the top step of the Ginetta Junior Championship podium during the 13th round of the season at Snetterton Circuit on Saturday, 12th July – the 2008 title contender emerging victorious after a thrilling three-way scrap with team-mates George Richardson and Josh Hill.

Locking out the podium with a dominant team effort, the first of the weekend’s two outings at the 1.95-mile Norfolk track proved to be a dream result for the Tollbar squad which will be hoping for a similar result during Sunday’s 14th round with Carnaby, Hill and Richardson taking the first three places on the grid in that order.

“That was a fantastic race to win”, said a delighted Carnaby at the conclusion, “We all had to be careful, with the three of us being team-mates none of us wanted to make contact. It really was an unbelievable race and great for the team with a one, two, three.”

For Saturday's nine lap encounter, Hill proved to be the star of qualifying with a best lap of 1m 27.925 seconds (79.92mph) coming with only his second attempt. Richardson ended the session just 0.096 seconds shy with the second quickest time with Carnaby a couple of 10ths of a second further adrift.

Championship leader Dino Zamparelli was the best of the rest with the fourth quickest time, the multiple race winner happy with his progress having only previously completed around 16 laps in total over the course of the rain affected test session on Friday and this morning’s 15-minute free practice, having never driven at Snetterton before.

During morning practice, Daniel Lloyd set the pace in his Tockwith Motorsport run British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow car but in qualifying he was only able to grab sixth on the grid alongside fifth placed Dominic Pettit.

At the start of round 13, pole-sitter Hill got away well and held the lead from Richardson through Riches and Sear for the first time. Richardson didn’t plan on hanging around though and passed his team-mate into the Esses to seize the initiative.

Further behind, Aaron Williamson enjoyed a good opening lap to climb from eighth on the grid to fifth position ahead of Lloyd as fifth place starter Pettit saw his involvement in the race end with an opening lap accident.

Into lap two, Richardson led over the line from Hill, Carnaby, Zamparelli, Williamson and Lloyd with Alice Powell making great inroads in eighth position – having qualified down in 12th place.

Drama would follow at the end of the second tour though when Zamparelli had a spin at Russell Chicane, dropping the series leader to the tail of the field and meaning he would have to fight tooth and nail to salvage a strong finish – which he did.

Into lap three, Carnaby seized second from Hill on the run through Riches and while it initially looked as though race leaders Richardson and Carnaby would begin to pull away, rookie Hill had other ideas and closed in again on lap four.

At the same time, Jake Farndon saw any hopes of a top six result go begging when he had a spin at Russell Chicane. The youngster would eventually come home in 13th place.

On lap five, Carnaby really started to apply pressure to Richardson but the latter held firm and impressively kept both of his team-mates at bay. That was, until, the ninth and final lap of the race when Carnaby produced a great move at Sear to take the lead which he held to the chequered flag.

Lloyd, meanwhile, finally got by Williamson for fourth place on lap six having looked the quicker of the two for a number of laps. He tried to catch the top three during the final third of the race but they were just too far ahead.

The recovering Zamparelli did well to climb back into the top positions and he managed to snatch fifth place from Powell on the last lap – sixth was, nonetheless, a great result for the promising young lady racer. Williamson, who had run pretty strongly early on, slipped back to ninth in the end behind Ashley Craig and Fergus Walkinshaw.

Ginetta Junior Championship rookie Daniel Lloyd capped off a perfect weekend during round 12 of the season at Croft on Sunday, (1st June) the 16-year-old easing to a memorable double success at the North Yorkshire venue.

Although the brace of victories doesn’t see the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner gain positions in the championship standings, he has closed to within 21 points of second placed Tom Carnaby.

For runaway series leader Dino Zamparelli, the race was one to forget as he crashed out on the opening lap when attempting to pass Lloyd at Tower Bend. Nonetheless, even with his two closest title rivals scoring well, Zamparelli still holds a very comfortable 77 point lead over Carnaby.

Qualifying for today’s eight-lap encounter on pole position, Lloyd made a good start and held his advantage through Clervaux for the first time with Dominic Pettit holding on to his starting position of second ahead of a fast starting Zamparelli who rocketed from fourth on the grid past George Richardson.

As the leaders negotiated the first sequence of turns well, further behind Alice Powell, Jake Rattenbury and Alex Austin had a coming together at Clervaux and all three ended up out of the race. Powell did recover onto the circuit and returned to the pits but the damage to her car was too severe to allow her to rejoin the race.

Back at the front, Zamparelli tried to pass Lloyd up the inside into Tower and after contact between the pair, the championship leader slid across the grass and into retirement. Later in the lap, Richardson also came to grief with a spin on the exit of Sunny Out.

This allowed Josh Hill to move into third ahead of Carnaby while Richardson recovered down in 13th position. Due to Zamparelli’s stricken car sitting in a dangerous position at Tower, the Ginetta G50 Safety Car was deployed but at the re-start on lap four, Lloyd opened up a huge advantage immediately.

Jake Farndon, who started ninth on the grid, passed Ashley Craig for fifth at Tower on the fourth tour and proceeded to reel-in the trio of Pettit, Hill and Carnaby who were all battling over second position and, in turn, holding each other up.

While Lloyd continued to extend his lead at the front, the fight over the remaining rostrum positions offered incredible entertainment and in the end saw Fergus Walkinshaw come through to take second place, having started 10th on the grid, for his first podium. Contact from Walkinshaw on Pettit at Sunny In on lap seven also allowed Farndon to nip through into third.

Pettit did recover to finish in fourth position, Ashley Craig was fifth and the battle-scarred Richardson came back into the top six ahead of team-mate Carnaby – the latter having his own moment at Tower on the penultimate lap. Casey Watson was the top female finisher in eighth place, having started 12th on the grid.

“I got a good start initially and after the Safety Car I got a great run off the hairpin and from there just pulled away”, said race winner Lloyd, “I let everyone else battle among themselves behind me and then just concentrated on putting in good laps and trying to extend my lead which I did. “

Ginetta Junior Championship leader Dino Zamparelli continued his relentless march towards the 2008 title with yet another race victory on Sunday, 18th May, during the 10th round of the season.

Racing in front of a large Hampshire crowd at the country’s fastest motor racing venue, Thruxton near Andover, Zamparelli nosed ahead at the start of the race from pole position and was never headed as he strolled to a six second victory margin over closest championship rival Tom Carnaby.

In a reversal of the second and third steps of the podium from Saturday’s ninth round, Dominic Pettit ended the race behind Carnaby after a decisive move by the latter at Club Chicane on the final lap.

Fourth position for Daniel Lloyd, from sixth on the grid, was enough to see him overhaul Josh Hill for third position in the title chase while Fergus Walkinshaw took fifth ahead of Aaron Williamson.

Speaking after the race, Zamparelli said: “I knew I had to put in some consistent laps early on, which I did, and that allowed me to pull away from Dominic (Pettit) and ultimately win. It’s always good to score points and to take wins so I’m very happy.”

Early on in the race, Jake Farndon looked as though he stood a good chance of trying to challenge Zamparelli – or at the least claim a podium – but a lap two spin at Campbell saw him plummet down the order. An inspired recovery drive enabled him to climb into seventh place before the finish though.

The fight for second between Carnaby and Pettit provided good entertainment for the duration of the race. Straight-lining the chicane on lap three, Pettit moved to the head of the battle but Carnaby regained the place as they headed through the complex at the start of lap four.

On the fifth tour, Pettit took the advantage through Allard after Carnaby comprised his start to the lap by getting slightly out of shape on the exit of the chicane. Before long, the order changed again but this scrap looked set to go down to the final corner, which it did, with Carnaby crossing the line just half a second clear of his rival.

“I definitely needed that second place”, said Carnaby at the conclusion of round 10, “It was a good race but very hard to try and catch the leader when he’s out on his own and you’re having to defend your position. I’m happy though.”

As on Saturday, Alice Powell produced an excellent damage limitation performance with a top 10 result having started at the back of the grid. Like Josh Hill, Powell had to start both of the weekend’s races from the last row due to the fact she was using a spare car for the race following an accident on Saturday.

Making an absolutely electric start and hooking up a thoroughly impressive opening lap, Powell moved into eighth place on lap two and although slipping back behind Casey Watson and the recovering Farndon late on, 10th place was still a great return. Hill, meanwhile, did a good job to drive an unfamiliar car to 12th place at the chequered flag.

The fastest lap of the race, and the additional bonus point, went to Pettit for his time of 1m 35.586 seconds (88.73mph). Carnaby’s best from Saturday afternoon’s ninth round remained unbeaten though so he still holds the new circuit lap record.

Dino Zamparelli increased his lead in the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship standings to an incredible 83 points at Thruxton on Saturday, 17th May, after sealing the sixth win of what is rapidly becoming a dominant campaign.

The Muzz Racing driver shows no sign of letting his grip on the championship lead slip and with Dominic Pettit taking valuable points off Zamparelli’s chief title rival Tom Carnaby with a fighting second position today, it’s hard to look beyond the round nine victor to add another win to his tally during tomorrow’s race.

Although Josh Hill had secured his third pole position on the bounce earlier in the day, just 0.010 seconds faster than Zamparelli, the young rookie was forced to start round nine from the back of the grid after an accident on his final qualifying lap resulted in him having to use an alternative car for the race.

Inheriting pole position, Zamparelli made it count immediately as he led Pettit away from the grid while just behind, British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner Daniel Lloyd enjoyed a terrific opening lap, rising from sixth to third ahead of Jake Farndon, Carnaby, and Simon Austin.

As Zamparelli tried to make a bit of a break from his pursuers on lap two, Lloyd started to put Pettit under pressure as he himself came under scrutiny from Farndon. At the complex on lap three, Lloyd made an unsuccessful attempt to create an opportunity to pass Pettit and the lost momentum resulted in Farndon being able to snatch third.

The pair traded places twice more on the lap before the Safety Car boards were shown due to the cars of erstwhile pole-sitter Hill and Sarah Moore having made contact. Hill made a good start initially and climbed into the top 15 with rapid progress from the back of the grid but contact with Moore resulted in a double retirement.

Controlling the race well at the re-start on lap six, Zamparelli looked to have the win firmly within his grasp but over the remaining three laps Pettit did put his rival under pressure – particularly during a grandstand finish at the chicane on the final tour when the pair almost overlapped at the entry.

Trying to out-brake Zamparelli around the outside, Pettit carried too much speed into the turn and straight-lined the kerbs to actually emerge ahead but he fairly, and quite rightly, ceded the position back to Zamparelli who took the chequered flag just over a 10th of a second ahead of his rival.

“I made a bit of a mistake coming out of Church at the end which allowed Dominic to close in but I managed to block the inside up Woodham Hill”, explained the round nine race winner, “He went to the outside, out-braked himself and we both ran over the kerbs but thankfully I came home with the win.

“I’m not thinking about the championship at this stage. I go out to win every race so tomorrow I’ll focus fully again and hopefully be back on the top step. It’s not the time to think about the title, there’s a long season still ahead of us.”

Carnaby ended the race third for a welcome return to the podium, setting the fastest lap on the penultimate tour with a new record of 1m 35.479 seconds (88.83mph) – some 1.2 seconds quicker than Jordan Williams’ previous best when the Ginetta Juniors last visited Thruxton back in 2006.

Farndon finished in fourth position, Alex Austin raced very well from eighth on the grid to finish fifth and Lloyd fought-back from an enforced lap seven spin – which occurred as he was duelling for the final step on the podium – to claim a top six result.

Simon Austin was seventh, Aaron Williamson eighth and Alice Powell ninth having scythed her way through the field brilliantly from the last row of the grid to gain a remarkable 11 places in total. Powell was forced to start at the back for similar reasons to Hill after problems of her own.

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

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.

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.

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