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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Following yet another outstanding season of Ginetta Junior Championship
action, all at Ginetta Cars are now looking forward to the 2010
championship which will see the introduction of the fabulous new G40
car. Before then though, there is the 2009 Winter Championship which
begins on 31st October at Snetterton in Norfolk.
Final 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with
Henderson Insurance Positions:
All pics . Jakob Ebrey Photography |
mail your news to
editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk
MOORE MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE CHAMPION ON BTCC PACKAGE
Clinching the 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance title with her 10th podium of the season during the final race of the year, the 15-year-old from Tockwith in North Yorkshire also became the second Moore to take the crown – her elder brother Nigel having won the championship in 2007. “It’s been a great year, I’ve enjoyed it so much”, said Sarah, “I’ve had some hard times during the season but that’s what happens in championships, you have to bounce back from disappointing races and fight hard which is what I’ve done and now I’ve won the championship! “We don’t know what we’re going to do next year just yet, we need to sit down and go through things before we make any decisions. I’m just happy to be the new champion, finishing on the podium was a nice way to end the year too.” Heading into this afternoon’s 20th round of the campaign with a slender seven point lead over chief rival Jake Cook, the title did look set to go to either one of them but Aaron Williamson was still in a position to have a say in the outcome. His bid ended though on lap five when contact under Safety Car conditions forced an immediate retirement. So, the fight for the championship became a two-horse race between Moore and Cook but with Moore into the top three before the Safety Car emerged, TJ Motorsport racer Cook knew he needed to pass race leader Jake Hill – the winner of Saturday’s 19th round – to have any hope of taking the required number of points. Pushing incredibly hard to stay on terms with series returnee Hill, Cook ran wide at Sheene Curve on lap six and the resulting spin dropped him down the order and effectively handed the title to Moore who assumed second position on the road. For race leader Hill,(pictured below) round 20 proved to be another display of his tremendous speed and he took the chequered flag on lap eight 3.7 seconds clear of Moore to claim his second victory of the weekend and, with it, the fastest lap of 1m50.366 seconds (75.05mph). Capping
off a terrific return to action for the Tollbar Racing driver, Hill’s
third win of the year proved beyond any doubt with a full campaign in
2010 he would undoubtedly be a title contender. Even though he was
forced to sit-out eight of the final 10 races this year, the Kent
teenager still concludes the season just shy of the championship top 10
– a tremendous result. Commenting on his round 20 win, Hill said: “It’s been a perfect weekend for me, two poles and two wins is the return we’d hoped for – I can’t believe it actually, it’s been amazing. Saturday was good enough but to win again today has topped it off brilliantly. “I was a bit concerned at the re-start Jake (Cook) might get me but through the quick corners I managed to pull away. He just pushed a bit too hard at Sheene and round he went. I do feel sorry for him the championship should end that way as he’s done such an amazing job this year and over the last few rounds he’s been right on it.” Hill added: “I wish we could have found the budget to do the full season, we could have been right up there in the championship, but there’s always next year and we’re going to work harder than ever to try and make sure everything is in place and give it all we’ve got.” Behind the victorious Hill and new champion Moore, third place on the podium went to Tom Howard after a good drive – his fourth rostrum of the season. Increasingly impressive duo Mitchell Hale and Louise Richardson were fourth and fifth respectively while Alex Austin was sixth. Title aspirant Cook did recover from his spin and fought his way back into the top 10 before the finish. Although a bitterly disappointing end to his championship campaign, Cook can be rightly proud of his season with a superb tally of eight wins, five of which coming back-to-back, two other podiums and eight pole positions.
HILL WINS ON RETURN AS TITLE BATTLE GOES DOWN TO THE FINAL ROUND!
The 15-year-old Kent racer, who has been on the sidelines due to budget restrictions since his first career win at Croft in North Yorkshire back in mid-June, was instantly on the pace during pre-event testing. After securing a dominant pole position – some eight 10ths of a second clear of closest rival Williamson – he then went on to claim his second car racing victory with a battling performance. Williamson and Cook finished in second and third places respectively, both of whom having taken turns in the lead, but for Moore the race seriously dented her championship advantage as she was only able to post a 12th place finish having been tapped out of the leading group on the opening lap at Graham Hill Bend. Heading into the decisive final round of the season Moore holds a slender seven point lead over Cook with Williamson a further 15 points adrift. Having provided tremendous action season-long, it’s fitting the title fight is going down to the last race of the year. Hill wasn’t able to get the clean start he wanted from pole at the beginning of the race but as his car snaked off the grid he somehow managed to keep Williamson behind into Paddock Hill Bend with Cook holding third place as per grid order. Just two corners later though, drama. As the pursuing pack headed through Graham Hill Bend, championship leader Moore was tagged from behind and pitched into a spin onto the grass on the exit of the turn. While Moore managed to recover at the tail of the field, back at the front Hill lost the lead to Williamson. The top three remained incredibly tightly bunched with the order unchanged for a few laps. On the fifth tour though, Hill tapped the rear of Williamson’s car going into Graham Hill Bend which sent the race leader over the grass. In the ensuing melee, Cook managed to leapfrog both drivers but Hill then hit back to take the lead again through Surtees. At Sheene Curve, an incensed Williamson mounted an ever-more determined challenge and with a stunning piece of driving he grabbed second place off Cook through Stirling’s Bend. Into lap six, Hill’s lead was eight 10ths of a second but Williamson continued to press on and with Cook keeping a watching brief it was anyone’s guess who would emerge as the race victor. Williamson posted the fastest lap of the race – a new lap record of 1m50.275 seconds (75.11mph) – and with the top three as close as ever on the penultimate lap, a grandstand finish was in the offing into the eighth and final tour. Into Paddock Hill Bend for the last time, Williamson produced a superb pass to re-take the lead but Hill challenged into Druids and then again at Graham Hill Bend. Carrying good momentum through Westfield Bend and into Sheene, Hill grabbed the inside line and with one of the moves of the race he took the lead and, with it, the victory.
Speaking at the end of the race, delighted championship returnee Hill said: “That was one of the best races I’ve ever driven. Aaron (Williamson) and I did make contact a few times but it evened out in the end. The move I did to get the lead back on the last lap was great, I managed to force him to go a bit wide at Westfield and then I got the cut-back for Sheene and did it really well. “I want to try and win again tomorrow and then doing the Winter Championship is definitely the way we want to go. Next year, the new car will be mega and I want to be a part of that. I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic, it’s where I want to be in 2010.” Podium finisher and title aspirant Cook commented: “It’s actually one of the times I’m not too bothered not to have won as we’re still in with a good chance of the championship. I could have won today, I had the pace, but I sat in third letting Aaron (Williamson) and Jake (Hill) fight each other. “I didn’t want any contact, I just wanted to finish and take some good points. The gap between Sarah and I is down to seven points now, I’m happy with that. I’ll be aiming to win tomorrow, if we can do that and Sarah’s third or lower then the championship would be ours.”
FIFTH WIN OF SEASON FOR MOORE AS RIVAL COOK FAILS TO FINISH
While Moore and her family-run Tockwith Motorsport team celebrated getting their title bid back on track, for chief championship rival Jake Cook the second encounter at the Northamptonshire circuit proved to be a disaster when contact ruled him out of proceedings on the opening lap. Having headed into the race buoyed by a splendid victory during Saturday’s 17th round, Cook’s weekend concluded on a sour note at the third corner, Yentwood, when a multi-car tangle was triggered unwittingly by David Moore and resulted in the TJ Motorsport racer retiring with damage. With Alex Austin most definitely out of the title picture now having been caught up in the opening lap skirmish and forced into retirement himself, and Aaron Williamson needing Sarah Moore and Cook to both have a nightmare event during the Brands Hatch finale in two weeks, it’s now the teenage girl racer who has everything stacked in her favour. Speaking after her highly important victory, Moore said: “The start was hard, Jake (Cook) was alongside me all the way through Turn 1 and then Mitch (Hale - seen leading above) came up the inside into the hairpin so I had to make sure I didn’t get taken off. “When the re-start came, I kept cool and everything worked out. The car was perfect and the warmer weather today helped us. In the first race on Saturday I didn’t go as well as I thought I would but the win today has definitely made up for that.” From pole position, Cook initially seemed to leave the grid well but Moore got better drive as she shifted up through the gears and as the tightly bunched Ginetta Juniors headed around Turn 1 of the oval banking, Cook actually slipped back out of the top four by the time they arrived at Deene. Mitchell Hale, from third on the grid, hit the front for Tollbar Racing at the first hairpin to edge ahead of Moore and Tom Howard but as Cook attempted to get back on terms with the leaders as they pulled away, his car was tagged as he turned into Yentwood by David Moore. The collision sent Cook into Pippa Coleman’s car and all three ended up with damage. Unsurprisingly the Safety Car was deployed as the stricken vehicles were removed and at the re-start on lap four, leader Hale pulled away nicely. Sarah Moore planned on making a quick attack though and she dived up the inside at Deene, smoke pouring off her tyres under braking, to nose ahead.
Into lap eight, Moore set fastest lap as her lead grew to around one second with Hale coming under increasing pressure from Howard. Behind, fourth placed Williamson started to fall away from the podium battle and then, at Pif-Paf, he ran wide to allow Swanwick into fourth place. On the final tour, lap nine, Moore pressed home her advantage yet further with another fastest lap of 1m39.946 seconds (69.87mph), the only driver in the race to lap under the 1m40 second barrier, and took her fifth win of the season by 1.3 seconds. Hale finished in second place, his best result since stepping into Ginetta Juniors at the start of the year, with Howard a fine third for his second podium of the weekend and Swanwick some five seconds adrift in fourth position. Further back, the order was shuffled on the last lap at Deene when several cars made contact jostling over fifth place. Williamson came through to take the position ahead of returning driver Ashley Craig, Jake Rattenbury – whose initial passing attempt at the hairpin led to the incident – and Adam Bonham. Coleman was the last classified runner, albeit a lap down after pitting with damage.
COOK STORMS TO EIGHTH WIN OF SEASON AT ROCKINGHAM
Although initially it looked as though the TJ Motorsport racer would be challenged by chief title rival Sarah Moore, as soon as Cook managed to break away on the second lap he was never headed and won the 17th round of the season on lap eight by over three seconds. Added to the two bonus points he achieved for securing pole position for both of this weekend’s races at the 1.94-mile International Super Sports Car Circuit, the 35 points he received for the win has enabled Rotherham-based Cook to open-up an 11 point cushion in the championship with just three rounds now remaining. Speaking after round 17, the new series leader said: “Sarah (Moore) got a really good start but as soon as I got back into the lead on the second lap I managed to build a gap and then maintain it over Chris (Swanwick) towards the end. My whole family has been giving me a lot of support so I’m really pleased to get another good result for them. It’s great to get another win.” At the start, Moore made the best start from second on the grid to edge ahead of Cook on the run through the banked Turn 1 of the famous Rockingham Oval with Mitchell Hale holding third place. Behind, Chris Swanwick leapt up the order into the top four from seventh on the grid while the reverse was true for Carl Stirling – a very sluggish getaway dropping him out of the top six. As the front-runners headed through Deene Hairpin, Cook managed to nose ahead of Moore but on the exit she battled back and opened up an advantage of three 10ths of a second into the second tour. Cook moved back ahead though into Deene for the second time and the pass also gave Hale the opportunity to go through into second place with Swanwick seizing third spot at Yentwood. Dropping from the lead to fourth position in just two corners, Moore had it all to do but stuck with the top three as Tom Howard also started to come into the picture by latching on to the tail of the championship’s lead female racer. Cook immediately started to pull clear of the rest and by the start of lap three his lead over Hale was up to a second. Although the gap did fluctuate over the course of the next three or four laps, Cook looked comfortable at the front and he took the chequered flag by 3.3 seconds in the end. The fight over the two remaining podium places was intense with Swanwick moving past Hale on lap three at Deene. Into lap four, Hale then came under pressure for third from Moore but her decision to run on the high line around the banking between Turn 1 and the first hairpin didn’t work out and she slipped to fifth behind Howard. On lap six, a moment for Hale dropped him out of contention for a podium finish and a further slip on the final tour meant the Tollbar racer ended up a disappointing ninth after showing great pace and promise for the majority of the outing.
Moore finished fourth ahead of her younger sibling David and she also posted the fastest lap on the final tour to get a crucial extra championship point – her lap of 1m39.855 seconds (69.94mph) just two 100ths of a second outside Tom Carnaby’s existing Rockingham lap record. Pippa Coleman rounded out the top six while championship front-runners Aaron Williamson and Alex Austin each endured a tough outing. Williamson could only manage 10th place while Austin had to pit for a new left-rear tyre on lap three and eventually finished in 13th position. Speaking after round 17, Swanwick said: “We had some problems in testing with the car but the team worked unbelievably hard through the night on Friday and today it’s been good. It’s great to be back on the podium.” Howard, delighted to be back on the Ginetta Junior rostrum, commented: “We’ve had some unlucky rounds but it’s good to be back on the podium. I messed up my start, dropped to about seventh, but then got back to third which was good.”
STARLET MOORE BACK IN CONTROL OF GINETTA JUNIOR TITLE RACE
While the 15-year-old kick-started her 2009 title challenge superbly in very tricky damp and drizzly conditions, for chief rivals Jake Cook and Aaron Williamson the race did throw a spanner in the works for their own respective bids as the all-action series took another twist. That said, all three drivers are still well within reach of the crown, as is fourth placed Alex Austin. Moore’s win has lifted her two points clear of Cook in the driver standings while Williamson is a further 14 points adrift. Austin, meanwhile, is effectively a race win away from the lead with a 35 point deficit to Moore. The only thing certain at this stage, with four races yet to run, is that one of these four will be the 2009 Ginetta Junior Champion. Speaking after her win, Moore said: “It’s great, that result is really good for me as I needed the points for the championship. After I saw Jake (Cook) had gone off I knew I had a good chance to claw back some points on him. To take the lead of the championship back is brilliant.” Chris Swanwick started round 16 from pole position, his fourth of the season, with Cook alongside on the front row ahead of Moore, Tom Ingram, Jake Rattenbury, Mitchell Hale, Louise Richardson and Williamson. At the start, Swanwick and Cook made an even getaway but behind, Ingram and Rattenbury both made outstanding launches to challenge for the lead into Copse. Rattenbury emerged at the head of the field as the cars negotiated Becketts for the first time with Cook second but on the exit of the turn the leader ran wide and opened the door for Cook to go through. On the run to Brooklands, Cook, Rattenbury and Swanwick were three abreast but they struggled through the corner on the slippery track and both Cook and Swanwick ended up spinning – the latter was out on the spot and although Cook did rejoin a long way down, he soon retired on lap two. Hale also followed the duo into the gravel but he, at least, eventually posted a 14th place finish. Rattenbury continued to lead the race, by a healthy 1.8 seconds into lap three, but at that point Moore started to get into her stride and began to post fastest lap pace. Moving ahead of Richardson for third on the fourth tour, Moore then almost immediately climbed into second position at the expense of Tom Howard at Maggotts. Richardson got pushed back to sixth and latterly out of the top 10, an unfortunate end to a promising run, but at the same time Williamson started to make his presence felt and on lap six he took third place from Howard. The lap prior, Moore grabbed the lead for the first time into Brooklands and from then on she proved her skill and class in the difficult conditions by opening up a fairly comfortable 2.3 second winning margin over the equally impressive Austin. He bounced back well from an early spin and also posted the fastest lap of the race, some four 10ths of a second quicker than anyone. Like Austin, Williamson produced a spirited drive and he too recovered from a spin to climb back into an eventual podium placing. Slipping to 11th on lap eight, on the following tour Williamson was into eighth and he then gained two further positions in quick succession. On lap 10, he then passed two more cars to move ahead into fourth place. Heading into Brooklands on the final tour, Williamson dived up the inside and grabbed third from Rattenbury with a great pass to clinch a very impressive podium. Rattenbury finished a career best fourth, Howard was fifth and Ingram – on his return to racing – was sixth. Today’s action served to show this title contest is likely to go down to the wire during the final race of the year at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in October, the championship well and truly wide open once again just a day after seemingly being in Cook’s grasp. Austin, producing a terrific run through to second place, commented: “This weekend I really needed to get podiums and points to climb back up the championship. We haven’t had the best run but hopefully this weekend has helped to get us back on track.” CHAMPIONSHIP PENDULUM SWINGS FIRMLY IN COOK'S FAVOUR
Five wins from the last five races tells its own story for Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance title contender Jake Cook – the TJ Motorsport racer extending his winning streak at Silverstone National Circuit this afternoon, Saturday, 29th August, to open up a healthy 33 point lead in the driver standings. Fending off a spirited challenge from Tollbar Racing team-mates Chris Swanwick and Mitchell Hale, Cook’s seventh win of the year, coupled with a retirement for title rival Aaron Williamson and a fourth place finish for erstwhile series leader Sarah Moore, means the championship pendulum has swung firmly in his favour. Although Cook set the pace ahead of Hale during this morning’s free practice session, in qualifying Swanwick secured a double pole position for rounds 15 and 16 with a best time of 1m13.006 seconds (80.82mph) to edge out Cook by a 10th of a second. Hale, meanwhile, was in touch with the third fastest time ahead of Moore, Austin and the returning Tom Ingram. At the start of this afternoon’s 11-lap encounter Cook made a textbook getaway to move ahead of Swanwick on the run to Copse Corner, the pole-sitter slipping back into the clutches of Hale and Moore as the trio ran three abreast into the first turn. Swanwick managed to hold second place but into lap two, Hale got superb drive out of Woodcote to catapult up the inside on the run to Copse and take the position. Behind, Austin was up to fifth after getting ahead of Moore while Williamson made impressive early progress by moving up into the top six from an uncharacteristically low starting slot of 10th place. Cook tried to press home an advantage at the front and into lap three he led by eight 10ths of a second. Hale refused to let him get away though and on the following tour he lapped faster than the race leader to cut the gap to just six 10ths of a second. Meanwhile, Williamson moved past title rival Moore for fifth place – a potentially crucial move in the championship battle. On lap five though, all of Williamson’s hard work was undone when his Muzz Racing car slowed to a hugely unfortunate retirement. Promoting Moore back into the top five, Williamson’s bad luck was good news for team-mate Jake Rattenbury who moved into sixth place. As the race entered lap seven, Cook continued to defend the lead impressively with the top three well clear of the remainder of the pack. On the run out of Maggotts though, Hale got much better drive and into Brooklands he made his move to grab the lead for the first time. Cook mounted a renewed challenge at the end of lap eight and after getting alongside Hale out of Luffield, the pair crossed the line into the ninth tour side-by-side with Cook edging back ahead into the lead into Copse. Into the 11th and final lap Cook looked as though he would be able to cling onto his slim lead to take win number seven of the season, which he did. His quest was aided though by a moment for Hale which dropped the impressive youngster down to sixth place at the finish, a great shame for him after such a strong run. Swanwick took second place with Austin making a welcome return to the podium in third, his first rostrum since round 10 at Croft. Moore ended the race in fourth ahead of Rattenbury in a season’s best fifth position. Carl Stirling came through the order well from 13th on the grid into the top seven and headed home Ingram, Shane Stoney and Pippa Coleman, the latter enjoying an impressive return to action having been absent from the championship since a major accident at Oulton Park back in May. Reflecting on yet another win in round 15, Cook said: “I got probably the best start I ever have today, I launched the car off the line, got ahead of Chris (Swanwick) before the first corner and defended for my life really! “We haven’t been quite as quick as we’d hoped so far this weekend but we still managed to win the race which is obviously great. It was very hard though with the three of us all really close at the front. I did have a bit of understeer which hurt our pace a bit but in the end it’s been a really good day for us in the championship and now we have a good points cushion which is nice.”.
KNOCKHILL VICTORY DOUBLE GIVES COOK CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
Pulling four points clear of Aaron Williamson in the championship chase, with erstwhile series leader Sarah Moore slipping to third in the standings after a non-finish in the opening Knockhill encounter, Cook heads into the final three meetings of the 2009 campaign in the ascendancy. Backing up his Snetterton double from a fortnight ago with two more wins today, the TJ Motorsport driver has now won a total of six rounds in 2009 – three more than both Williamson and Moore. At the start of this morning’s 13th round, Cook made a good getaway to lead second-placed Chris Swanwick but the latter ran wide out of Scotsman Corner which allowed Williamson to leap into second place. Swanwick then fell back to fourth position on the run out of Carlube after being passed by Moore but she was then elbowed back to seventh at the hairpin after being forced wide. Into lap two, Cook led Swanwick and Williamson with Carl Stirling now in fourth place, Mitchell Hale in fifth and Alex Austin in sixth position. Hale moved into the top four on lap three and on the run to the hairpin he also took third place from Swanwick. Meanwhile, Moore set about regaining lost ground and by the end of the third tour she was fourth before grabbing third from Hale on lap four. As Cook and Williamson controlled the race at the front, further behind positions continued to shuffle on a lap-by-lap basis. The battle for third raged on as the race entered its second half with Moore and Hale running side-by-side into lap eight, the latter taking the place with a superb move around the outside at the first corner. Bitter disappointment was to follow for Moore though just a mile further into the race when contact with Swanwick at the exit of the hairpin caused the steering rack on her Ginetta to fail. Marking her first non-score of the season, the incident also eroded her advantage in the championship. Third placed Hale ran wide out of Scotsman on lap 10 to slip to fifth, enabling Swanwick to go back into third place and Louise Richardson – enjoying a fantastic weekend – to take fourth position. During the last two laps, Williamson challenged Cook for the lead but the latter maintained his winning streak by taking his third victory on the trot on lap 12. Swanwick, although having some gearbox troubles, finished third ahead of Richardson while fifth went to Hale who just emerged on top of a terrific five car scrap which also involved Stirling, Tom Howard, Jake Rattenbury and Austin. Speaking at the end of round 13, race winner Cook said: “I got a good start but Aaron (Williamson) reeled me in to be fair. I made a mistake along the back straight, missed a gear and that allowed him to catch me. I managed to keep him behind though so I’m really pleased.” Williamson, whose second place gave him the series lead at that point, commented: “Let’s hope we can finish the season strongly now! We’ve had too many non-finishes this season, we need more points and hopefully we’ll be able to take some more wins before the end of the year.”
Unstoppable Cook continues his winning
momentum Swanwick then moved ahead of Williamson at the hairpin to take second but soon after the Safety Car was deployed due to Shane Stoney’s car being situated in a dangerous position at the John R Weir Chicane, having been tipped into a spin on the opening tour. The re-start came on lap five and due to the delay a decision was taken by officials to limit the race to a maximum duration of 15 minutes rather than the originally intended 12 laps. Cook led away well and as Swanwick and Williamson fought hard over second, the leader managed to open a gap. By lap nine, Cook’s advantaged was up to 1.5 seconds as the fight for second place became a three-way battle with Moore jostling for position too. Williamson managed to get ahead of Swanwick at the hairpin at the end of the lap but on the exit he went wide and dropped back behind. Williamson ran through the gravel at Leslie’s on the following tour, an error which looked to have ruined his chances of a podium, but he produced a superb final four laps to battle back into third at the finish. Swanwick had his own moment at the very same corner on lap 12 to drop behind Moore and he then lost out on the line to Williamson on lap 14 by a mere 0.099 seconds. Fifth place went to Richardson, capping a very strong weekend for the rookie, with Hale sixth, Austin seventh, David Moore eighth and Jake Rattenbury in ninth place ahead of Tom Howard. There was no doubting the winner though and a delighted Cook commented: “We’ve had two great weekends, Snetterton and now here at Knockhill. Hopefully we can carry on from here and keep winning!”
FLAWLESS COOK CLAIMS OUTSTANDING SNETTERTON DOUBLE WIN
Appearing to be in a class of his own during qualifying at the 1.95-mile Norfolk track on Saturday, the TJ Motorsport racer didn’t put a wheel wrong in either of today’s encounters as he continued his superb form to seal a perfect haul of pole positions, race wins and fastest laps. Earning a maximum 74 points towards his championship total, Cook is very much back in the thick of the 2009 title race. Reflecting on his incredible weekend, the 16-year-old said: “It’s been a perfect weekend, two fastest laps, two wins and two poles – it couldn’t have been much better. I knew I’d been quickest here all weekend, I took pole position by half a second, but I didn’t want to get complacent in the races as I knew it’d be much harder to break the tow along the back straight – it’s so hard to do in these cars. “I didn’t get as good a start as I wanted in the first race, plus I couldn’t see very well as I had mud all over the windscreen and the wipers didn’t work, but a couple of laps in I managed to make the break. The second race was good again and I made a better start. The Safety Car meant I had to do it all over again but everything worked out. I’m really happy.” At the beginning of round 11, Cook didn’t get away from the grid as well as he wanted but he still managed to fend off Mitchell Hale and as soon as he got into his stride, there was no stopping Cook as he scorched to a winning margin of almost three seconds. The opening lap proved to be nothing short of a disaster for title contender Alex Austin who, from a lower than expected ninth on the grid, had a spin which dropped him to last place. He eventually finished in 11th position. During the early exchanges, Hale ran in second ahead of Chris Swanwick, Aaron Williamson, Carl Stirling and Sarah Moore but the latter moved up to fifth on lap three after Stirling had a moment during the early part of the lap. Then, on the fifth tour, it was Hale’s turn for some misfortune as a spin at the Esses dropped him down the order. Worse luck followed for Hale when Adam Bonham had a spin at the Bomb Hole, costing both drivers valuable time. So, on lap six, Cook led by a clear margin at the front with Swanwick second, Williamson third and Moore fourth. Moore pressured Williamson all the way to the chequered flag on lap nine as she strived for her first podium since the Oulton Park event at the end of May. In the end though, she just missed out by a mere 0.123 seconds. Louise Richardson came home in fifth place ahead of Thomas Howard, Shane Stoney, the recovering Hale, Jake Rattenbury and David Moore. Round 12 produced another masterclass from Cook and although Hale started well, there was nothing he could do about the outcome. As in race one, things didn’t go smoothly for Hale when a gearbox problem on the final lap robbed him of a fine second place and dropped him to eighth at the chequered flag, just ahead of Rattenbury and Stirling and behind Stoney. During the early stages, Cook, Hale and Swanwick ran in the top three positions while the fight over fourth place between Williamson, Sarah Moore and Austin intensified by the lap. On the fourth tour at Riches, however, Austin tried to usurp Moore but the pair ended up touching and spinning into the path of the unfortunate Stirling who was caught-up in the aftermath. Following a short two lap Safety Car period, racing resumed on lap seven and Cook dealt with the pressure well by pulling away to an eventual winning margin on lap 10 of three seconds. Swanwick finished in second place, once again ahead of Williamson, with Howard taking fourth ahead of Moore siblings Sarah and David. Richardson, who was a strong fifth after the Safety Car, was pitched into a spin on lap seven through no fault of her own and she ended up down in 11th place, a disappointing end to the weekend after looking well on course for another impressive finish. Double second place finisher Swanwick commented: “It’s been a good weekend for us, I’m just trying to consistently move up towards the top end of the championship so these two podiums are obviously great. I’m really happy with the way the weekend has gone for us.” Williamson, who enjoyed two top three results, added: “We wanted two podiums this weekend and we managed it so that’s important. In the second race I did struggle a little bit but when Mitch’s (Hale) gearbox went I was able to take third place.” In terms of the championship, Sarah Moore leads by an increased margin but her closest challengers have bunched up significantly with Williamson now second, 12 points shy of the lead, and Cook moving up into the top three a further 12 points behind. Austin, who started the weekend only a single point adrift of Moore, has slipped to fourth and is now 33 points away from the top spot.
HILL TAKES LONG-AWAITED MAIDEN WIN AT CROFT
Quick at every venue the category has visited during the first half of the campaign, the first year driver hadn’t previously been able to convert his raw pace into a win but today saw a different outcome for Hill as he headed off the challenge of pole-sitter, and team-mate, Chris Swanwick. “I can’t believe I’ve finally won a race”, said the elated 15-year-old, “All year, for one reason or another, it hasn’t quite happened for us but now it has I’m hoping we can take a lot more wins during the second half of the season.” For championship leader Sarah Moore, the Croft weekend wasn’t too fruitful and although a problematic 10th round saw the multiple race winner only manage a 17th place finish – having made an enforced pit-stop following a puncture – she still clings on to the top spot in the title race by just a single point from Alex Austin. At the start of today’s encounter, Swanwick made the best getaway of the front-row drivers and led through Clervaux while Jake Rattenbury rocketed into third from sixth on the grid to tuck in behind Aaron Williamson. Hill, meanwhile, slipped to fourth but moved back into third place at Tower Bend. At the complex on the opening tour, Moore was caught up in a moment involving Rattenbury and Tom Ingram which saw all three cars take to the grass. The result for Moore was a puncture while Rattenbury rejoined in 17th place, one spot ahead of Ingram who later retired. Back at the front, Swanwick and Williamson ran side-by-side through Tower but the leader held on through the Jim Clark Esses. Shortly after, the complex was again the scene of problems when Belgian driver Anthony Sauvan had a spin out of the top six. At Clervaux on lap three, Williamson moved ahead into first place but Swanwick hit back soon after and Hill then demoted Williamson to third at the hairpin, where he looked particularly strong, before the latter got back ahead. Lap five then served up the move of the race by Hill as he passed Williamson for second at the hairpin and also grabbed the lead from Swanwick on the exit. Round nine winner Williamson slipped to fourth on the run from the chicane to Tower as Austin went through into the top three but worse was to follow for the Muzz Racing driver on the final lap when a costly spin at Clervaux dropped him out of the reckoning – he finished in seventh place. On lap six, Hill ran wide at the complex to give Swanwick the opportunity to move through once more and the top five then closed up dramatically. Hill dived up the inside at Tower on the seventh tour to get the lead back and over the last couple of miles he managed to extend his advantage to just over a second as he took his first win of the year. Swanwick capped a good weekend with another second place finish, Austin finished in third and Mitchell Hale just held fourth position from a charging Jake Cook. David Moore was sixth, minus one of his doors, ahead of Williamson and Carl Stirling.
WILLIAMSON CLOSES ON SERIES LEAD WITH THIRD WIN OF SEASON
Qualifying was all about a debut pole position start for car racing rookie Chris Swanwick, the Tollbar racer just shading team-mate Jake Hill by a mere 0.015 seconds. Behind them, Williamson posted the third best time some four 10ths of a second shy with Oulton Park pole-sitter Tom Ingram fourth fastest and two of the other Jakes, Cook and Rattenbury, filling row three. Unfortunately for Swanwick, he wasn’t able to convert his pole start into the getaway he wanted and this gave the others opportunity to snatch the lead into Clervaux. Hill was also beaten on the run to the first corner with Williamson taking the early initiative ahead of Ingram, however, Hill battled back quickly and moved back into second at Sunny. Ingram wasn’t about to let Hill run away with second place and he mounted a fresh challenge for the place at Tower on lap two as the latter also applied his own pressure to Williamson. Into the complex, Hill dived down the inside and seized the lead while Ingram slipped from third to fourth at the hairpin behind a recovering Swanwick. Just one corner later, Williamson was back at the front having passed Hill into Clervaux but it was a case of history repeating itself for Hill when a moment on lap three meant he dropped to last place and had it all to do to try and salvage as many points as possible. Swanwick – who ended the race with the fastest lap – moved into the lead at the end of the third tour and he continued to do so for the next couple of laps as the top two did begin to break away from the rest of the field. Into lap six, Swanwick was a second clear of Williamson and really looked set for a memorable debut victory...but nothing in Ginetta Junior racing is ever that certain! Cook started to apply more pressure to second placed Williamson with less than three laps remaining while Thomas Howard held fourth position ahead of Ingram and championship leader Sarah Moore. Into the penultimate lap, the top five were all equidistant and as they ran through the Sunny In/Sunny Out right-hander, Swanwick had a moment which dropped him to fourth place behind new race leader Williamson, Cook and Howard. Cook mounted his bid for the lead of the race on the final lap at Tower but Williamson managed to keep him at bay and at the chequered flag the latter was four 10ths of a second to the good. Third place went the way of Swanwick, his second career podium in cars, after he got by Howard at Sunny Out and held him off at the hairpin. Howard also lost fourth to Ingram by just 0.037 seconds. Hill, meanwhile, ended the race a disappointing 17th. “What a race!”, said the victorious Williamson, “We had a brilliant start, straight into the lead and although positions did change throughout, we came through in the end to win which really helps our championship. Obviously the aim now is to keep winning to close down the two ahead of me in the championship – we’ve still got a long season ahead of us.” Sixth place ensures Moore heads into Sunday afternoon’s televised 10th round of the season 23 points ahead of Tockwith team-mate Alex Austin in the championship standings, Austin finishing a disappointing 11th today behind Moore’s younger brother David. Max McGuire was seventh, Mitchell Hale – who was involved in a skirmish off the grid – took eighth and Carl Stirling was ninth. pics Jakob Ebrey Photography
WILLIAMSON CONQUERS OULTON HEAT TO TAKE SECOND WIN OF YEAR
Action-packed throughout, the outing produced incident aplenty and was very much a race of attrition with a third of the entry failing to finish. The encounter also came to an earlier than expected conclusion, red flags shown on lap seven with cars off the circuit at Hill Top. Williamson got away well at the start from the outside of the front row to lead into Old Hall ahead of pole-sitter Tom Ingram, Jake Hill in third place, Chris Swanwick in fourth and Sarah Moore moving through into fifth ahead of Carl Stirling. While the leader built a small advantage early on in his Muzz Racing car, as the race headed into lap two Ingram had closed the deficit to just four 10ths of a second although he was under increasing pressure himself from Hill, the latter striving for his first win in the category. On the inside at Cascades on the second tour Hill went through past Ingram, as did Chris Swanwick, although the later was soon pushed back to fourth at Island Bend and then fifth when the ever present Moore made her way through into the top four. Into Hislop’s on lap two Moore took third place and then at the same part of the track on the third tour, Hill went through into the lead after passing Williamson – a good move the Tollbar driver started down at Island Bend. Williamson immediately hit back though, a great pass on the inside at Druids giving him first place again. Moore, meanwhile, followed his lead and also passed Hill to grab second on entry to Lodge before the latter slipped further back when Stirling climbed past into the top four. On lap four Moore headed the field after taking the lead at Cascades at the same time as Hill re-passed Stirling for third place. Under increasing pressure from Williamson, Moore handled it well but she was unable to repel the erstwhile race leader’s passing attempt at Druids – a carbon copy of the successful move he produced on lap two. With all of the duelling at the front slowing the main podium contenders up, the battle became a nine-car affair as a train of jostling Ginetta Juniors headed to Island Bend for the fifth time. Moore went to the outside around the hairpin as she looked for a way to get back ahead but this delayed her and allowed Hill to get through and pass both for the lead with Stirling moving up to second. Further behind, several of the midfield cars made contact on the run up towards Hill Top which led to the appearance of the Safety Car at the beginning of lap seven. Before the race came under caution though, Hill was once again wondering what might have been when a problem with his car forced him into retirement. Williamson, therefore, retook the lead of the race ahead of Stirling and Moore and that was the finishing order on the classified timesheet when the outing was halted a lap from home. Mitchell Hale wrapped up a fine fourth place with Max McGuire in fifth and David Moore sixth. Commenting on win number two of the season, Williamson said: “When I won at Donington I said it was my hardest ever race but this one, today, was definitely the hardest! The lead changed hands so many times, there wasn’t a split second where you could think about backing off, you had to keep going and going until the last lap. “It was really, really hot in the car and very hard work. To come away with a win is fantastic, it could possibly have been two but I made a mistake in the first race on Saturday. It’s great to be on the top step, the team has done a fantastic job with the car all weekend.” Pippa Coleman was an unfortunate non-starter for today’s race after her car received major damage during the first of the weekend’s two encounters. Saturday’s incident-packed race also resulted in lengthy judicial discussions taking place, one of the issues of paramount importance for Ginetta Cars being fairness and accountability for young drivers where they may have made rash decisions on track in the heat of the moment. All forming a vital part of the learning process, the outcome of the round seven judicial hearings meant Jake Cook was excluded from his eventual 13th place finish and received four penalty points on his licence – the punishment also meaning 20 championship points are subtracted from his total. Ashley Craig, who didn’t finish Saturday’s race, was handed a three point licence penalty, 15 point championship deduction, while Williamson was given a two point penalty on his licence, and docked 10 championship points, following an incident in Saturday morning’s free practice.
AUSTIN WINS AS MOORE SIBLINGS MAKE OULTON PODIUM FAMILY AFFAIR
Joined on the podium by brother and sister team-mates David and Sarah Moore, Austin’s victory places him just three points behind Sarah at the top of the driver standings with her younger sibling David rocketing into the championship top six after claiming his first ever car racing podium. Round seven was easily the most unpredictable race so far of the fantastically action-packed Ginetta Junior season, more than half a dozen drivers leading the encounter at some point during a frenetic eight laps of the challenging 2.23-mile Island Circuit configuration. During qualifying Tom Ingram took a surprise pole position, 0.146 seconds quicker than Jake Hill, with Pippa Coleman an outstanding third on the grid ahead of Max McGuire, Chris Swanwick and Aaron Williamson. Points leader Sarah Moore could only manage the eighth best time, a mere 100th of a second faster than brother David, with Austin rounding out the top 10 starters. When the race itself got underway, under gloriously sunny skies, Hill made the better start at the front to lead while Coleman also moved ahead of pole-sitter Ingram. Valley Motorsport’s Coleman soon hit the front though, passing Hill with a good move at Lodge Corner. Into lap two, Coleman looked to be pulling away from her pursuers but she slid wide at Cascades and then spun back onto the track, collecting several cars. Resulting in a bitterly disappointing retirement for Coleman, the incident also meant an immediate end to the race for the very unfortunate Ingram and series front-runner Max McGuire. Coleman’s spin across the track also delayed a few drivers, Sarah Moore being the highest profile as she plummeted down the order to 15th place. Ashley Craig, who started an uncharacteristic 17th on the grid, emerged from lap two with damage to his car and after pitting he too retired. Due to all of the chaos the Safety Car was deployed on lap three with Williamson having inherited the lead ahead of Hill, Swanwick, David Moore, Austin and Carl Stirling. At the re-start on lap five, Williamson led by a couple of 10ths of a second but more drama was quick to arrive when Hill had a moment at Old Hall and spun out of second place. He eventually finished in 10th position. At Island Bend on the fifth tour, it was Williamson’s turn for some misfortune which meant Swanwick moved into the lead but by the time the train of leaders reached Lodge, Stirling had assumed first place. Swanwick hit back immediately into Old Hall to move back ahead but then ran wide at Cascades, bouncing heavily over the grass and doing his car little good. This gave the initiative to Stirling once more ahead of David Moore with Sarah, meanwhile, up into 11th position. Into lap seven, Stirling led by eight 10ths of a second from Swanwick and David Moore but Jake Cook and the charging Austin both managed to get by Moore on the run from Cascades past Lakeside. At Island Bend, Cook then grabbed second. Heading into the final lap, Stirling had an advantage of just four 10ths of a second from Cook and after the leader ran wide at Cascades, the top two ran nose to tail along Lakeside. Out of the hairpin though, it was Austin who emerged in first place after Stirling and Cook made contact – Stirling forced to retire on the spot and Cook coming home in 12th place. Austin was delighted to take such an unexpected win with siblings David and Sarah Moore making their own bit of championship history in second and third places respectively. Sarah also set the fastest lap of the race on the final tour, a new lap record, after an incredible recovery drive. Commenting on the race, Austin said: “Going into the hairpin on that last lap I thought something was going to happen and it did! There was a lot of trouble out there today but thankfully we kept out of it. I wanted to get a top three finish this weekend, to win is fantastic!” Podium debutant David Moore added: “It was a great race. We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying and had some problems during the practice too but it’s a good result to get my first podium. It’s nice to be on the podium with my sister Sarah too, she did well again.” Mitchell Hale finished in fourth place, just a couple of 10ths of a second ahead of Thomas Howard, with Williamson sixth. Belgian racer Anthony Sauvan recorded a career best finish of seventh ahead of the similarly impressive Shane Stoney in eighth.
WILLIAMSON TAKES FIRST WIN AS MOORE INCREASES SERIES LEAD
While Williamson and Moore celebrated their respective successes, for double pole-sitter Jake Hill it was yet again a case of what might have been – several spins in the opening race resulting in a lowly 14th place finish while in the second encounter he was edged out on the line by Williamson by just 0.058 seconds. Third place in round six behind Williamson and Hill means Moore’s lead in the championship is now up to 21 points over Alex Austin who is just a single point to the good over Jake Cook. Williamson’s victory, meanwhile, pushes him up the driver standings into the top four from seventh place. “I’ve been after a win for two years now, what a great race in which to win my first one too”, said a delighted Williamson at the end of round six, “The track was getting drier and drier every lap, the tyres were going off and the car was sliding about. On the final lap, Jake (Hill) was really catching me and it was quite nerve-wracking really. That was the closest race finish I’ve ever had!” At the start of round five, Moore made a good getaway to move ahead of Hill as she held the inside line through Redgate while Williamson also leapfrogged the Tollbar driver and he then fell back one more place as local Nottingham racer Chris Swanwick edged through into third. Everything changed just a couple of corners later though when
the front-running pack shuffled as Moore While Swanwick and Williamson fought hard over the lead on lap two, a little further behind Hill had a spin going under Starkey’s Bridge to drop him out of contention. First sliding across the grass on the infield, his car shot back across the circuit to the outside and was luckily not collected. He rejoined in 20th place and although suffering a couple more moments, he finished 14th. On lap four, Moore hit the front once again heading into the chicane just before light rain started to fall to make things even trickier for the young teenage racers. Swanwick moved back ahead into McLeans on lap five and the top two then started to pull clear of third-placed Williamson. Moore re-took the lead three laps from home as the rain fell heavier and she held on for her third victory on the bounce ahead of podium debutant Swanwick. Five seconds further back, Williamson recorded his second podium of the campaign but better was to follow just a few hours later. Cook, meanwhile, produced an outstanding last lap. Heading into the final tour in eighth place, the TJ Motorsport racer carved his way through into fifth at the chequered flag, some 10 seconds shy of Austin in fourth position. While the track was largely damp for round six, a dry line was appearing as the sun came out for its most persistent period all day. The race boiled down to a superb final lap, Hill within the slimmest of margins of claiming his elusive first win of the year after an incredible push over the last two miles. He led during the early stages after making a better job of his getaway this time and as the race entered its second half he looked to have things in control. By lap six though, Williamson had mounted a determined charge and closed to within just three 10ths of a second. Pressuring the leader, Williamson dived up the inside at Redgate on lap seven to move ahead momentarily but on the exit Hill hit back and maintained the top spot through Hollywood and down the Craner Curves. Lap eight produced a turning point though when a spin for backmarker Jake Giddings, as the two leaders prepared to lap him at Redgate, resulted in a delay for Hill who had to run wide in avoidance and thus hand the lead to an ecstatic Williamson. Into the last lap the lead for the Muzz Racing charger was 1.7 seconds but Hill produced the lap of his short career to close the gap to nothing over the course of the final tour. Almost with the leader through McLeans and Coppice, Hill looked up the inside into the chicane before tucking back in but he had better drive coming out of the corner. Over the line, the cars traded paintwork but Williamson managed to hold on by just six 100ths of a second with Moore coming home a second adrift in third place for her second podium of the weekend and fourth rostrum in as many races. Cook took a solid fourth place to consolidate third in the standings just ahead of Austin. Jake Rattenbury, meanwhile, was a season’s best sixth.
DREAM WEEKEND FOR SARAH MOORE AS SHE MAKES TOCA TOUR HISTORY!
By claiming her first ever win on Saturday afternoon, the 15-year-old starlet from Harrogate became the first female in the history of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship’s TOCA Tour support package to take a race victory. Leaping up the driver standings in the process, she then wrapped up a hugely popular double win with an outstanding triumph during round four of the Ginetta Junior series today, Sunday, 26th April, and has now marked herself out as a genuine threat in the 2009 title battle. With misfortune befalling erstwhile championship leader Jake Cook and fellow front-runner Jake Hill, Moore now sits atop the standings on 104 points, just one ahead of second placed Alex Austin who, in turn, is a single point in front of Cook. The category really couldn’t be any closer. “It was great today, there was lots of action and I managed to come through and win so it’s absolutely brilliant”, said a beaming Sarah after round four, “Luckily the people behind me came together towards the end and after that I managed to pull a big gap, kept it cool and took the win. Thruxton is definitely my favourite circuit now, it’s amazing! “I think most of the improvements I’ve made this year are just down to experience but we have been working on the car a lot and I’ve been getting some help with the racing lines from my brother Nigel (2008 Ginetta G50 Cup Champion). After this weekend, it’s good to know I’m on form and it’s looking good for the rest of the season.” At the start of round four, Hill took the early advantage around the outside of pole position driver Alex Austin on the run through Allard as Aaron Williamson moved into third past Sarah Moore while her younger sibling David slipped back following a poor getaway. Under pressure for the lead into the chicane, Hill was passed by Williamson at the end of the opening lap while Austin ran in third and Cook was up to fourth after a storming opener, rising from eighth on the grid. After trading the lead at almost every corner with Hill, Williamson then slipped back to fourth on lap two but further behind the lead quartet, Sarah Moore was beginning to push on as she started to string together some fast laps. Into the chicane, Cook took second place and Williamson slipped through to third past Austin. On lap five at the complex, the race took an unexpected turn when Williamson collided with Cook which allowed Sarah Moore through to second and forced Cook down to third place. Moore wasted no time in climbing further up the order and at Church, the most fearsome corner on the track, she snatched the lead from Hill with a gutsy move. Hill retook first place into Club Chicane at the end of the fifth tour but a lap later, it was Moore’s turn to move through at the final corner as she tenaciously strived for that dream double win. Lap seven was where the dream started to become reality when Williamson collided with Hill at the complex, forcing both into retirement with something of a rash move. Taking avoiding action, Cook also ran off the circuit but he at least recovered to finish in the top five behind David Moore who lost third place to Tom Ingram on the penultimate tour at the chicane. Out of all of the carnage emerged Sarah Moore with a substantial lead from second placed Austin and on lap nine she took the chequered flag with a huge – by Ginetta Junior standards – winning margin of 3.3 seconds. On a great day for the young lady racers, Pippa Coleman secured a career best sixth place finish ahead of Louise Richardson in a similarly great seventh position. Poole-based Ashley Craig, for whom Thruxton is his local track, raced to eighth, just ahead of Thomas Howard and Mitchell Hale. Championship newcomer, Belgian youngster Anthony Sauvan, recorded a fine 11th place during the second Ginetta Junior outing and missed out on the top 10 by less than four 10ths of a second.
pics Jakob Ebrey Photography
STUNNING MAIDEN WIN FOR SARAH MOORE AT SUPER-FAST THRUXTON
The Tockwith Motorsport 15-year-old, younger sister of reigning Ginetta G50 Cup Champion Nigel, showed the sort of ability which has seen her older sibling become renowned as one of Britain’s most talented racers with an excellent win from sixth on the grid. Action-packed throughout and with slip-streaming aplenty, the nine lap third round of the season also produced something of a shake-up in terms of the championship table. While series leader Jake Cook maintains his place at the head of the driver standings, his advantage has been reduced to just 10 points after a disappointing weekend for the Brands Hatch double race winner. Jake Hill once again underlined his raw speed with his first pole position start of the season, a dominant 0.5 seconds clear of nearest rival Alex Austin, but come the race some over-exuberance saw a potential win go begging. Even so, the Tollbar driver did well to mount a podium fightback and finished the race in third place, some 3.7 seconds clear of Tom Ingram’s career best fourth position. At the start, pole-sitter Hill got away from the grid well as did Sarah Moore and her younger brother David but the real flyer came from Aaron Williamson who rocketed through from fifth on the grid to take second place at the complex and then the lead on the run through Village and Church corners. Into lap two, Williamson held the lead from Hill, David and Sarah Moore but the youngest of the siblings then grabbed second position at Church. Heading up Woodham Hill into Club Chicane, Hill mounted an attempt to retake second place on the outside but he ran out of track under braking and slid wide over the kerbs. Losing ground to the leaders, the pole-sitter slipped back to fourth place and then even further back as his chances of victory looked all but gone. At the front, Williamson looked in control but David Moore had other ideas and produced another good pass at the fastest point of the circuit, Church. The lead changed hands another couple of times between the pair which allowed Sarah Moore to close in and the trio ran three abreast through Church and into the long climb up the hill on lap four. Sarah moved ahead at the chicane to demote Williamson to second and David to third place as fourth positioned Austin started to come into play. With nothing at all between the lead quartet, the intensity of the action continued to rise but a huge spin for Williamson at Village ended his challenge and he eventually finished in seventh place. Into lap six, the Moores were fighting tooth and nail over first place, Sarah emerging with the lead with a terrific pass around the outside through the first corner, Allard. Further behind, the recovering Hill posted the fastest lap of 1m 35.744 seconds (88.58mph) to bag an extra bonus point to add to the one he achieved for pole position. The fight at the front then witnessed another spin on lap seven, this time for David Moore, and he ended up finishing in sixth place, just behind the impressive Carl Stirling who came through from 10th on the grid for a career best result. Benefitting from her brother’s problems, Sarah held the biggest gap of the race on lap eight to new second placed runner Austin and she maintained the gap on the final tour to take an emotional and richly deserved maiden win. Austin’s second place saw him move into the runner-up position in the points table while Sarah Moore’s success catapults her from eighth to third in the championship. Speaking after the race, the ecstatic winner said: “I knew I could do it, I just had to watch out for the people ahead of me going off track because I knew that would happen! Once the battling had finished and things spread out a bit more, I got up to the two cars in front of me and knew I had a good chance to get through. “After David (Moore) went off at the far end of the circuit, I just had to keep my cool and make sure I won the race for the team and also my championship points. Even if Alex (Austin) had caught me up on the last lap or two, I knew I had enough of a gap to stay at the front. It’s absolutely great to win my first race, I can’t believe it!”
BRANDS INDY DOUBLE VICTORY FOR CLASSY COOK
Cook, who began the race from pole position, didn’t make the best of starts and slipped to fourth by the time the competitors headed through Paddock Hill Bend for the first time. As during Saturday afternoon’s season-opening encounter, Jake Hill shot off the line to lead with Alex Austin moving up from fourth on the grid to second place and Aaron Williamson maintaining third ahead of Cook. On the exit of Druids, Austin drifted very wide which gave Cook the opportunity to take third place as Williamson nipped through ahead into second. At the front, Hill pressed on and opened a very handy lead of 1.2 seconds as the race headed into lap two. At McLaren on the second tour, Cook continued his charge back towards the head of the field with a great move to get inside Williamson and he then sealed the pass into Paddock on lap three to take second place. Two corners later at Graham Hill Bend, race leader Hill made a mistake and lost momentum which gifted Cook a golden opportunity to snatch the lead, a chance he grabbed with both hands. Third placed Williamson then had his own dramas at Clearways, losing ground after running wide. Hill was intent on getting first place back as quickly as possible and into the fourth lap he was all over the back of Cook’s 1.4-litre Ginetta. At Druids, however, new third place man Austin made even greater gains by passing Hill for second and he immediately latched onto the race leader. An attempt to get past Cook at McLaren though, resulted in a delay which Hill took advantage of to move back into second place on lap five as they rounded Paddock Hill Bend. Behind the top three, Williamson was a lonely fourth while further back David Moore was recovering brilliantly from a bad start and was now up into the top six. The complexion of the race changed somewhat on lap seven as the leaders approached Druids, second placed Hill receiving a small tap to the rear of his car from Austin which pitched the Tollbar driver into a spin. Austin took second as Williamson too managed to get by Hill into third. Once again on the receiving end of some bad luck, Hill rejoined the race in 15th position but he mounted a good recovery to end round two in seventh place. In addition, he once again took the bonus point for fastest lap with a time of 58.259 seconds (74.06mph) on lap 12. From that point on, the battle at the front abated as Cook extended his advantage to eventually add win number two to his 2009 account and take a promising early lead in the driver standings. Austin came home in second place, just over two seconds shy of the victor. Speaking on his perfect start to 2009, Cook said: “Two wins out of two is obviously great, today’s race went a bit more to plan than Saturday’s! I made a really bad start again but thankfully recovered and when I was back into second after a few laps, Jake (Hill) made a mistake at Graham Hill Bend and so I went back up the inside at Surtees. It’s been a great way to start the season.” Thomas Howard took an unexpected podium finish in third after contact between Williamson and Moore on the penultimate lap at McLaren saw both delayed. Williamson recovered into 13th while his sparring partner failed to finish. Also involved in a tangle towards the end were Mitchell Hale and Jake Rattenbury who, fighting tooth and nail over a top six placing, both ended up in the gravel trap on the exit of Paddock. They did rejoin, Hale taking 10th place and Rattenbury a couple of spots further behind. Sarah Moore benefited from her rivals’ problems to end the race in a fine fourth place – the top girl contender – with Ashley Craig maintaining his consistent start to the campaign in fifth and Max McGuire rounding out the top half dozen.
COOK ENJOYS PERFECT START TO SEASON DURING ROUND ONE OPENER
Serving up action aplenty, as is the way when the exciting Ginetta Junior runners visit Kent’s world-famous 1.2-mile track, the story of the first race of the year was a titanic battle between pole-sitter Cook, rookie namesake Jake Hill and the rapid Alex Austin. Qualifying on pole position with a time of 58.127 seconds (74.23mph), two 10ths of a second clear of his closest rival, the TJ Motorsport racer was beaten away from the line at the beginning of round one by the fast-starting Hill who rocketed from second on the grid into a commanding early lead. Austin maintained third in his Tockwith Motorsport machine with team-mate David Moore, younger brother of fellow Ginetta Junior competitor Sarah and also of reigning Ginetta G50 champion Nigel, making a superb start to his car racing debut. Qualifying an excellent fourth on the grid, Moore slipped to fifth at the start behind Mitchell Hale but the latter had a slide at Graham Hill Bend part-way through lap one which enabled the youngest of the Moore siblings to nip back through. Into lap two, Hill and Cook ran side-by-side through the fearsome Paddock Hill Bend with Cook soon moving back ahead into the lead. In the meantime, an unfortunate problem for Moore resulted in the youngster pulling off the circuit. He did rejoin moments later but ended up in 15th place – a disappointing end to an otherwise positive debut. Williamson, who started the race in sixth position, was by now up into the top four and beginning to close on the trio of front-runners. As the race approached mid-distance, Cook held an advantage of just under a second from Austin in second place with Hill now back in third and Williamson edging ever nearer. Cook’s lead doubled by the start of lap seven with Hill moving back ahead of Austin but the outcome of the latter’s race was determined by an incident involving a backmarker at Surtees on lap eight – Jake Giddings making contact with Austin as the front-runners lapped him. Knocking Austin down to sixth place, Giddings had also unwittingly delayed Hill moments earlier as he fought with the leader. With five laps to go, Cook looked to have the race in the bag with a 2.5 second cushion over Hill with Williamson two seconds further back in the final podium placing. However, the leader hadn’t bargained for a moment for Chris Swanwick at Clearways which resulted in the youngster ending his race in the gravel trap. This resulted in the deployment of the Ginetta G50 Safety Car at the beginning of lap 11 and after three laps on track, the race was re-started with one racing lap remaining. Cook got away well into the 14th and final tour after backing the pack up on the previous lap and led by six 10ths of a second over the start/finish line. Behind, Hill ran wide out of Paddock Hill Bend and ended up spinning into the gravel and a very unfortunate retirement, having looked a cert for second place at the very least. Securing the bonus point for fastest lap was scant consolation. Cook went on to take a deserved win with Williamson an excellent second, Hale a highly creditable third and Austin recovering into fourth place.
Thomas Howard raced well from 11th on the grid into fifth place at the finish, four 10ths of a second ahead of Max McGuire who, in turn, was six 10ths of a second to the good over Ashley Craig. Louise Richardson won the battle of the girls with a solid eighth place finish on her car racing debut, just over a second clear of Sarah Moore. all pics . Jakob Ebrey Photography
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Sarah
Moore etched her name into the history books at Brands Hatch Grand Prix
Circuit this afternoon, Sunday, 4th October, by becoming the first
female champion in the history of the British Touring Car Championship
support package.
Tollbar
Racing’s Jake Hill stole the headlines from Ginetta Junior Championship
with Henderson Insurance title rivals Jake Cook, Sarah Moore and Aaron
Williamson at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday, 3rd October,
with a spectacular winning return during round 19.
Williamson
finished just three 10ths of a second behind in second place with Cook
the same distance adrift in third. Fourth position went to Louise
Richardson, just reward after a fantastic drive to end round 19 some 1.7
seconds clear of Alex Austin. Mitchell Hale was sixth ahead of Tom
Howard, David Moore, Pippa Coleman and Carl Stirling. Sarah Moore,
meanwhile, took 12th place.
Round
18 of the Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance served up
yet another twist in this fantastically action packed season at
Rockingham today, Sunday, 20th September, with Sarah Moore taking her
fifth win of the year to open up a substantial 24 point margin in the
title race.
Due
to the Safety Car intervention, the race was limited to 15 minutes and
on lap five Moore started to build a small advantage over Hale with
Howard third, Williamson fourth and Chris Swanwick in fifth position.
Hale mounted a fightback into lap six as Williamson started to latch on
to the top three but on the seventh tour it was Howard’s turn to show
his intent with the fastest lap.
Jake
Cook went back to the top of the Ginetta Junior Championship with
Henderson Insurance driver standings at Rockingham on Saturday, 19th
September, after securing his eighth win of the year in relatively
dominant style.
Nothing
further changed at the front over the remaining couple of laps with
Swanwick taking second place – equalling his previous best finish of the
season – by just two 10ths of a second from Howard, the latter enjoying
a long overdue return to the podium having last climbed the rostrum at
Brands Hatch during the opening race meeting of the year.
Tockwith
Motorsport’s Sarah Moore made a welcome return to the top step of the
Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance podium at
Silverstone National Circuit on Sunday, 30th August, with an outstanding
victory during round 16 of the season – her fourth win of the year and
first since the Donington Park meeting back in May.
Genets
Junior with Henderson Insurance Championship front-runner Jake Cook made
it four wins in as many races at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland earlier
today, Sunday, 16th August, to move to the head of the title standings
following another weekend of dominance.
With
Cook and Williamson sharing the front row for round 14, the start to the
race would prove crucial and as it turned out both youngsters made an
even getaway. Cook managed to nose ahead at the first turn but at
Leslie’s Williamson edged into the lead with a superb piece of driving
around the outside. His lead only lasted three corners though as Cook
moved back ahead at Carlube.
Double
pole position starter Jake Cook concluded his faultless Snetterton
weekend in the best way possible today, Sunday, 2nd August, by taking a
pair of outstanding – and largely unchallenged – race victories during
rounds 11 and 12 of the Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson
Insurance.
Tollbar
Racing’s Jake Hill finally broke his duck at Croft Circuit in North
Yorkshire this afternoon, Sunday, 14th June, by taking his long-awaited
maiden Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance race victory
during an entertaining 10th round of the 2009 season.
Round
nine of the fiercely competitive 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with
Henderson Insurance was won by Aaron Williamson at Croft Circuit earlier
today, Saturday, 13th June, and the victory – his third in four races –
means the Muzz Racing driver moves to within 34 points of the series
lead.
Aaron
Williamson secured his second race victory in three races at Oulton Park
Island Circuit this afternoon, Sunday, 31st May, during round eight of
the Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance, as series
leader Sarah kept her title bid well on course with yet another podium.
Tockwith
Motorsport secured a podium lock out during round seven of the 2009
Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance at Oulton Park in
Cheshire today, Saturday, 30th May, as Alex Austin took a very well
deserved first win of the season – from 10th on the grid!
Aaron
Williamson took a very well deserved maiden victory during round six of
the Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance at Donington
Park this afternoon, Sunday, 17th May, as Sarah Moore tightened her grip
on the points lead with a win of her own in the earlier fifth round.
lost out into McLeans, slipping to fourth place while Williamson assumed
the lead ahead of Swanwick and Hill. Swanwick then became the third
leader of the race within the space of just one lap by taking first
place into Goddards.
Ginetta
Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance front-runner Sarah Moore
wrote her name into the history books at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire
this weekend, 25th/26th April, after securing an amazing double win to
move to the head of the driver standings by a single point.
Sarah
Moore secured one of the most popular race victories in the short
history of the Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance at
Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Saturday 25th April. Her maiden
category success coming with a rapid and very well judged performance.
Brands
Hatch Indy Circuit was a happy hunting ground once again for Jake Cook
this morning, Sunday, 5th April, as he took his second victory of the
weekend to open up a substantial 20 point lead in the 2009 Ginetta
Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance.
Jake
Cook made a perfect start to his 2009 campaign at Brands Hatch Indy
Circuit on 4th April, during the opening round of the Ginetta Junior
Championship with Henderson Insurance; the 15-year-old taking a
hard-fought victory ahead of fellow category returnee Aaron Williamson.
Commenting
on the victory, Cook said: “I got too much wheelspin at the start which
let Jake (Hill) get past me but I was pretty happy with how the race was
going and when I got the lead back I just didn’t want a Safety Car! I
made a good job of the re-start though and ended up winning the race.
It’s a perfect start to the year for me and my team.”