Ginetta JuniorGinetta SeriesSportscars

Morris Secures Second Junior Win

2 Mins read

Hillspeed's Seb Morris made it two wins out of two in 2011 with victory in Round Two of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Brands Hatch. The youngster lost the lead early on, but worked his way back to the front to seal a perfect opening weekend of the season.

Morris began the race from pole, but it was fellow front row starter Jake Giddings who led the pack into Paddock Hill for the first time after a great start. The top two were able to break away from the pack after a spin for third placed Brad Bailey at Graham Hill Bend held the rest of the field up. The spin allowed Tom Howard into third, followed by Tollbar team mate William Foster, Beacon Racing's Niall Murray and Max Coates.

Behind, there was chaos on lap two at Paddock Hill Bend, with Struan Moore having a slide, swiftly followed by Sennan Fielding, Eric Morris and Declan Jones all doing the same. While three of them were able to make it through the gravel and get going again, Rollcentre Racing's Morris was stuck and forced to retire.

This brought out the safety car, allowing the field to catch back up with FML's Giddings and Morris. At the restart, the front six began running nose-to tail, with Murray the first to make a move, sliding past Foster for fourth. However a spin at Druids on the next lap saw him hard work undone, dropping him down the field.

At the front, a seven car battle began developing for the lead, with Charlie Robertson and George Gamble joining the front five, but it was Morris who finally got his nose in front on lap ten with a move at Surtees. However Giddings instantly fought back and regained the position at Paddock Hill. Four laps later, Morris got another chance and this time made it stick, sliding past at the first corner and defending hard on the run to Druids to keep Giddings behind.

Behind, Howard, Foster and Coates were battling hard for the final podium place, with Coates making a move on Foster, but ending up being pushed out wide, losing three places to Robertson, Gamble and Patrick McClughan. He regained the places soon after though, passing McClughan the next lap, before a late lunge by Gamble at Robertson at Graham Hill a couple of laps later saw them both sliding wide and dropping a few places.

As the race reached its conclusion, the front two began to breakaway, with Howard trying to stay close to the back of them. As they headed onto the final lap, Giddings looked to make a late move for the lead, but pushed too hard, spinning off into the gravel at Paddock Hill and out of the race.

This gave Morris a comfortable final lap as he came round to take the win, with Howard promoted to second and Foster into third. Fourth went to privateer Coates, ahead of TJ Motorsport's Gamble and HHC's Robertson. Fielding recovered from his early spin to take seventh, with Murray next up, while Michael Day and the unfortunate Bailey rounded out the top ten.

Completing the runners after making an unexpected appearance in the race was Myles Collins, who had suffered a huge accident in the opening race. However great work by his Westbourne Motorsport team to repair the car saw him make it out, though an early drive-through penalty ruined any chance of being competitive.

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Simon is an experienced journalist and PR officer, who has worked in the national motorsport paddocks for over a decade, primarily on the BTCC support package.
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