Ginetta Junior

Robertson Retains Title Lead Despite Silverstone DNF

1 Mins read

Charlie Robertson will take a provisional 25-point championship lead into the final two races of the 2012 Ginetta Junior Championship after a bittersweet penultimate meeting at Silverstone.

After missing out on his seventh win of the year by just 0.078s in race one, but 15 year old was then punted out of race two for his second retirement of the season.

Robertson started off the weekend perfectly, taking pole position for both races in qualifying and continued this form into the start of race one, opening up a substantial lead of two seconds on the opening lap alone.

He had stretched his lead to almost three seconds by lap four, but that was its peak, as rival Andrew Watson started to close him down, Robertson losing the lead on the penultimate lap, ending up second for his twelfth podium of the season.

“I got a really good start and I was comfortable for the first half of the race but then I saw Andrew [Watson] starting to catch me and I knew he was quick, he was fast in the testing on Friday and was quick all weekend”, commented the Investigo and Ria Capital Markets-supported racer.

“When he did the move, there was a chance I could have tried to get him back straight away but I just didn’t think it was worth the risk. If I’d done that and made a mistake it would have cost me a lot more than it would have cost him, so I was happy to think of the championship and take second.”

Round 18 saw Robertson shuffled back to third at Becketts on the opening lap, though a superb move at Luffield saw him re-gain the lead. It lasted a couple of lap before he was bundled back to fifth on lap three, before it went from bad to worse three laps later, his race ending in the Becketts gravel trap after contact from behind.

“Being knocked out of the second race obviously isn’t the way I wanted the weekend to end”, said the Whyteleafe youngster, “The plan was to stay out of trouble, and pick up as many points as we could but there was nothing I could do about what happened – I was just hit from behind under braking and that was it. Luckily, with the race one podium, we’re still leading the championship.”

Avatar photo
4148 posts

About author
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.
Articles
Related posts
British GTBTCCGinetta GT ChampionshipGinetta GT4 SupercupGinetta GT5 ChallengeGinetta Junior

Ginetta announce series restructure with SRO, ending TOCA partnership

2 Mins read
Ginetta set to leave the BTCC/TOCA package in 2023 as they bring three championships under one package alongside the British GT Championship.
FeaturesGinetta JuniorMaurice Henry Column

Maurice Henry Column: Winner!

4 Mins read
Maurice Henry talks about his journey through the 2022 Ginetta Junior championship, including a climb to the top step of the podium at Knockhill.
Ginetta JuniorMaurice Henry Column

Maurice Henry Column: I Have Surprised Myself

4 Mins read
Maurice Henry continues to work his way up the grid in his second season of Ginetta Juniors