Alex Sedgwick battled to a pair of points scoring finishes during his first competitive outing at Thruxton in the Ginetta Junior Championship last weekend
With just a wet and windy test day at the circuit in February under his belt, JHR Developments racer Sedgwick was on the back foot heading into the sunny, dry weekend’s action.
The reigning Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner got his first taste of a dry Thruxton in free practice, finishing thirteenth fastest. He couldn’t quite replicate that position in qualifying, taking two fifteenth place grid starts for the races.
After making some changes to the car, Sedgwick started race one well to move up to eleventh by the end of lap two. The 15 year old couldn’t quite match the pace of the cars around him though, with a lack of grip in the fast corners causing him to slip to fourteenth at the finish.
Race two proved to be a very action-packed affair, and Sedgwick was in the thick of the midfield action throughout. Fighting back after losing a spot on the opening lap, he worked his way up to thirteenth at the finish.
“On face value it could be seen as a disappointing weekend, but on reflection with having no previous experience of the track in the dry and having to learn everything in one 15 minute practice session, it is not as bad as I first thought. At least I have now completed a total of 34 laps in the dry so returning next year should not be so difficult,” said Sedgwick.
The two points scoring finishes moved Sedgwick into twelfth overall in the championship as the sixth highest rookie driver.