Jamie Caroline bounced back from a tough second race at Knockhill last time out to regain the Ginetta Junior Championship with victory in the opening race at Rockingham.
A false start for the HHC Motorsport driver in Scotland led to first lap contact and an eventual eighteenth place finish, giving race winner Senna Proctor the points advantage.
Caroline was back on top at Rockingham though, converting a front row start from qualifying into a lights to flag victory in his Pirtek Racing backed Ginetta G40J.
The 16 year old told TCF he was pleased with how he bounced back: “We definitely didn’t need what happened in race two at Knockhill, but it’s great to hit back with a win and bring the championship lead back.
“We nearly had the win here last year until a final corner scuffle shall we say, so I’m really pleased to make amends this year and get the win.”
Caroline didn’t have things all his own way in the race, with reigning Scholarship winner Stuart Middleton putting him under pressure in the closing stages.
“It was fairly plain sailing once my team-mates unfortunately went off behind, but I was trying a few different things with gearing around the circuit which we thought would be better and I made a couple of mistakes,” he explained.
“It could have been a lot easier therefore, as we allowed Stuart [Middleton] to close in, but we kept the gap and got the win.”
The victory gives Caroline a six point lead over Proctor in the standings, an advantage that is extended to twenty with dropped scores taken into consideration.
It also secures Caroline pole position for race two tomorrow: “I’d actually prefer second on the grid here. Pole position is off line, second is on the rubber, so I’ll have to improve on the start I made today and hopefully still be P1 heading into the first corner.
“We really expect the championship to go down to the final race of the season, as it’s incredibly close in the championship this season, so we just need to focus firmly on getting good points in every race at the moment.”
