Jordan Dempsey has described his UK Ginetta Junior Championship debut as a “very big learning experience” after battling to a trio of top fifteen outright finishes in tricky conditions at Snetterton.
Dempsey received entry into the season-ending Winter Series as part of his prize for winning the 2015 Ginetta Junior Ireland title, with the outing marking his first time competing in a Ginetta G40 with his family Team MCP outfit.
The 15 year old, who was named as a finalist for the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year award on the eve of the weekend, qualified third quickest out of the seven rookie entrants on the opening day in the Norfolk rainfall.
Finishing fifth in class in the opening race, Dempsey climbed up the order in race two to finish second in class and eleventh overall. That would prove to be his best result of the weekend, with two more top five class finishes following in drier conditions on Sunday.
“This has definitely been a very big learning experience for me and the team this weekend. We came into the weekend with no major expectations, other than to enjoy it, get faster and learn!” said Dempsey, who finished fifteenth overall and fourth in class in the standings.
“It’s safe to say we learned a lot this weekend. The conditions on Friday and Saturday were the worst I’ve ever driven in, so they took a lot of getting used to. Sunday was a little bit easier, but it did mean we had to take a lot of risks with the setup as the conditions changed as the track got drier during the day.
“Overall I’m happy with the weekend. This opportunity was great, working with all the professional people over here has been very beneficial, from the Scrutineers, Race officials to the staff at Ginetta, so I’m very thankful to both Ginetta Junior Ireland and Ginetta Cars for this opportunity.”