History was made in the 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship as Sarah Moore, the 15 year old from Tockwith became the first female race winner and first female champion on the British Touring Car Championship bill as she claimed the Ginetta Junior Championship title from Jake Cook.
The 2009 season saw a mixture of drivers returning for their second seasons, Sarah Moore, Jake Cook, Aaron Williamson and Alex Austin all being second year drivers with promising youngsters graduating up from karting, Tom Ingram, Jake Hill, Louise Richardson and Pippa Coleman all graduating.
Sarah made history in the second meeting of the season, at the high speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire as the victory champagne was tasted for the first time – this making Sarah the first female driver ever to have won a race on the BTCC package. Sarah then followed up her maiden win with a second win of the weekend with a mature drive in race 2, then took her third win on the trot in the opening race at Donington Park. These 3 wins were part of a 6 race run of podium finishes for Sarah.
Sarah didn't have it all her own way though, as another four drivers all tasted the winners champagne, with Jake Cook taking 8 wins during the season, including five in a row during the summer. Aaron Williamson, Alex Austin and Jake Hill also claimed victories during the season, with another 6 drivers all making an appearance on the podium.
2009 – A season of two halves. Rounds 1 to 10 saw 5 different drivers claim wins, while rounds 11 to 20 saw 3 drivers claim victory, with Jake Cook hitting a rich vein of form from Snetterton onwards, taking five wins on the trot, Snetterton saw a return of 74 points which was maximum points, while Knockhill saw a return of 73 points – which helped Jake overturn a 56 point deficit to Sarah before the second race at Silverstone which saw Jake suffer a retirement. Sarah took the win and the Championship lead again, and would hold onto the Championship lead and become a history maker at Brands Hatch.
2010 sees the current Ginetta Junior G20 replaced with a brand new car, the Ginetta G40, with a bigger engine and more power. 2010 will also see Sarah defend her crown with the new team, yourracingcar.com.
The top 3 in the Championship after the 20 races were:
- Sarah Moore – 448
- Jake Cook – 432
- Aaron Williamson – 406
Check out some great on-board footage from Donington Park earlier this year as you ride with car number 25, Louise Richardson.
Photo Credit: Ginettacars.com
