Two wins, two pole positions, two fastest laps, a new lap record and the lead in the championship, this weekend at Croft couldn't have gone any better for Jake Hill. Victory in Round 10 of 2010 Ginetta Junior Championship capped a stunning performance by Hill, giving him his first double victory of the year and continuing his record of winning every live televised Sunday race of the season.
The Tollbar driver lined up on pole position with title contender Tom Ingram alongside him on the front row. Row two was made by up TJ Motorsport pair Louise Richardson and Jody Fannin, with reigning champion Sarah Moore and FML driver Alex Austin on the third row.
As the lights went out, it was Ingram who reacted quickest, diving ahead of the slower starting Hill into the lead, with Hill just holding off Richardson as they entered Clervaux for the first time. A good run off out the chicane left Hill in Ingram's slipstream and he produced a smart move to retake the lead at Tower Bend. Ingram hit back straight away though and forced his way back ahead through the Esses.
Behind, Richardson maintained third, but there was a change for fourth, with Fannin being overtaken by his team mate Tom Howard, who had moved up from seventh on the grid. Back at the front, the lead was to change again, with Hill getting a run down the start finish straight and sliding through at Clervaux on lap two.
The action wasn't just limited to the front though. After losing fourth place to Austin, Howard became embroiled in a three way battle for fifth place with the Moore siblings. The battle came to a head on lap three, with the trio running three abreast down the start finish straight towards Clervaux. Howard emerged ahead of Sarah Moore, though it was David Moore who lost out from the move, being forced into a spin and losing multiple places in the process.
Back at the front, Hill was able to pull away from Ingram and crossed the line to record his sixth win of the year. With Ingram second, it was left to Richardson to round off the podium places with her sixth podium of the year. Austin held on to fourth, with Howard and Fannin finishing fifth and sixth on the road. However after the race, the Clerk of the Course issued Howard with a one second penalty after gaining an unfair advantage earlier in the race, promoting Fannin to fifth with Howard slotting into sixth. Jake Giddings finished a very impressive seventh, climbing up well from 17th on the grid. After his earlier spin, David Moore recovered to eighth, ahead of Team Parker Racing duo Chris Swanick and Adam Bonham. After earlier challenging for a top five finish, Sarah Moore dropped down the order late on to finish a disappointing twelfth.
With the series entering its summer break, there is a seven week gap before Rounds 11 and 12 commence at Snetterton in Norfolk on the weekend of 7th/8th August. As they enter the break, Jake Hill leads the championship, 9 points ahead of Ingram. The ever-consistent Richardson sits 11 points further, with rookie Fannin fourth and David Moore fifth.
