This weekend at Snetterton saw a new winner on top of the Ginetta Junior podium as Louise Richardson took her well deserved maiden win in the series after half a season of hard work.
For those who don’t know her previous racing experience she comes from five years of karting which saw her finish 3rd in the British Championship and 2nd at Kartmasters which saw her win her Ginetta Scholarship for 2009. Alongside these achievements she also took second at the ‘O’ Plate, Rotax Cup and in the TVKC Championship.
“The Ginetta Scholarship was what helped me make the move into cars because it gave us a lot of financial help.” admits Richardson to thecheckeredflag.co.uk, who finished her maiden season ninth in the Ginetta Junior championship and as a result saw her Ginetta scholarship extended for another year in to 2010.
2010 has seen her perform well, constantly challenging for podium positions and as a result leaves Snetterton placed second in the championship, just 2 points behind Jake Hill. This is made more impressive as it includes a DNF at round 5 at Brands Hatch.
Snetterton started well for Richardson after securing pole position for Round 11 and fourth for Round 12.
Richardson would lead the race from the start until Chris Swanwick misjudged an overtaking attempt pitching both himself and Richardson in to a spin, despite this the TJ Motorsport driver would not give in as she got back on track.
Over the course of the remaining laps Richardson would put in a strong performance to squeeze past David Moore on lap Six and set her sights on the Alex Austin/Sarah Moore battle ahead. Austin made a move on Moore through Sear’s and compromising the exit speed of both, Richardson would take full advantage of this closing in as they headed three-wide in to the Esses. Needless to say Richardson held her nerves and darted by the two cars as she braked the latest.
Louise Richardson on the podium
Now back up to second Richardson set her sights on leader Jody Fannin, “The only thing I remember thinking was that I had to get back to the front and when I came up behind Jody, I wasn’t going to settle for 2nd after the race I’d just had.” said Richardson, “So I waited for the right moment to pass and I made it work.”
She admits: “It felt fantastic winning, especially after being knocked off and coming back.”
The second race of the weekend would prove exciting as well, after making a small mistake on the last lap she went wheel-to-wheel with Tom Ingram as they crossed the finish line, the timing screens initially showing Ingram ahead before switching to the final result showing Richardson taking the final podium spot.
“That was a lot closer than I’d have liked for the final podium position” she admits. “I’d got the exit out of Russell slightly wrong so Tom had more momentum and I was just willing my car to go a bit faster to stay ahead, luckily the finish line came before Tom could get that inch further ahead.”
Snetterton proved well for TJ Motorsport as a team: “It was a great weekend, for me and the team. We got another 1-2 finish which has put us even further ahead in the team championship. Jody’s in good standing in the championship as well. It was an uplift for the whole team and it feels great.”
With her maiden win out of the way and another podium finish she now goes in to the next round at Silverstone 2 points behind series leader Jake Hill with a lot more confidence: “I’m not sure how many people took me seriously as a title contender before this weekend because so many articles were about Jake and Tom and how close it was then I only ever seemed to be an after thought.”
As a final comment she adds: “Hopefully we’ve been able to show them that I’m in this championship to win it and that I can”
