The 2011 Ginetta Junior championship has so far been all about one driver, Seb Morris. The 15 year old has dominated proceedings, taking seven wins in the ten races so far, holding an 88 point advantage at the top of the standings at the series halfway stage.
The 2010 Ginetta Junior Winter Series champion continued his form into the opening rounds of the series at Brands Hatch in April, where he took a double victory. Tollbar Racing enjoyed a good weekend, with experienced Junior racer Tom Howard and team-mate William Foster sharing three podiums between them, with Jake Giddings also making a trip onto the rostrum.
Morris’ perfect start to the season continued at Donington Park, where he looked unbeatable as he picked up two more wins. The opening race saw Charlie Robertson and Irishman Niall Murray take their first series podiums, while Tollbar pairing Foster and Howard continued their good start with podiums in Round Four.
The Hillspeed driver’s winning streak was ended at Thruxton in dramatic style by George Gamble, the TJ Motorsport driver pulling off a stunning move at the last corner on the last lap to snatch the win. Morris returned to the top spot in the next race, beating Gamble and privateer Max Coates, who took two hugely popular podium finishes.
Morris could not be beaten once again next time out at Oulton Park, taking two more wins. Second place in the opener was Robertson, while finishing runner up in Round Eight after a sensational drive through the field was Beacon Racing’s Murray, his second podium of the year. Gamble took two third places to remain Morris’ nearest challenger.
It was at Croft last time out that Morris finally missed out on a race win, with Gamble taking the opening win, before 14 year old Robertson stormed clear to take his maiden series win, becoming the series’ youngest ever winner. Foster took a superb double podium in Yorkshire, while Morris had to settle for fourth and fifth place finishes.
Ginetta Junior Championship Standings After Ten Rounds:
|
Position |
Driver |
Team |
Points |
|
1 |
Seb Morris |
Hillspeed |
318 |
|
2 |
George Gamble |
TJ Motorsport |
230 |
|
3 |
Charlie Robertson |
HHC Motorsport |
211 |
|
4 |
William Foster |
Tollbar Racing |
207 |
|
5 |
Tom Howard |
Tollbar Racing |
185 |
|
6 |
Max Coates |
Privateer |
171 |
|
7 |
Niall Murray |
Beacon Racing |
127 |
|
8= |
Jade Giddings |
FML |
118 |
|
8= |
Sennan Fielding |
TJ Motorsport |
118 |
|
10 |
Myles Collins |
Westbourne Motorsport |
108 |
|
11 |
Michael Day |
HHC Motorsport |
104 |
|
12 |
Brad Bailey |
TJ Motorsport |
92 |
|
13 |
Patrick McClughan |
HHC Motorsport |
83 |
|
14 |
Declan Jones |
Kelvin Jones Motorsport |
72 |
|
15 |
Eric Morris |
Rollcentre |
61 |
|
16 |
Struan Moore |
Hillspeed |
59 |
|
17 |
Oliver Chadwick |
JHR Developments |
52 |
|
18 |
Finlay Ratcliffe |
Privateer |
22 |
Three different winners and eight different podium finishers, the Junior championship is once again proving to be ultra competitive, meaning that despite holding such a large advantage, the title certainly isn’t Morris’ yet, with over 350 points left to race for.
The rest of the season is sure to be exciting to watch, as Gamble and Robertson aim to add to their win tally’s, while Foster, Murray, Howard and Coates aim to pick up their first wins of the year. The stars of the 2011 series will be hoping to impress and then follow in the footsteps of last years top four Tom Ingram, Jake Hill, Louise Richardson and Jody Fannin, all of whom are impressing after stepping up to the G50 category of the Ginetta GT Supercup.
TCF’s three to watch:
- Charlie Robertson – The Scotsman hasn’t let the fact he’s the youngest driver on the whole BTCC package deter him, he’s been pushing hard in the Juniors and shown superb pace throughout his maiden season in car racing. It was finally converted into his maiden win last time out at Croft and he is sure to add more as the season progresses.
- Niall Murray – The reigning Ginetta Junior Ireland champion has had a tough start to his Junior career, suffering from lack of track knowledge and some bad luck through the season so far. Despite this, he has managed to take two brilliant podium finishes and has his sights set on multiple race wins in the remaining ten races.
- Max Coates – The enthusiastic Yorkshireman hasn’t had the sort of season he hoped for so far this year, with a double podium at Thruxton his highlight of a tricky year to date. The privateer won’t give up through and will be one to watch in the second half of the year as he pushes for a coveted race win
