Scotsman Charlie Robertson consolidated his top three position in the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship after picking up his fifth podium of the season during Rounds Eleven and Twelve at Snetterton, races in which the HHC Motorsport driver was challenging for the lead throughout.
The 14 year old showcased his pace in qualifying, taking pole position for the first race with a best lap of 2m 18.268s, with his second best time putting him second on the grid for race two. A good start in the opening race saw him lead momentarily, before being pushed back to third. He fought back to take second at the hairpin on lap two and despite pressuring the leader hard, he had to settle for second by a mere 0.1 seconds. Robertson set the fastest lap of the race, which has gone down in the record books as the new Ginetta Junior lap record around the new 300 circuit.
Reflecting on race one, Charlie commented: “We made a rapid start off the line but Seb (Morris) just managed to get us into the hairpin. I just followed him around for the first part of the race, I did make a few mistakes though and that lost me the race really. If I could have just been that bit closer I think I could have passed him on the last lap.
“I thought I should really go for it on the last lap anyway so I pushed hard to see if I could try and force a mistake or overtake him and we managed to get the fastest lap. We got as close as we possibly could but just didn't quite get the win. It's been a good weekend though, I'm happy.”
At the start of race two, Robertson got a good start, but was passed by a quickstarting rival from behind so slotted into third. He followed the front two closely and pounced when the first opportunity came on lap four, sliding past both to take the lead onto the final lap. He was passed by Gamble though and as he tried to retake the place at the Esses, contact between the two dropped Robertson to an eventual fourth place finish. Another strong haul of points though sees the youngster just five points off second in the table with eight races remaining.
