2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Vice-Champion Charlie Robertson - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Teenage sensation Charlie Robertson ended his fantastic debut season in car racing with a ninth podium of the year at Silverstone, securing the HHC Motorsport driver a sensational second place in the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship.
The 14 year old has hit the headlines all year, taking three wins in his first year and he hoped to put himself in the spotlight once again at Silverstone. The youngster could only qualify eighth on the grid for the opening race though, but started well to gain a place on the opening lap, before slowing working his way through the field to take fourth. In a tight race, Robertson couldn't hold the spot, slipping to sixth at the finish.
The result was enough to seal the runner-up spot in the championship though, allowing Charlie to head into the last race with the sole intention of enjoying himself. Lining up sixth, a spin by a rival ahead on the opening lap caused Robertson to go off in avoidance dropping him to eleventh. A spirited fight back saw him slice his way through to seventh at the start of the final lap, before contact between four rivals ahead allowed him to dive through for a podium finish.
Charlie said: “We got a pretty bad start to the second race, I ended up in about 10th or 11th place but we managed to work our way back through the pack. Then the four people in front of me had a coming together on the last lap which put us up into third – I wasn't expecting that at all!
“I could see Seb (Morris) and Niall (Murray) battling hard in front of me and I hoped they might make a bit of a mistake too which would put me through for another win. That wasn't to be but we ended up third which is great for the last round of the championship, I'm really pleased.
“Second in the championship is fantastic, the team has done an absolutely great job all year and we've had some great races. Thanks to my mum and dad and the team for giving me so much support this season. This weekend hasn't been our best of the season but we were still able to take away two good results so I'm really happy. We've shown how quick we are so hopefully we can come back next year and try and win the championship.”
