Charlie Robertson Topped The Timesheets Throughout Qualifying - Photo Credit: Stuart Paice
Charlie Robertson was on top throughout qualifying for Rounds Five and Six of the 2012 Ginetta Junior Championship, the HHC Motorsport driver taking a double pole position at Thruxton.
On a wet day on the south coast, the rainfall had stopped prior to the session, however a wet track meant the drivers still needed wet tyres. The best times came early on in the session and it was Robertson who burst out the blocks to set a time of 1:33.466s, over eight tenths of a second clear of his closest rival.
Second quickest with a 1:34.303s lap was Irishman Niall Murray, the double race-winner this year not able to improve his time during the session as the conditions appeared to worsen. Just over half a second behind Murray was his Douglas Motorsport team-mate Andrew Watson, the Irishman's best qualifying performance of the season so far.
Despite an eventful session seeing him make multiple trips to the pitlane, Spaniard Pepe Massot was able to go fourth quickest as the top rookie, 1.585s off pole, just ahead of fellow rookie Harry Woodhead. A disappointing session for championship leader Sennan Fielding saw him only able to go sixth quickest. William Palmer was a strong seventh for HHC Motorsport, while Keith Donegan, Ollie Chadwick and Nathan Harrison completed the top ten. Rounding out the twelve qualifiers were rookies Oliver Basey-Fisher and Tom Jackson.
The driver's second best times set the grid for the second race of the weekend, with Robertson once again taking pole comprehensively, 0.987s clear of Murray, who will join him on the front row again. Below the front two, the positions are all change from the driver's fastest times, with Woodhead promoted to third ahead of fellow risers Fielding and Palmer.
Also moving up was Chadwick and Harrison, to sixth and seventh respectively, while the main losers were Watson and Massot, the Donington podium finishers falling to eighth and ninth. Donegan, Basey-Fisher and Jackson completed the timesheets.
Full results can be found here: http://tsl-timing.com/toca/2012/121703gij.pdf
