Charlie Robertson returned to the Ginetta Junior Championship podium at Croft on Sunday by finishing third in the first race and second in race two, and with it consolidating his third place in the drivers' standings.
After his double podium, that means the HHC Motorsport will go into the second half of the season after the Summer hiatus just twenty-one points away from the championship leader.
Robertson said: “I'm really pleased with the weekend as we've taken some good points in the championship and a third and a second [place] isn't bad at all. We're exactly halfway through the season, with ten races left to go, so it's all to play for.”
Qualifying on Saturday went well for Robertson, and if not for light rain midway through the session, the 15-year-old was looking likely to improve on his fourth and third place starts. However, his session did show that he had the pace to be a serious contender in both of the weekend's races.
Come the start of race one of the weekend and round nine of the championship, CaterhamSchoolpupil Robertson managed to hold his position despite pressure from behind into the first corner. He then set about chasing down title rival Niall Murray for third place.
Robertson latched onto the Irishman and then made his move on lap two at Sunny to take the place. He then cut the advantage of the two leaders from two seconds to being glued to the rear bumper of the second-placed man. By lap five, the top four were pretty much nose-to-tail. Robertson then tried to pass Pepe Massot for second place, but after clouting the kerbs at Clervaux the HHC Motorsport driver was dropped back to fourth after they unsettled his car.
However, Robertson managed to regain his podium position with an astounding pass onMurrayinto the flat-out Jim Clark Esses. Despite a last-lap dive from the Irishman which pushed Robertson down into fourth once again, the race officials later reverted the positions as they had been at the start of lap eight (the last lap) as they felt Murray had gained an unfair advantage by pushing Robertson off of the track.
The second race of the weekend was another Robertson-Murray battle, this time for second. Robertson held his third place at the start before edging past Murrayfor second on lap five. For the last four laps of the race, Robertson reeled in race leader Sennan Fielding and by the time they crossed the line to finish the race there was just 0.4 seconds between them.
“With one more lap I think we could have had Sennan [Fielding] as I caught him up really quickly on the last lap.” said the 15-year-old. “There's nothing to be disappointed about though this weekend, two podiums is good and it keeps us in the championship top three which is very important.” The next two rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship will take place when the BTCC package reconvenes at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk over the weekend of the 11th and 12th August.
