A maiden Rookie Cup victory for Keith Donegan proved to be the highlight for Hillspeed during the latest rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Knockhill.
After an unfortunate non-finish in the weekend’s opening race, Donegan went on to secure the first silverware of his maiden car racing season with a battling top six finish giving him the Rookie win in the second encounter, the result coming in only his second race meeting with Hillspeed.
Team-mate Pepe Massot, who secured his maiden overall win last time out at Snetterton, started his weekend on the back foot after a clutch problem plagued him in qualifying. The Spaniard battled through to take sixth in the opening race and ran in the top six in race two before contact from a rival sent him spinning off at the hairpin, Massot eventually finishing eleventh, two laps down on the leaders.
Series newcomer Freddie Lee meanwhile continued his progression in the championship with his best finish of the season so far, taking ninth in race one, before recording a frustrating retirement in race two.
“Pepe was very unlucky in qualifying with the broken clutch cable, it made things exceptionally difficult for him and he delivered the best times he could have in those circumstances”, said team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “In the races he did a good job and what happened in the second one was just unfortunate – when you start further down the order you’re always at risk of contact.
“After seeing Pepe win his first outright race at Snetterton last time out, it’s great for the team to have another first this weekend with Keith winning the Rookie Cup on only his second weekend driving with Hillspeed.
“Freddie’s definitely improving each time he’s in the car and we were impressed with the way he applied himself again this weekend. He raced well on Saturday and although there was a little bit of contact with Tom Jackson, Freddie took a good finish. Sunday’s retirement was just unfortunate, a small mistake that proved costly but he’s showing a great deal of promise.”