Harry Woodhead made it five wins in five races at the start of the 2013 Ginetta Junior Championship with a dominant win in the opening race at Thruxton.
For the first time this season, Woodhead didn’t start from pole position, with his HHC Motorsport team-mate Will Palmer securing the top spot in qualifying, Woodhead starting second.
Palmer’s advantage didn’t last long however, with a great start for Woodhead seeing him storm around the outside into Allard to take the lead, with Palmer holding second briefly before a spin at the final chicane dropped him to the back of the pack, with Ollie Chadwick dropping to eighth as he avoided the spinning car.
The action behind meant Woodhead was over three seconds clear by the end of the opening lap, with Keith Donegan promoted into second ahead of Tom Jackson. As Donegan edged clear, a three way battle for third developed between Jackson and rookie pairing Jack Rawles and Jack Mitchell.
The three began running nose to tail, which allowed the recovering Chadwick and Palmer to quickly join onto their tail, both drivers having quickly dispatched the drivers at bottom of the top ten.
First on the attack was Chadwick, the former race-winner passing both Rawles and Mitchell on lap five, with Palmer picking them off individually over the next couple of laps to slot into fifth. An unfortunate spin at the chicane meanwhile for Rawles dropped him down two further places, the rookie having re-joined the track in front of Jamie Chadwick, with contact between them causing Chadwick to retire.
At the front pulling clear was Woodhead, the reigning Winter Series champion cruising home to take victory by 6.6 seconds, continuing his love affair with the high-speed Hampshire circuit, having taken his maiden Ginetta Junior podiums at the circuit in 2012.
Donegan completed a lonely race in second for his second podium of the season, while a last lap change for third saw Palmer take the position on a dead heat across the line, with Jackson slotting into fourth as a spin for Chadwick dropped him down to eleventh.
This promoted James Kellett into fifth as the top rookie after a great drive through the field after he dropped to eleventh on the opening lap. Fellow newcomer Mitchell completed the top six, ahead of Rawles, Ben Pearson, Ryan Hadfield and Josh White, with Connor Mills completing the finishers behind Chadwick.
Full race results can be found here: http://tsl-timing.com/toca/2013/131803gij.pdf
