Kyle Hornby produced one of the drives of the weekend at Silverstone in the Ginetta Junior Championship as he climbed from fifteenth on the grid onto the podium in race two.
The R&J Motorsport ace had showcased his potential earlier in the weekend with his maiden category pole position, and that pace around the National circuit proved beneficial in the twelve lap encounter.
A fantastic opening lap saw him climb up five places to tenth, before he gained two more prior to a mid-race safety car period. Soon after the restart, Hornby moved into the top five and then on a chaotic penultimate lap, he stormed through to second.
While he lost out to championship contender Senna Proctor on the final lap, he maintained third to the flag for his second outright podium finish of the campaign, which has helped move him up to ninth in the championship standings.
“Everyone knows that Ginetta Junior races are spectacular with the close racing, and that’s particularly the case here as you’ve got to be in the tow to be quick and that means we all sit in a pack,” Hornby reflected.
“That meant I was able to pick my way up the order and every gap I saw I stuck my nose in it and it worked out. I had some luck on my side but I also had pace on my side.”
That result capped off what had been a mixed weekend up until that point, with his pole position in qualifying being followed up by a tough first race in which he dropped to ninth the finish and then received a six place grid penalty for race two.
He reflected: “To get pole in qualifying was brilliant and we were hoping for a top three finish from there in race one, but it just didn’t really work out due to some issues with the car and incidents in the race which knocked me back.”
The 2015 Ginetta Junior season finishes next weekend around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, and while Hornby’s experience of the circuit is limited, he’s keen to carry the momentum from his Silverstone podium over into the meeting and taste more success.
Hornby concluded: “I’ve not tested at Brands Hatch GP and I won’t be able to before the meeting, so we’ll be going straight into the weekend. We’re still hoping to get on the top three though and I’m sure I can get up to speed quickly.”
