Ginetta Junior

Middleton Closes Rookie Gap With Seasons Best Weekend

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Middleton ...... - Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Stuart Middleton enjoyed his best weekend so far in the Ginetta Junior Championship with a pair of second place finishes at Rockingham.

Instantly clicking with the unique Corby circuit, the reigning Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner topped the timesheets in Friday practice before qualifying third on the grid – his fourth top three qualifying result so far.

Moving up to second on lap two of race one, Middleton impressed by pulling clear of title contender Senna Proctor before almost closing a two second gap to race-winner and new championship leader Jamie Caroline.

The Douglas Motorsport ace slipped to third early in race one, but a slick move through Chapman corner on lap three saw him take second from Proctor. From there, a composed drive saw him hold off pressure from behind for the majority of the race to take second again.

The results meant he gained 29 points on current Rookie Cup leader Patrik Matthiesen over the meeting, with just seven separating them now with four races to go.

“I’m really happy with the results this weekend. It’s good to get the points back on Patrik in the Rookie standings, so I’m delighted,” Middleton told TCF.

“We’d tested a little bit here, but it was only once or twice so we’ve still been learning the track all the time over the weekend.

“It’s about being consistent and really smooth at this place, as it is really tough on the tyres, and we seemed to do well at that.”

The podium double continued a hugely impressive campaign for Middleton, who had previously finished on the podium at Thruxton as part of nine top eight finishes so far – with a maiden race win the next milestone.

“I’ve tried to aim as high as I could this season and push myself as much as possible, which seems to be working out now as we head towards the end of the season,” he added.

“Hopefully we can push for the top step of the podium. I think Silverstone is a circuit we can go strongly at as well, so we’re looking forward to the meeting.”

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Simon is an experienced journalist and PR officer, who has worked in the national motorsport paddocks for over a decade, primarily on the BTCC support package.
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