Stuart Middleton has followed up his race-winning start to the 2016 Ginetta Junior Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend with the fastest time in the official test sessions at Thruxton today (7th April) ahead of the series’ visit next month.
Running in advance of the weekend rather on the Friday preceding the event, the two forty minute sessions gave a nineteen car entry crucial track time around the unique high-speed Hampshire circuit ahead of the race weekend.
Early championship leader Middleton topped the timesheets in both sessions, with an improvement in track conditions following morning rainfall meaning he could improve his lap times to a best of 1m 32.108s in the afternoon, putting him top by nearly four tenths of a second.
Experience around the circuit seemed to be key in the session, with seven of the top eight drivers having all raced at the circuit last season. Mirroring the current championship standings, it was Dave Wooder who proved to be Middleton’s closest competition with a 1m 32.488s effort.
Lewis Brown and Cameron Roberts made it four different teams in the top four with HHC Motorsport and JHR Developments respectively, added to Middleton with Douglas Motorsport and Total Control Racing’s Wooder.
Brands Hatch race-winner Will Tregurtha posted the fifth fastest time ahead of Charlie Fagg, the odd one out in terms of racing experience at Thruxton, with Geri Nicosia and Kyle Hornby close behind – fifth to eighth covered by four tenths of a second.
The fastest rookie was Max Bird in ninth overall, with Daniel Harper, Harry King and Tom Gamble not far behind. Oli Caldwell was an impressive thirteenth with JHR, with his debut in the series expected to come later in the season.
Full testing times can be found here.
