Junior Ginetta Championship winners test
Formula Ford single seater

Junior Ginetta Champion James Harrison joined his runner-up racer Jordan Williams at Pembrey yesterday for a test with Team JLR in a Formula Ford single-seater.

As part of their prize for coming in the top three of the Junior Ginetta championship, each had three sessions around the Welsh circuit with driving tuition from ex-Formula Ford champion Tom Kimber-Smith and data analysis from Team manager Paul Hague. Third place Henry Surtees was unable to attend the event due to prior commitments.

James Harrison		Jordan Williams

Formula Ford has been the ‘training-ground’ formula of many a successful racer in the past due to the vast array of skills a driver will learn in the car. Both Junior drivers emerged from the cockpit with smiles on their faces and impressed bosses with their pace – set by some ‘installation laps’ by Kimber-Smith giving a time to aim for.

Champion Harrison was out first in the car: “I really enjoyed myself today. Certainly a good first experience in the car. The first session I was straight out and was pretty much on the pace as quick as I could be, trying to get near Tom’s benchmark time. Looking back at the data, which I found really helpful, I was able to find another two seconds on top of my first time so managed to get pretty near Tom’s time in the end.”

James Harrison

Harrison missed out on the championship honours last year by just 1 tenth of a second so two seasons in the Ginetta proved valuable experience for the 16 year old.

“The Ginettas are great for learning car control” he said “which you can carry over into Formula Ford as I found out – learning all about the speed and spacial awareness certainly helped."

Looking forward to life beyond Junior Ginetta, the day’s test had certainly given the young driver some ‘food for thought’: “It’s a great prize. I also get entry into next year’s scholarship championship which I don’t know if I’ll take up yet but after today I’m certainly really impressed with the cars and it’s something I’d quite like to do at the moment.”

Coming from a karting background prior to racing in the Junior Ginetta series, Williams also adapted well to the Van Diemen Formula Ford car. “It’s been a great day today” said Williams. “It was my first time in a single seater and I had to get used to the different type of car at first. In my last session of the day I got my lap times down below James's by a couple of tenths and got closer to Tom Kimber Smith's time."

Jordan Williams

“It’s a lot different to the Junior. [The Ginetta] has less grip and is less responsive. The Ford is easier to get into the corners – you just have to keep hold of it! It’s faster than my Junior as well. It was good to get into something a bit faster.”

We will be keeping up with James and Jordan so we can keep you informed with how they progress following a successful season in Junior Ginetta racing. Ginetta cars wish them all the best in their careers and future seasons and are hoping to see them back in a Ginetta.

If you would like to follow in their footsteps, click here

Photographs from the day are here