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Ginettas Go International This Weekend
The Ginetta marque will be represented in three countries at the same time this weekend with the Juniors visiting Rockingham in England, G50s and Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship in Knockhill, Scotland and Belgium for the latest Belcar rounds.
The UK schedule has been quite a hectic start to the season with five events on the bounce for Ginetta crew, three weekends in succession for the Juniors and two for the F3/GT supporting Championships.
All three Championships plus the first meet for Club Ginetta were out last weekend at Cadwell Park for Ginetta’s first ever Festival. However, the respective Championships return to their usual support bills this weekend.
Dino Zamparelli (right) heads the Junior table going into Rockingham with a 19 point advantage over Tom Carnaby. With Rockingham being a tight, technical circuit on the infield – just like Cadwell – will the pair repeat their 1st and 2nd places of last weekend? Alice Powell and George Richardson have shown promise in qualifying but lost out in the race – so perhaps the two of them may be able to repeat their podium successes of Brands Hatch.
Just the one point separates leader Spencer McCarthy and Kieran Vernon in the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship, so expect to see these two battling this weekend. Can one of them break away to form a points cushion?
Julian Barratt was hot on their heals at Cadwell Park, but so was Andy Smith who scored his first Ginetta podium since joining the Championship last year.
Certainly one driver who has a comfortable points cushion is 16-year old Nigel Moore in the Ginetta G50 Championship (below). His 64-point advantage post-Cadwell Park gives him an early lead as a result of four wins out of four races, but as the other drivers adapt to the 300 bhp car and as the Championship moves on to circuits that allow more overtaking, Moore will be anxious to make sure this advantage is not eaten into.
His obvious talent behind the wheel of a G50 has already been noted by a team in the British GT arena and so RPM will run Moore in their #51 GT4 car at Knockhill. Joe Osborne’s regular co-pilot Michael Broadhurst will sit out this round to make way for Moore.
Nigel – current Ginetta Junior Champion - was at school when the news broke but did have chance to express that he “can’t wait” and was “dead excited”.
Alan Bonner who has driven a Chevrolet for Xero Competition before joins the team as a guest at Knockhill in the car Phil Keen raced at Cadwell Park.
Rob Austin Racing have also taken delivery of a new GT4 specification G50 this week in the wake of their accident at Oulton Park which gained International coverage – including Zoo Magazine in Australia! Austin will be out to kick-start his Team’s GT4 Championship with Abbott hoping and eager to make it to Scotland, but business commitments may prevent his appearance.
• Texaco Havoline – sponsors of the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship – will fund extra incentives for the top three drivers in the Championship races at Knockhill. Spares vouchers for to the value of £150 for 1st, £100 for 2nd place and £50 for 3rd will be awarded in addition to the prize fund already in place for the podium finishers.
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