Ethan Jeff-Hall has secured overall title glory in the 2024 Ginetta Junior Championship after a pulsating racing finale at Brands Hatch (28/29 September).
Jeff-Hall, Chase Fernandez and Charlie Hart had headed into the final weekend in contention for the overall drivers’ title, with Jeff-Hall emerging victorious to add to his rookie title success, while Hart, Isaac Phelps and Henry Joslyn scored the final race wins of the campaign.
Saturday
For the first time this season, it was Phelps (Elite Motorsport) who set the pace in qualifying for a maiden double pole position. Fernandez (R Racing) was the quickest of the title protagonists in second, ahead of Henry Joslyn (Preptech UK), Hart (Elite Motorsport) and Marcus Saeter (R Racing).
The opening race of the weekend served up plenty of excitement and drama from the teenage racers, with plenty of twists and turns for the title contenders. Phelps led away from pole position, as a fast-starting Joslyn and Hart slipped past Fernandez.
Hart tried to challenge for Joslyn for second later in the lap, however a loss of momentum saw him drop back to fifth behind Fernandez and Saeter. They settled in the middle of a six-car train at the head of the field through the early laps of the race.
Jeff-Hall (R Racing) meanwhile had qualified an uncharacteristic ninth on the grid, but made quick progress to seventh and soon joined the rear of the lead pack. Ahead, Fernandez and Hart had picked off Joslyn to move into the podium places at mid-distance.
Fernandez had eyes on the lead and looked down the inside of Phelps at Stirlings Bend on lap six, however he slid wide across the grass at the exit and dropped to seventh. Hart went on to dive down the inside of Phelps into Paddock Hill on the next lap, however he’d run wide across the gravel.
Jeff-Hall benefitted from their moments to crucially move ahead of both, however it was his turn to make a mistake on lap eight with a wide moment at Surtees putting him back behind his title rivals. Hart then was forced to make a pitstop to remove a damaged rear bumper from his car.
Whilst all this was going on, Phelps was putting in a stellar performance to soak up all the pressure and secure his third win of the season. Joslyn was hot on his heels across the line, while Alfie Slater (R Racing) worked his way through the lead pack to secure his maiden overall podium finish.
Jeff-Hall pulled off a brilliant double move on the penultimate lap to end up as the highest of the title trio in fourth, with Fernandez left to settle for sixth behind Saeter and Hart finishing a lowly 18th following him trip to the pitlane.
Archie Clark (Elite Motorsport) fought back from 12th at the end of the opening lap to finish seventh, with a close-fought pack seeing Ginetta Junior scholar Jude Peters (E3 Sport), Ruben Dan (Elite Motorsport) and Felix Livesey (MDD Racing) all crossing the line within a second of Clark.
James Ellis (MDD Racing) continued his strong recent run of results in 11th ahead of Donington Park race-winner Colin Cronin (Fox Motorsport) and Torrin Byrne (Pace Performance). Next up was R Racing duo Tom Ingram Hill and Harry Moss, followed by Ethan Carney (Preptech UK) and Jack Robinson (Fox Motorsport).
Sunday
Fernandez headed into the second race of the weekend knowing he needed to win to keep the title battle going down to the final encounter. He lined up on the outside of the front row alongside pole-sitter Phelps and settled into second through the opening lap.
Hart picked off Fernandez for second at Druids on lap two however, and soon after he slipped past Phelps for the lead into Sheene. Fernandez initially followed him through for second, but Phelps hit back exiting Clearways to remain second.
Dan took advantage and dived down the inside of Fernandez into Paddock Hill, with the title contender ultimately getting shuffled back to sixth place. He immediately fought back though, benefitting from errors by Dan and Joslyn to move up to fourth, before overtaking Saeter for third at Paddock Hill.
By this stage, Hart had edged clear at the front and he picked up his second win of the campaign. The battle for second went down to the final corners of the race, with Fernandez briefly taking the place before Phelps hit back, with Fernandez edging out Joslyn for third in a 0.007s photo-finish.
Less than half a second split the cars from second to sixth over the line, with Saeter and Clark completing that group. Dan was left to settle for seventh ahead of Slater, while a composed drive from Jeff-Hall saw him stay out of trouble and finish ninth to secure the title with a race to spare.
Peters rounded out the top ten overall ahead of Cronin and Ellis, the latter having ran as high as ninth early on. Byrne, Livesey and Carney were next, with a five second track limits penalty costing Moss a place to Ingram Hill, while Holly Miall (Fox Motorsport) completed the race finishers.
The class of 2024 brought the season to a close with an absolute thriller in race three. Hart and Phelps led away from the front row, while early switches saw Joslyn grab third from Fernandez and Clark move up to fifth at the expense of Saeter.
Fernandez fought back on lap two, passing Joslyn for third into Druids and then Phelps into Surtees. The latter lost ground across the lap and dropped back to sixth behind Joslyn, Clark and Slater too, while Saeter fell from sixth to ninth.
The battle for the lead intensified over the next few laps, with Fernandez executing a switchback move through Paddock to move to the front on lap five. Hart hit back at Graham Hill Bend, however Fernandez was back ahead by Sheene and brought Joslyn with him.
As a seven-car train formed at the head of the field, Hart didn’t stay back in third for long as moves on Joslyn and Fernandez on consecutive laps put him back in the lead. Two laps later it was Joslyn’s turn at the front though, with a brilliant double move at Paddock netting him the lead.
That proved to be the decisive move of the race, with Joslyn leading the remaining laps to secure his fourth win of the year. The action behind continued through to the end, with an attempted move for second on the penultimate lap resulting in Phelps running out across the Clearways gravel.
Hart went on to cross the line in second, while Fernandez snatched third in a photo-finish by 0.040s from Saeter, having swapped the podium place between them in the final lap. That result ensured Fernandez has now recorded more podium finishes than any other driver in championship history.
Dan emerged from a hotly-contested battle in fifth place ahead of Slater, while Phelps recovered from his off-track moment in seventh. Livesey impressively fought forward to 14th on the grid to eighth, with Cronin ninth on the road before a post-race penalty put him behind Peters, Byrne and Ellis. Back in 15th meanwhile was Clark, who had run as high as fourth before losing ground in the closing laps.
In the Freshmans Cup, a class for car-racing rookies with no previous national-level karting experience, the same three drivers shared the podium across the races. Peters took a hat-trick of wins to take his total to 17 for the year, with Ellis and Byrne joining him on the rostrum.
Full 2024 racing finale results can be found at: www.tsl-timing.com/event/243905
All three races can be watched back at: www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
Ginetta Junior racing isn’t complete for 2024 yet, with the Winter Series returning next month (02/03 November) as part of the Walter Hayes Trophy meeting at Silverstone. Prior to that, the Ginetta Junior Scholarship is taking place at Blyton Park (11-13 October), with a capacity entry of 70 young talents set to battle it out for a fully-funded season in 2025.
