Rookie stars Ethan Jeff-Hall and Isaac Phelps enjoyed sensational debuts in the Ginetta Junior Championship as they shared the race victories across the 2024 season opener at Oulton Park.
An exciting line-up of 23 teenage talents came together for the traditional Easter weekend curtain-raiser alongside the British GT Championship. The group of Ginetta Junior Championship 2024 drivers aimed to build on experience gained in the series in 2023 coming up against a hungry pack of racing rookies.
Jeff-Hall (R Racing) started his debut weekend in perfect fashion with a brilliant double pole position in qualifying. Charlie Hart (Elite Motorsport), a five-time podium finisher last year, was second quickest ahead of Marcus Saeter (R Racing) and Chase Fernandez (E3 Sport). Henry Joslyn (Preptech UK) rounded out the top five on the timesheets ahead of Elite Motorsport rookie duo Ruben Dan and Phelps, while Torrin Byrne was eighth fastest with a new team to the paddock for 2024, Pace Performance.
The opening race of the weekend proved to be a thrilling encounter, with no less than seven drivers right in contention for the race win at one stage. Jeff-Hall initially led the field away from pole position, fending off attempted moves from Hart and Fernandez in the early stages. Joslyn made a move on Saeter at Old Hall corner for fourth place on lap two, however an unfortunate spin at the same corner soon after dropped him to the rear of the field. Phelps picked up fourth in the process, with Saeter, Nickolas Ellis (Elite Motorsport) and Dan right on his tail.
As the race developed there was almost nothing separating the leading pack, with a seven-car train battling it out over the podium positions heading into the closing laps. Jeff-Hall produced a masterful drive to soak up the race-long pressure and secure a stunning lights-to-flag win on his Junior debut. Hart followed him home after fending off a spirited challenge for second by Fernandez, who ended up being shuffled back to fifth in the close-fought battles. Phelps completed the top three after a great run from seventh on the grid, with Saeter securing a rookie class podium in fourth overall.
Archie Clark (Elite Motorsport) completed the top six on his debut, while Byrne edged out Nickolas Ellis for seventh by just 0.076s in an exciting photo-finish. Alfie Davies (Preptech UK) and Tom Ingram Hill (R Racing) kicked off the season with top ten finishes ahead of Felix Livesey (MDD Racing). Harry Moss (R Racing) impressively battled forward from 16th to 12th in the tight midfield pack, however a track limits penalty dropped him back a spot. Joslyn was therefore classified 12th after a superb recovery drive through the order, having fallen to 22nd after his early spin.
A new addition to the championship this season is the Freshman’s Cup, a class for car-racing rookies with no previous national-level karting experience. The inaugural class win went the way of Byrne with 2024 Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner Jude Peters (E3 Sport) and Jack Robinson (Fox Motorsport) joining him on the podium.
The final two races took place on Easter Monday, with a drastic change of conditions greeting the paddock as heavy rain fell over Oulton Park. Jeff-Hall made a great launch from pole position to lead Fernandez, as Dan initially shot through from fifth on the grid to third. Whilst he ultimately slipped back behind Joslyn, Hart and Phelps through lap one, it was the first of those who would remarkably end the lap in the race lead as Joslyn swept around the outside of both Fernandez and Jeff-Hall through Lodge corner.
Leading laps of a Ginetta Junior race for the first time, Joslyn saw his advantage disappear on lap four as a slide wide at Cascades sadly dropped him out of podium contention. Jeff-Hall took the lead, with Phelps hot on his heels after an impressive rise from eighth to second in the opening few laps. Next time round he became the race leader after a move on the outside of Jeff-Hall at Old Hall, with the latter suffering an unfortunate spin on the inside. Fernandez and Hart therefore settled into the top three, with the leading trio running almost as one for the remainder of the race.
Phelps fended off multiple challenges to score his maiden win, while Hart grabbed second from Fernandez on the last lap. Dan finished fourth overall to get his first piece of rookie silverware, with team-mate Clark joining him on the class podium after ending up sixth behind the recovering Joslyn. Jeff-Hall fought back from his own drama to seventh ahead of his R Racing stablemates Ingram Hill and Moss, the latter once again making good progress forward from 14th to ninth. Behind, an entertaining five-way battle for tenth position eventually went the way of James Shotton (Fox Motorsport).
Davies picked off Peters at the very last corner for 11th ahead of Byrne and Nickolas Ellis. Max Cuthbert (Elite Motorsport), Colin Cronin (Fox Motorsport) and Ethan Carney (Preptech UK) were next on the road, while Holly Miall (Fox Motorsport) climbed up the order well from 23rd to 18th. With the tough conditions continuing for the final race of the weekend, it proved to be a stop-start encounter with a couple of safety car periods. One driver unfazed by the stoppages was Phelps, who impressively led from start-to-finish to complete a double victory for the day.
The leader didn’t have it all his own way though with Hart ready to pounce on any mistakes as he completed a hat-trick of second place finishes for the weekend, while former Junior scholarship winner Fernandez completed a perfect replica of the race two podium. A fast-starter at the beginning of the race was Clark as he went from sixth to fourth off the line, while Joslyn and Jeff-Hall also made early progress at the expense of Dan. They both went on to pass Clark as the race developed, with the trio rounding out the top six ahead of Dan.
Davies rose three places through the race to eighth ahead of Ingram Hill and Livesey, the latter enjoying a sensational drive from 23rd on the grid to a top ten finish. Shotton was 11th on the road, but a time penalty for an out of position start meant he ended up classified in 21st. Saeter was another driver on a charge forward from 22nd on the grid, however a two-place penalty for gaining an unfair advantage meant he was ultimately classified in 13th behind Cuthbert and Peters. In the close battles behind, there was a weekend best result for James Ellis (MDD Racing) in 19th.
In the Freshman’s Cup, it was a great Monday for Peters as he picked up his first pair of class wins. Byrne joined him in picking up two more trophies, while Robinson secured his second podium of the weekend and there was maiden class silverware for Jovarni Cassell Joseph (MDD Racing).
Full race results can be found at: www.tsl-timing.com/event/241305
Rewatch all three Ginetta Junior Championship 2024 races at: www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
The 2024 Ginetta Junior Championship continues with three races around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit later this month (27/28 April).
