Freddie Slater has become only the fifth driver in Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship history to reach double figures for race wins in a single season following a stunning double on the second day of G Fest at Silverstone (03 June).
Moving from the full Grand Prix circuit to the National track for the weekend’s action, the shorter layout served up a traditionally close-fought qualifying session for the Juniors, with Slater leading an R Racing one-two-three from Leo Robinson and Luca Hopkinson.
Remarkably, Slater’s pole margin was only one thousandth of a second, equalling the championship record set by Seb Perez at Thruxton in 2016. Robinson secured the pole position for the second race of the day meanwhile courtesy of the drivers’ second-best times.
An action-packed opening lap to the first race of the day saw three different drivers hold the race lead. Robinson got the run on Slater into Copse corner, before Chase Fernandez (Assetto Racing) cut down the inside of both into Becketts, however he ran wide at Luffield to let Slater back to the front.
Mikey Porter and Hopkinson followed him through, the former impressively rising from eighth on the grid to second on the first lap. The R Racing trio broke clear of the pack for a while as they ran nose-to-tail throughout, however they were caught for a tense final two laps.
The team-mates remained in formation to the flag though for a team podium lockout, while Alisha Palmowski (Elite Motorsport) gained two places in the final two laps to finish fourth. Fernandez was fifth on the road, however a five seconds track limits penalty dropped him to eighth.
Elite Motorsport team-mates Hugo Schwarze and Charlie Hart therefore completed the top six ahead of Robinson, those three having been part of a great scrap for fourth throughout the race. Finn Harrison (Assetto Racing) and Mckenzie Douglass (Fox Motorsport) were close together at the finish as they rounded out the top ten.
Preptech UK team-mates Henry Joslyn and Tom Spragg were next up, though the latter dropped behind R Racing’s Reza Seewooruthun and Edu Robinson with a track limits penalty. Brea Angliss (Breakell Racing) and Holly Miall (Fox Motorsport) survived an incident at Brooklands to finish the race ahead of two more drivers to have off-track moments, Felix Livesey (Xentek Motorsport) and Freddie Allum (Elite Motorsport).
Slater found himself out of position in 12th on the grid for the second race on the National circuit, but wasted no time fighting his way through the order. As Palmowski, Harrison and Fernandez slipped past pole-sitter Leo Robinson on the opening lap, Slater was already up to sixth.
That became fourth on lap two, before a stunning switchback move into Copse for the third time saw him pass all three drivers ahead of him at once as they ran wide. Porter followed him to rise from sixth to second in one lap, with a loss of momentum for Palmowski in particular dropping her back to eighth.
Harrison briefly dispatched Porter for second before slipping back to fifth on the next lap, with Fernandez then moving to second himself as he passed Porter prior to a safety car period. That came after an incident which ended the races of Leo Robinson and Joslyn.
The race would come down to a one lap shootout to the flag at the restart, with Slater executing it perfectly to record his 10th win of the campaign. It was all action for second, with Porter stealing the spot into Becketts before Fernandez got it back into Brooklands.
Schwarze would complete the podium after impressively passing two cars at the same time through Brooklands, with Harrison and Porter his victims as they completed the top five in the end. Hart finished up sixth, with Douglass next after a stunning drive from 19th on the grid.
Spragg was another to charge up the order from 17th on the grid to eighth ahead of Hopkinson and Edu Robinson, with Palmowski losing more ground in the latter stages to finish up 11th from Seewooruthun, Allum and Livesey.
After unfortunate retirements in the opening race, Harry Moss (Fox Motorsport) and debutant Alfie Davies (Preptech UK) bounced back to finish 15th and 18th, sandwiching Miall and Angliss in the final results.
Full race results can be found at www.tsl-timing.com/event/232221
All three races can be watched back as part of the G Fest coverage: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5gDHWtnNzM
The bumper G Fest weekend for the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship concludes with two more races on the Silverstone National circuit tomorrow (04 June).
Slater Stars On Saturday With G Fest Junior Double
Freddie Slater has become only the fifth driver in Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship history to reach double figures for race wins in a single season following a stunning double on the second day of G Fest at Silverstone (03 June).
Moving from the full Grand Prix circuit to the National track for the weekend’s action, the shorter layout served up a traditionally close-fought qualifying session for the Juniors, with Slater leading an R Racing one-two-three from Leo Robinson and Luca Hopkinson.
Remarkably, Slater’s pole margin was only one thousandth of a second, equalling the championship record set by Seb Perez at Thruxton in 2016. Robinson secured the pole position for the second race of the day meanwhile courtesy of the drivers’ second-best times.
An action-packed opening lap to the first race of the day saw three different drivers hold the race lead. Robinson got the run on Slater into Copse corner, before Chase Fernandez (Assetto Racing) cut down the inside of both into Becketts, however he ran wide at Luffield to let Slater back to the front.
Mikey Porter and Hopkinson followed him through, the former impressively rising from eighth on the grid to second on the first lap. The R Racing trio broke clear of the pack for a while as they ran nose-to-tail throughout, however they were caught for a tense final two laps.
The team-mates remained in formation to the flag though for a team podium lockout, while Alisha Palmowski (Elite Motorsport) gained two places in the final two laps to finish fourth. Fernandez was fifth on the road, however a five seconds track limits penalty dropped him to eighth.
Elite Motorsport team-mates Hugo Schwarze and Charlie Hart therefore completed the top six ahead of Robinson, those three having been part of a great scrap for fourth throughout the race. Finn Harrison (Assetto Racing) and Mckenzie Douglass (Fox Motorsport) were close together at the finish as they rounded out the top ten.
Preptech UK team-mates Henry Joslyn and Tom Spragg were next up, though the latter dropped behind R Racing’s Reza Seewooruthun and Edu Robinson with a track limits penalty. Brea Angliss (Breakell Racing) and Holly Miall (Fox Motorsport) survived an incident at Brooklands to finish the race ahead of two more drivers to have off-track moments, Felix Livesey (Xentek Motorsport) and Freddie Allum (Elite Motorsport).
Slater found himself out of position in 12th on the grid for the second race on the National circuit, but wasted no time fighting his way through the order. As Palmowski, Harrison and Fernandez slipped past pole-sitter Leo Robinson on the opening lap, Slater was already up to sixth.
That became fourth on lap two, before a stunning switchback move into Copse for the third time saw him pass all three drivers ahead of him at once as they ran wide. Porter followed him to rise from sixth to second in one lap, with a loss of momentum for Palmowski in particular dropping her back to eighth.
Harrison briefly dispatched Porter for second before slipping back to fifth on the next lap, with Fernandez then moving to second himself as he passed Porter prior to a safety car period. That came after an incident which ended the races of Leo Robinson and Joslyn.
The race would come down to a one lap shootout to the flag at the restart, with Slater executing it perfectly to record his 10th win of the campaign. It was all action for second, with Porter stealing the spot into Becketts before Fernandez got it back into Brooklands.
Schwarze would complete the podium after impressively passing two cars at the same time through Brooklands, with Harrison and Porter his victims as they completed the top five in the end. Hart finished up sixth, with Douglass next after a stunning drive from 19th on the grid.
Spragg was another to charge up the order from 17th on the grid to eighth ahead of Hopkinson and Edu Robinson, with Palmowski losing more ground in the latter stages to finish up 11th from Seewooruthun, Allum and Livesey.
After unfortunate retirements in the opening race, Harry Moss (Fox Motorsport) and debutant Alfie Davies (Preptech UK) bounced back to finish 15th and 18th, sandwiching Miall and Angliss in the final results.
Full race results can be found at www.tsl-timing.com/event/232221
All three races can be watched back as part of the G Fest coverage: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5gDHWtnNzM
The bumper G Fest weekend for the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship concludes with two more races on the Silverstone National circuit tomorrow (04 June).
