Alex picked up two ninth place finishes as the Ginetta Junior Championship visited the Rockingham Motor Speedway at Corby, last weekend.
With three rounds still remaining in the championship, Alex’s target was to strengthen his top ten position in the Championship in his Carlube MIS Ginetta Junior.
Having never driven around the Rockingham circuit before, Alex was starting on the back foot against the other championship drivers. With help from his team JHR, a good set up for the car was found and Alex recorded constant top ten times in the free practice sessions, prior to qualifying.
"The Rockingham circuit is very different to any of the other circuits I have driven, so far, as it goes in an anti-clockwise direction and is made up of a twisty infield linked by a high speed oval. Being based on an American oval track, it is great fun driving on the fast-banked oval section. Qualifying went well and I secured two 9th position starts, which for my first visit I was very pleased with,” commented Alex.
Saturday saw eighteen Ginetta Junior drivers line up for the first race with Alex starting from the fifth row of the grid. A good start saw Alex hold his starting place into the first corner but, as the cars raced four abreast into the first corner, contact between a number of cars resulted in Alex dropping back to 15th place.
A determined drive back through the field saw Alex's Carlube MIS Ginetta cross the finish line in a hard fought 10th place. However, before the ink had even dried on the result sheet, Alex was moved up a place as one of the drivers in front was given a 30 second penalty for jumping the start.
Race two's target was another top ten finish and again Alex did not disappoint. Bunching up of the cars again at the start resulted in Alex dropping back to 11th place on the first lap. He then set about making his way back through the field and was in 9th place as the cars took the last lap board. Under constant attack from the car behind, he defended his position until the penultimate corner when the car behind made contact with his car forcing him wide and back into 10th place, which he held to the chequered flag.
"I lost places as all the cars bunched up at the first corner but then had a great battle through the field and the last lap battling with Jack Rawles was great fun. Jack made slight contact with me in the corner and I ran wide allowing him to overtake me. I tried to get him back but he defended really well. I was pleased with 10th but then found out I was 9th as the clerk of the course ruled Jack had gained an unfair advantage when we made contact with each other. Getting two 9th place finishes is a great result for my first visit to Rockingham,” explained Alex.
Only 9 points separate Alex from 9th place in the championship and he remains the 4th place rookie driver, out of the 14, in the championship.
The next Championship round will be at Alex’s local track Silverstone on the 27th September, a circuit which he has driven before, and he will be aiming to bring back some silverware to Southam and strengthen his championship position, further.