Will Tregurtha retook the lead of the Ginetta Junior championship after two podiums at Snetterton whilst his championship rival, Stuart Middleton, suffered a tough weekend.
Race one
Tregurtha took pole position for the first race of the weekend alongside teammate Lewis Brown.
Rookie Dan Harper, who started fourth, shot through to second on the opening lap, and was soon chasing after Tregurtha. Brown fell even further back through the order on the second lap when Dave Wooder and Harry King overtook the HHC Motorsports driver.
On the third lap, it was Tregurtha’s turn to drop down, with Harper and Wooder demoting the championship leader to third. Tregurtha recovered a few laps later to take second, behind Harper.
Wooder wasn’t about to give up though and, on the final lap, retook the second step of the podium.
The win marks Harper’s second outright win in the championship.
Whilst Tregurtha was enjoying a second place, Middleton was finding Snetterton more difficult than expected. He would start the race from eighth and dropped back a place on the opening laps. Seven laps didn’t give the then championship leader a lot of time to recover, but all he seemed to be able to do was move backwards. He eventually recovered to finish eighth, which dropped him to second in the championship standings.
Also suffering this weekend was Middleton’s team mate Enzo Fittipaldi. After taking his best ever qualifying to start the race in seventh, the Brazilian managed to keep the place through most of the race. On the penultimate lap, Fittipaldi span between Agostini and Hamilton, dropping him back to sixteenth. He recovered a single place to cross the line in fifteenth.
Race two
His race win earned Harper pole position for the second race of the weekend, alongside Wooder. The pair were side by side and leaning on one another as they approached the first corner.
The battle continued throughout the opening lap, Tregurtha and Hornby joining in. By the time the four cars crossed the start/finish line for the first time, it was Tregurtha in the lead of the race whilst Harper had dropped back to fourth with Harry King not too far behind him.
On the second lap, Hornby stepped out onto the grass. He rejoined the race in second but couldn’t keep the place, dropping back to fourth. Wooder also had trouble on the second lap, promoting Harper and King to second and third.
The first three laps, Tregurtha had been leading the race, but he hadn’t been able to able to build up much of a gap, and Harper was ready to take the race lead back on the fourth of seven laps. That wasn’t the end of the battle though and, as the laps ticked down to 0, there was a seven-way fight for the lead.
Harper, King, Tregurtha, Wooder, Brown, Hornby, and Middleton all fancied their chances at the front of the pack, but it was Harper who took the flag first. Behind him, Harry King took a well fought second place after starting fourth, with Tregurtha taking his second podium of the weekend.
There were some post race changes, though. Harper had been a little too eager to take the lead of the race, the stewards decided, as his move for the lead on Tregurtha was deemed “unsorting”. The rookie was handed a time penalty, dropping him down to third. It meant rookie Harry King took his first outright win of the season.
Middleton started the race ninth and, again, it wasn’t an easy race for the title contender. This time, though, he was able to move forwards instead of backwards, moving forward to seventh on the opening lap and staying there for the duration of the race.
Results
Race One
1 – Daniel Harper – Douglas Motorsport
2 – Dave Wooder – Total Control Racing
3 – Will Tregurtha – HHC Motorsport
4 – Harry King – Elite Motorsport
5 – Lewis Brown – HHC Motorsport
6 – Kyle Hornby – JHR Developments
7 – Seb Perez – JHR Developments
8 – Geri Nicosia – JHR Developments
9 – Stuart Middleton – Douglas Motorsport
10 – Tom Gamble – HHC Motorsport
11 – Charlie Fagg – HHC Motorsport
12 – Seb Priaulx – JHR Deveopments
13 – Olli Caldwell – JHR Developments
14 – Max Bird – Total Control Racing
15 – Enzo Fittipaldi – Douglas Motorsport
16 – Connor Grady – Total Control Racing
17 – Jordan Collard – Total Control Racing
18 – Anthony Ayres – Mectech Motorsport
19 – Alex Day – Tollbar Racing
20 – Dhyllan Skiba – JHR Developments
21 – Charlie Digby – HHC Motorsport
22 – Tom Wood – Elite Motorsport – DNF
Race Two
1 – Harry King – Elite Motorsport
2 – Will Tregurtha – HHC Motorsport
3 – Daniel Harper – Douglas Motorsport
4 – Lewis Brown – HHC Motorsport
5 – Kyle Hornby – JHR Developments
6 – Dave Wooder – Total Control Racing
7 – Stuart Middleton – Douglas Motorsport
8 – Geri Nicosia – JHR Developments
9 – Connor Grady – Total Control Racing
10 – Tom Gamble – HHC Motorsport
11 – Seb Priaulx – JHR Deveopments
12 – Seb Perez – JHR Developments
13 – Max Bird – Total Control Racing
14 – Jordan Collard – Total Control Racing
15 – Tom Wood – Elite Motorsport
16 – Anthony Ayres – Mectech Motorsport
17 – Alex Day – Tollbar Racing
18 – Enzo Fittipaldi – Douglas Motorsport
19 – Charlie Fagg – HHC Motorsport
20 – Dhyllan Skiba – JHR Developments
21 – Charlie Digby – HHC Motorsport
22 – Olli Caldwell – JHR Developments – DNF
Feature image credit: Caroline Rhea
