Ginetta scholarship driver 14 year old Jamie Chadwick headed to Donington park last weekend to compete in her second ever car racing weekend in the Ginetta Junior championship.
Things got off to a great start when she posted the third fastest time in first practice, the fastest rookie driver and just behind her brother Ollie in second.
Unfortunately things weren’t to go so well for her in qualifying, she had to abort her best laps due to traffic and was also unable to get a tow from her brother (Family misunderstanding!) This left her down in seventh place and third fastest rookie. This was still an excellent result for someone in only their second ever car race meeting but understandably Jamie was disappointed after her third place earlier in the day.
In the first race last thing on Saturday she battled hard and hung on to the front running group. She ran as high as fifth but ultimately took 6th and 3rd place in the rookie class. She was rather disappointed with the result having hoped to be right at the front but given how little experience she has, sixth was still a great result.
“Obviously I would have liked to have finished better in the first race,” said Jamie. “But the racing is so close and, while I felt I was quicker than some of those ahead of me, I was unable to find a way through. 6th place is okay.”
Her brother Ollie took 2nd.
The second race on Sunday was to prove even more eventful for Jamie. Starting sixth she got a good start and joined a big battle for 4th. Her brother Ollie made a mistake early on and found himself behind his less experienced sister. It looked for a while like Jamie had a chance for third and her first podium but as she battled fellow rookie James Kellett, she ran slightly wide and dropped back. 4th place still looked possible and she continued to battle hard with those around her. She was giving the impression of a driver who had been racing cars for many years, not someone just in her second weekend of car racing!
Unfortunately disaster was to strike in the final lap. As she entered Redgate, a coming together with Keith Donegan spun her round. By the time the traffic cleared and she was able to recover she was down in eleventh place, not where she deserved to be.
Older brother Ollie took 3rd place after fighting back from his earlier off.
Jamie was disappointed but felt that she had shown her abilities; “I felt I raced well, holding off pressure and making up places from seventh to fifth in a tight field. It was disappointing that the incident at Redgate dropped me back, but everything I do is part of the learning curve and that’s racing”.
The results leave Jamie in 6th place in the championship ahead of several more experienced drivers.
The next rounds are at Thruxton over the May bank Holiday weekend (4th and 5th May) and Jamie will be hoping to race at the front once again to improve her championship position still further. By Marc Waller
