On the hottest day of the year, over 35,000 sun drenched spectators watched Emily scorch to 10th place in the fiery opening race at Croft, in North Yorkshire.
Fans were treated to an incredible feast of motorsport action at the fast-flowing Croft circuit, where Saturday’s racing action kicked off in fine style, with the hard-charging Ginetta Junior drivers taking centre stage for the first race of the day…and what a treat it was.
The leading female driver in the championship, Emily Linscott, had struggled for pace in qualifying, something she says was entirely her fault and which she and the team must now work on for the next round. She explains further, “for some reason I’m not putting my qually laps together to get the pace we know I have, but when the race comes, my pace is back, and my race craft takes over. It’s an odd one really and it leaves me in such a rubbish position on the grid in every round so far; I need to get it sorted.”
Starting from 15th, she got a good start off the line and grabbed a position on the run down to turn 1. Somehow, they all made it through the first “pinch point” unscathed, much to everyone’s amazement. Battle commenced throughout the entire race with several of her rivals, each swapping places almost every lap but all the while, picking their way through the field too. Across the finish line, Emily had scored her second top ten finish of the season and some decent championship points to boot. After the race she said, “I’m pleased with my driving and another top ten result is a great way to start the weekend.”
Race 2 was something a bit special from Emily, albeit the first lap didn’t quite go according to plan as she was nudged out wide losing two places. Now down in 17th, she pushed hard to get back on terms with those ahead. Her driver coach, Kieran Vernon, had given her instructions to “go hunting”, which is exactly what she did. Claiming position after position with some tough and clever racing, she fought her way through and then bridged the 2 second gap to the battle for 8th place, setting personal best sector times as she went. She’s closed the gap and was ready to pounce as they went in to turn 5, Tower bend, a very fast approach with a heavy braking area, which she’d used numerous times for overtaking. Lining her rival up just prior to the corner, they all disappeared from view, only to come back in to view further down the field and with three drivers in different positions. There’d obviously been contact as Emily’s bonnet was up in the air, but what had happened was unclear. Emily had to pit to get her bonnet fixed before re-joining the race on the last lap, ruining her race and finishing down in 17th place.
In Parc Ferme after the race, she sat in her car for a brief spell to collect her thoughts before climbing out to speak to the waiting media. When asked about her race, she responded with pride, “Now that’s how I can drive! I know the result isn’t good but I’m much happier with myself in this race. I had better pace than my qualifying times and I did exactly what Kieran said, I went hunting. I’d made my move going in to Tower, but the driver ahead of me braked early when he saw another car slide up ahead of him, so I touched the back of his car and another car ran in to the back of me and we all went in different directions, but my bonnet was badly damaged, so I had to come in for repairs. It happens, but I’ve got to take the positives from this race, and there are many.”
Sunday’s live televised race always going to be tough as the grid is formed from their finishing positions from race 2, so 17th this time around. “I’m going to need binoculars to see the first corner, I’m so far back,” said the smiling teenager, which is quite typical of the affable young lady from Essex. She continued, “The start was clean until we got to turn 1, which had previously seen no action at all in the other two races. As I turned in to the apex, someone hit me hard in the right-hand side, sending me off the track and through the gravel, but as I re-joined the track, it all went off in front of me, with four cars spinning in different directions, it was like a ballet, but with less finesse. I dodged one way, then the other, then had to throw my car in to a broadside and power up immediately to keep out of the other cars. Somehow, we all managed to get through without further contact. However, it was immediately clear that the initial impact on my car had damaged its tracking as my steering wheel was 90 degrees out down the straight.”
The race was hard from there on in, but in typical Linscott fashion, she fought hard and finished in 14th place, even with considerable damage to her car. She reflected on the weekend’s racing,” It’s been a little frustrating in terms of results, but I’ve got to think about my position on the rookie championship, at least I’ve managed to score points in each race, it could have been a lot worse. I’m now up to 8th in the Rookie standings at the half-way point, there’s another 14 races left so there’s a lot at stake for the remainder of the year. I’ve shown once again that I’m tenacious when I’m up against it and tough enough to fight for the higher positions too and that’s what I’m looking for in the second part of the season. We’ve got a six-week break until the next round at Snetterton on July 28/29th and for me, I need to focus on my end of year exams at school now, then get back to training, ready for another triple header at round six in Norfolk, where I’ll be aiming to bring a bit more to the party!”
With the summer holiday’s looming, Emily, her team and her sponsors have already started to put together plans for next year. If you’d like to become part of this fantastically exciting story, then please contact her manager directly at mark@moosemotorsport.net They have Investment Opportunities for the long term and packages to suit most budgets and will tailor things specifically to your needs and requirements.
