Preptech UK battled hard to secure multiple top ten finishes from what proved to be a challenging weekend on track as the Ginetta Junior Championship headed for Silverstone for the latest rounds of the campaign.
Two days of pre-event testing had yielded positive results for the team as both Henry Joslyn and Ethan Carney showed top ten pace, with Alfie Davies not far behind on the timesheets to leave confidence high going into the race weekend itself.
A challenging qualifying session however would have seen only one of the trio make the top ten on the grid as Joslyn earned P9 for the opening race of the weekend, with Carney lining up in P12 and Davies in P16.
The opening race would prove to be a promising one for the Hampshire-based team as both Joslyn and Carney were able to gain ground from their starting positions.
Avoiding any dramas at the start, Joslyn battled hard in the midfield during the early stages of the race before working his way through the field to cross the line in fifth spot, just ahead of Carney who enjoyed his best performance by far in the series to secure a new personal best result.
Setting the quickest lap amongst the Preptech trio, Carney fought his way through to sixth spot with his six position gain being the best of anyone in the race.
For Davies however, the opening race didn’t go to plan when early contact forced him to bring his car into the pits at the end of lap seven, dropping him off the lead lap as he took the flag back in 21st.
The grid for race two on Sunday morning saw Joslyn line up in ninth, with Carney once again in twelfth spot and Davies in 17th.
As in race one, Joslyn showed his pace as he made the most of the overtaking opportunities available around the National layout to battle his way through to fourth spot on the road.
Unfortunately, a five second penalty for exceeding track limits saw him demoted to tenth place in the results, with Carney amongst those to benefit as he picked up his second top ten finish of the weekend in P9.
Davies would also make up ground from his starting position despite struggling for outright pace, running as high as 15th before taking the flag in 16th position.
The finishing positions determined where the three drivers would start race three, with Carney well on course for a third top ten finish of the weekend before he was overhauled on the final lap – leaving him to take the flag in eleventh.
It would therefore be Joslyn who led the Preptech challenge with another impressive showing that saw him fight his way into the top five within three laps. Part of a train of cars dicing for the podium positions, Joslyn took the flag in fifth spot – a position he was able to retain despite once again being penalised for exceeding track limits.
Davies rounded out his weekend by once again taking the flag in 16th place, with the three drivers now turning focus towards Donington Park in early September.
Henry Joslyn, #26 Ginetta G40, said:
“Unfortunately a poor qualifying result put me on the back foot, but despite the results being worse than we have been used to recently, I felt like it was actually one of our best performances of the season with three clean races and the most places made on track.”
Ethan Carney, #53 Ginetta G40, said:
“Our pace in testing was really strong and it left me confident going into the weekend, although I was a bit disappointed with twelfth on the grid after qualifying. Race one however was really positive and I was able to work my way forwards and run with the pack to bring home P6 and my best result so far.
Race two started well but turned out to be less eventful but I was still really pleased with another top ten, and then in race three I only missed out on tenth late on with a small mistake whilst I was fighting for position.
Overall, it’s been a great weekend and I’m delighted with the results, but I know there is still more to come. I’m looking forward to continued improvement at Donington Park in a few weeks and I have to thank everyone in the Preptech UK team for their continued support.”
Alfie Davies, #74 Ginetta G40, said:
“It’s been another tough weekend for me, as I know I’m capable of better results than I have come away with from the three races. I showed earlier in the season what I was capable of, and I’m working hard with the team to try and understand the reason why we haven’t been as competitive in recent rounds.
We have a three week break before Donington Park to try and make sure that I come back stronger and am able to push for results that are more acceptable at this stage of the season.”
Oliver Barnard, Team Principal, said:
“We were caught off guard slightly with the new tyre in qualifying which put us on the back foot slightly for the races. We knew that this was the circuit to have a poor qualifying as we would be able to race forwards. To see a couple of our cars running in the top ten comfortably was nice to see, our cars made the most places over the races.
We shall be working hard back at base now to take a close look at Alfie’s car and data as we look to get all three cars in the top ten for the remainder of the season. Donington GP and Brands GP are circuits we have showed great form at previously and in recent testing.
We have nothing to lose in the Championship fight now as the outsiders so will be going all out to win!”
