The Preptech UK team added to its impressive list of silverware in the 2024 Ginetta Junior Championship despite a challenging weekend of on-track action at Snetterton.
The Hampshire-based team headed into the weekend on the back of a double podium finish at Anglesey, where Henry Joslyn had maintained his title challenge and team-mate Ethan Carney had scored his best result of the season to date.
Alfie Davies meanwhile had endured a trickier time in Wales, but headed into Rounds 14, 15 and 16 optimistic about returning to the kind of form he displayed earlier in the campaign.
Two days of pre-event testing provided encouraging results, most notably on Friday where Joslyn was quickest, and Davies and Carney took tenth and eleventh.
Qualifying would prove to be challenging for all three drivers with only limited time in which to set a quick lap, with Joslyn ending up in P4 having lost his fastest lap to track limits.
Carney would end up twelfth on the times with Davies in 15th, although the pair would line up in eleventh and 13th for the opening race of the weekend due to penalties for two drivers ahead.
Joslyn maintained his position at the start of the race but his hopes of pushing onto the podium were ended on lap three when he suffered a spin at the final corner and was then collected by another car whilst trying to rejoin, putting him out on the spot.
Carney batted hard in the midfield throughout the race and looked set for a top 15 finish until contact mid-way through the final lap saw him slip back to 20th place at the finish. Davies meanwhile displayed impressive race pace to climb as high as eighth in the early laps before taking the flag in tenth to lead the Preptech challenge.
Joslyn lined up on the front row of the grid for race two and grabbed the lead with a move round the outside at turn one. Overhauled for the lead at the end of the second lap, Joslyn remained part of the battle for the lead through to the finish of the race before being classified in third spot.
Carney lined up in tenth place for the start and once again fought hard in the middle of the pack to cross the line in 13th, but a time penalty for exceeding track limits resulted in him dropping back to 15th in the final results – one place behind Davies who had been part of the same train of cars dicing for position.
The final race – which was restarted after a lap one incident – saw Joslyn lining up in third on the grid and he would set the fastest lap en-route to fourth spot – only missing out a podium when he was dive-bombed into the first hairpin on the final lap.
Having avoided the drama of the opening lap, Carney enjoyed his strongest race in the series to date as he fought his way through to take tenth place and a new personal best finish, although there was disappointment for Davies when he was caught up in the lap one incident and was forced to retire.
Next up for the trio is a trip to Silverstone in a months’ time.
Henry Joslyn, #26 Ginetta G20, said:
“It’s been a frustrating weekend that hasn’t gone as I hoped it would. I have to hold my hands up to making a poor decision in the opening race which has cost us valuable points in the championship but we were able to come back from that with some strong results in races two and three, with a podium and a fastest lap. It’s onwards and upwards to Silverstone.”
Ethan Carney, #53 Ginetta G20, said:
“Like Anglesey, I was able to show really good pace in practice so confidence was high going into qualifying where I secured my best starting position to date. Race one was frustrating with contact on the final lap, and then in race two I finished lower than I should have done because of the penalty.
I knew however that I had the pace to fight into the top ten and to achieve that in race three was fantastic, with some really good overtaking moves to work my way up the order. I’m really pleased with my continued improvement and have to give a huge thanks to everyone in the Preptech UK team. Now the goal is on remaining in the top ten in the rounds to come.”
Alfie Davies, #74 Ginetta G20, said:
“Snetterton was a bit of a rollercoaster of a weekend, starting in qualifying where we lost out to track limits penalties. I came back well from that to break into the top ten in race one and secure victory in the Freshman Class and then followed it up with second in class in race two – although we were slightly lower down the overall order.
Race three was unfortunate because drivers had collided ahead and I had nowhere to go, which meant an early end to the race. Although it wasn’t my fault, there are still lessons I can learn ahead of Silverstone, where I’m looking to defend my lead in the Freshman Class and push towards the overall top ten.”
Oliver Barnard, Team Principal, said:
“Snetterton was a circuit that we were looking to haul back Championship points with all three cars. We worked tirelessly and testing pace would suggest that we were right in the mix. Ultimately again we just lacked a little bit of pace in qualifying to our competitors and now we are working hard to figure that out.
All drivers drove well in the races but in some circumstances the roll of the dice didn’t quite go our way. Three weekends left and now being the outside shot for the Championship means we have nothing to lose and all to gain.”
