Tom Lebbon becomes the first Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner to take the overal Ginetta Junior title in his rookie season.
Lebbon came into the season finale five points ahead of title rivals Josh Rattican and Bailey Voisin after a time penalty for Voisin in race one.
Starting from the front row of the grid, Lebbon simply needed to stay ahead of his title rivals in order to take the title.
Race action was delayed after Will Vincent ran into the back of a stalled Freddie Tomlinson at the race start, then was hit from behind by Rowan Vincent. Despite heavy damage to Vincent and Tomlinson’s cars, all drivers were able to climb out of their Ginettas unaided.
The race was immediately red flagged and the field returned to the grid.
On the second start, pole sitter Josh Miller got a strong get away, and was pulling a gap to Lebbon when the safety car was brought out as Trennon Bettany slid into the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend.
There was a lengthy safety car period to clear the vehicle, playing into Lebbon’s favour. Bailey Voisin had had a difficult start and dropped down to eighth on the opening lap, while Rattican hadn’t managed to find a way past Lebbon.
Action resumed with less than five minutes on the clock. Miller again got a strong get away, leaving Lebbon to fight with his title rivals.
Miller held Lebbon at arms length to take his maiden car racing victory, 0.674s ahead of his Elite Motorsport team-mate.
Voisin got a strong restart, immedietly pulling alongside Will Aspin in the battle for seventh. The pair came together and Aspin was forced wide, but managed to stay in control despite losing the position.
As Rattican brought a challenge to Lebbon, Voisin picked of Sebastien Hopkins into Druids.
The top three were running nose to tail heading into the final lap. Voisin managed a move around the outside of Rattican to take third, only for Rattican to fight back and reclaim the position.
Lebbon was just able to edge a small gap to Voisin and Rattican in the final corners as Voisin and Rattican ran side-by-side as they took the chequered flag. Rattican was 0.049s ahead of Voisin on the start-finish line, securing second in the championship standings.
Sebastian Hopkins held off Georgi Dimitrov to take fifth, while Tom Edgar finished seventh ahead of Tommy Pintos, Joel Pearson, and James Higgins.
Image courtesy of Ginetta/Jakob Ebrey Photography
[ninja_tables id=”2049″]
PR available: Ginetta Junior Update writer Bethonie Waring is available to supply PR and communications services to Ginetta Junior drivers and racers in other selected series. Visit the PR Opportunities tab for more details
Ginetta Junior Update 