Ginetta Junior Scholar Chase Fernandez wins the opening Ginetta Junior race of the 2023 G Fest after coming out on top in a frantic battle.
The chequered flag was waved just under two minutes before the clock ran out at Silverstone, with seven laps completed by the field.
Championship leader Freddie Slater finished sixth after an earlier incident knocked him down the order.
Slater passed pole sitter Charlie Hart off the line, with Hugo Schwarze passing him not long after. The trio spent the opening lap battling for the lead which swapped hands multiple times, with Palmowski close behind.
As they battled, the rest of the field closed back in. A spin for Palmowski took her out of the fight and broke up the train again. It was still four cars for the lead, with Chase Fernandez joining the right. Reza Seewooruthun soon made it five.
Seewooruthun managed to climb up to the front of the order late in the race. The R Racing driver made slight contact with Schwaze, sending the German driver into a spin. He then found a way past Slater as Slater was forced wide and plummitted down the order.
Seewooruthun wouldn’t have it his own way for long, though, as four cars soon joined him in the fight for the lead. Finn Harrison, who had started from the very back of the grid, made his way up to second before passing Seewooruthun to briefly lead the race. Fernandez, Mikey Porter and Leo Robinson joined him in the fight for the lead.
The top five were together through the final lap, with Fernandez just managing to get ahead before the chequered flag fell. He finished 0.076s ahead of Harrison, with Porter third. Seewooruthin held off Robinson to take P4.
Slater recovered to fifth, passing Henry Joslyn late on, while Schwarze finished seventh after his spin.
They weren’t the only leaders to have issues late on. Charlie Hart retired at the side of the track with suspension issue at the same time as McKenzie Douglass suffered front bodywork damage. It was the second issue Hart had had during the race, the first coming when slight contact with Chase Fernandez caused Fernandez’s bonnet to come loose and lift under braking.
Alisha Palmowski took ninth after her early spin, with Edu Robinson completing the top 10.
Full results to follow.
Image credit: Ginetta/Jakob Ebrey Photography
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