Driver Database News

Marford’s Seb Morris is celebrating yet another richly deserved accolade after being named the 2011 WRDA Welsh Young Driver of the Year during a special ceremony on Saturday, 19th November.

Following an utterly dominant title-winning season in the Ginetta Junior Championship, where he scorched to 11 victories and 16 podiums in total from the 20 races contested, the ultra talented driver’s year has been capped-off perfectly with the prestigious WRDA award.

Immensely proud of his Welsh heritage, the 15-year-old GCSE pupil – who studies at The King’s School, Chester – is now preparing to make the move into single-seater racing where he aims to graduate into either Formula Renault BARC or Formula Renault UK.

“It’s a real honour to be named the Welsh Young Driver of the Year and I’d like to say a big thank you to the Welsh Racing Drivers Association for their support”, said Seb, “We had a fantastic season in Ginetta this year, it couldn’t have gone any better, and to now be awarded this accolade really is the icing on the cake.”

Since graduating from a successful karting career in 2010, the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen backed racer has established himself as one of the UK’s top rising motorsport stars. Becoming a podium finisher in his maiden season in the Ginetta Junior Championship, Seb went on to claim the 2010 Winter Series title with two wins from four races.

Beginning the main Ginetta Junior season this year with a great chance to make it two title victories in succession, Seb was untouchable during the first half of the campaign and went on to win the championship one event early and with an eventual margin of 125 points over his closest challenger.

Reflecting on the WRDA’s decision to name Seb the Welsh Young Driver of the Year, club secretary Robert Allender commented: “We are pleased to honour Seb in this way. He clearly is a driver with a lot of potential and we hope he will continue to be successful.”

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Ginetta Junior Champion Seb Morris made an already remarkable season more so at Silverstone National Circuit over the weekend, 15th/16th October, by adding two further podium finishes to his final season tally – meaning he ends the 2011 campaign with 16 rostrum visits from 20 race starts.

Every superlative has already been used to describe the 15-year-old’s thoroughly dominant second year in car racing. Having sealed the title at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago, the Marford-based driver headed into this weekend’s championship finale aiming for more podiums and he achieved it with third place in round 19 and second in round 20 – the latter a mere 0.096 seconds shy of the win.

Concluding the season a massive 125 points clear of his closest challenger, Seb has taken victory in 11 of the 20 races contested and never finished outside the top six all year. In short, it’s been a truly awe-inspiring campaign.

He commented: “We finished 20 out of 20 races which is just outstanding and also with 16 out of 20 podiums. It’s been an incredible season and shows the hard work the whole team has put in, I want to thank them for everything this year – it really has been amazing.”

During the live televised final race of the season, round 20, the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen-supported driver fought an incredibly tight battle with Niall Murray with the pair trading the lead for the 11 lap duration.

Starting the race from fourth on the grid, Seb rapidly moved into the top three and out of Copse he challenged Brad Bailey for second place which he sealed at Becketts. Instantly pressuring Murray for the lead, the Welsh youngster got the breakthrough on lap three but the slipstream effect meant there was little to choose between the lead runners.

Murray nosed inside the Hillspeed ace at Woodcote at the end of lap four and managed to go by but Seb hit-back again on lap six at Becketts. Once again, the lead changed at Woodcote in Murray’s favour but the champion refused to settle for second best as the battle intensified.

Swapping places three times on lap nine alone, the fight went down to the wire with Murray just holding the advantage into the final tour. Pressuring hard over the last 1.64-miles, Seb almost managed to get ahead on the run to the line but had to settle for second just 0.096 seconds shy.

“It was really tough racing, perhaps a bit too tough at times, but I did the best I could”, said Seb, “It was a great race and just a shame we didn’t take the win, it really would have been fantastic to finish off the season back on the top step of the podium. I’ve taken 11 wins though this year so I think I’ve had my fair share!”

For round 19 on Saturday, fourth on the grid quickly became third off the start and although slipping to fourth momentarily Seb battled back past Sennan Fielding for third on lap three before swooping past Jake Giddings for second place.

Producing fastest lap pace on the fourth tour, The King’s School, Chester pupil closed up right onto the tail of leader Murray. On lap 10, things started to come to a head with the two front-runners side-by-side into Copse. Murray clung on to the lead and the fighting enabled Fielding to mount his own challenge, the latter passing Seb for second on the run to Becketts.

Re-taking second place on lap 11, Seb posted the fastest lap on the following tour – before this was shaded by Brad Bailey the next time around – with nothing at all between the top three. On lap 13, Murray and Seb both went wide at Becketts while disputing first place and that allowed Fielding through to claim the win, Seb taking third place just 0.3 seconds behind Murray.

Final 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings:
CHAMPION: Seb Morris, 562pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Silverstone National Circuit hosts the season finale of the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship next weekend, 15th/16th October, where newly crowned champion Seb Morris is planning on making the most of his last two races in the category.

Having sealed his second car racing title at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit a week ago, aged just 15-years-old, the pressure is off the Marford driver for rounds 19 and 20 at the Northamptonshire track so he’ll be able to go out and enjoy the racing knowing his goal has already been accomplished.

Graduation from Ginetta Junior into a higher category is a certainty for 2012 so Seb will undoubtedly want to try and end his association with the championship by adding to his already remarkable tally of wins and podiums.

From the 18 races contested, the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen-backed star has taken 11 wins and three further podiums – with six pole positions in qualifying along the way – to stamp absolute authority on the campaign.

Seb has proven time and again he has the pace to win from the front and the ability to slice his way through the field. Going into the championship finale the Hillspeed driver would dearly love to add more victories to his tally but his greater focus is to maximise the enjoyment of his final weekend in Ginetta Junior.

“The pressure is off as far as the championship goes so I just want to go out, enjoy the weekend and do the team proud – they’ve been fantastic all season”, said The King’s School, Chester pupil, “I’m really happy with the way the season has gone as a whole, we’ve had loads of wins, there have been ups and downs, but we got there through a lot of hard work.

“If qualifying goes well next weekend then hopefully we can get on the podium or even take a win but my biggest priority is to enjoy the last two races. There should be a great atmosphere and a really big crowd at Silverstone, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Seb to support ‘Breathtakers’ charity at Thruxton this Saturday…
While the Ginetta Junior Championship finale is still a week away, Seb will be in competitive action this weekend, on Saturday, 8th October, at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire for a specially organised charity kart race.

Raising funds for the Breathtakers charity, the teenage ace will join drivers from a variety of motor racing categories, including Formula 3, Formula Renault, Porsche Carrera Cup and touring cars, for the race which will get underway at 13.00 tomorrow afternoon.

Breathtakers, which supports sufferers of Obliterative Bronchiolitis, was founded in 2007 by Lynne Thompson whose daughter sadly has the condition. OB is a rare and limiting form of non-reversible obstructive lung disease which occurs in both children and adults following injury to the lower tract.

To find out more about the fantastic work conducted by the Breathtakers charity, and to understand more about the symptoms and causes of OB, please visit the website www.breathtakers.co.uk

Provisional 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd18 – inc. drop scores):
CHAMPION: Seb Morris, 515pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Welsh teenager Seb Morris won the Ginetta Junior Championship title in style at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit over the weekend, 1st/2nd October, with a double podium finish during rounds 17 and 18 of the season. Still aged only 15, he has added this to his 2010 Winter Series Championship success.

Sealing the title with two races still to run at Silverstone two weeks from now, Marford-based Seb provisionally became the first of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship support series champions on Saturday. He then made sure of the success with a typically strong drive to second place, from eighth on the grid, during Sunday’s live televised race.

Of the 18 rounds contested so far, the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen-sponsored driver has taken 11 race victories and 14 podiums in total; statistics which underline his sheer dominance of the hugely competitive category. Seb’s title victory is also the second back-to-back main season triumph for his Hillspeed team.

“It’s been a great season, we’ve worked really hard for this”, said the new champion, “I can’t thank the team enough, they do everything so precisely and have done a fantastic job this year. My driver coach, Matt Shawyer, is the reason I’ve been as fast as I have and my manager, Andy Meyrick, has looked after everything off-track for me. It’s a proper team effort, I’m really happy we’ve done it.”

Knowing two solid race finishes would secure the championship this weekend, Seb qualified fifth fastest for round 17 and did actually battle through brilliantly on track to notch-up his 12th win of the season but an unfortunate post-race judicial decision relegated him to second behind Niall Murray.

Bundled back to sixth place on the opening lap, The King’s School, Chester pupil sensibly remained out of trouble during the early exchanges and allowed the bunch ahead to trade paintwork as the race unfolded. Contact involving Sennan Fielding and George Gamble on lap four elevated Seb to fourth before he moved into third, and then second, in quick succession on lap six.

On lap seven, Murray got ahead of Seb on the run to Druids and his rival then made an attempt on leader Jake Giddings at Surtees which resulted in the latter being pushed wide. Seb, therefore, took second and then piled on the pressure to new leader Murray.

At Druids on lap eight, the champion elect took first place up the inside and held the advantage going into the final lap. Into the hairpin for the last time, contact as Murray challenged side-by-side ended with the Irishman sliding wide and Seb powered on to take the victory and the title in style.

Post-race, Murray and his team lodged a protest and the new champion was given a three second time penalty which dropped him to second in the amended result. Even so, the finish was enough to secure the title.

Lining-up eighth on the grid for round 18, Seb quickly carved his way through into the top six and then went fifth on the first lap while avoiding an incident involving Fielding and William Foster. On lap four, Seb then moved into fourth at Druids at the expense of Giddings but the latter fought back out of Pilgrim’s Drop which put the champion in the clutches of Patrick McClughan.

Re-taking fourth off Giddings at Clark Curve at the end of the fifth tour, the Hillspeed ace defended the place well into Paddock Hill Bend. Then, on lap seven, everything changed at the front when leader Myles Collins and Brad Bailey had visits through the gravel exiting Paddock – Seb threading his way through the drama neatly to take second place.

Pressuring new front-runner Charlie Robertson, Seb challenged at almost every corner over the course of the eighth and final lap but settled for his second runner-up spot of the weekend, just 0.181 seconds shy of the win at the flag.

“That was an absolutely great race, I really enjoyed it”, reflected Seb, “There was loads of action and to come through from eighth and nearly win was fantastic. We proved our point again this weekend, to win the championship with races in hand shows what a strong season it’s been for us.”

With the championship done and dusted, Seb can go into the final two rounds of the campaign at Silverstone on 15th/16th October with no pressure on his shoulders and a golden opportunity to try and challenge for yet more podium finishes.

Provisional 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd18 – inc. drop scores):
CHAMPION: Seb Morris, 515pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Seb Morris has been crowned 2011 Ginetta Junior Champion after winning round 17 of the season at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent this afternoon, Saturday, 1st October – the final result though remains provisional until tomorrow due to an unresolved judicial matter.

In scorching hot temperatures, the 15-year-old Hillspeed driver raced through from fifth on the grid to claim his 12th win of a truly dominant season ahead of Beacon Racing’s Niall Murray and privateer entrant Max Coates.

Pole position starter George Gamble retired on lap four after a tangle with Sennan Fielding as the pair battled for the lead. Charlie Robertson, the only driver other than Gamble mathematically capable of preventing Morris from sealing the title today, was the victim of misfortune himself after contact on lap one but fought back superbly to finish a mere 0.182 seconds shy of the podium.

During the closing stages the dice for victory boiled down to Morris and Murray, after Jake Giddings’ bid came to an end three laps from the finish. Passed by Murray at Surtees, after the Irishman had usurped Morris for second two corners earlier, Giddings went wide and dropped behind Morris, Coates and Robertson.

Into the penultimate lap, Murray led by a fraction with Morris – who had taken things fairly sedately during the first half of the race – challenging hard and with the title within reach. Running side-by-side as they headed to Druids Hairpin, Morris took the lead and held the advantage into the final tour but Murray challenged at the same corner the next time around and contact occurred.

Morris continued to claim the victory, and provisionally his second championship title after scooping the 2010 Ginetta Junior Winter Series crown last November, with Murray recovering a couple of seconds adrift in second.

“It feels great”, said Morris immediately after the race, “It was a really hard race, there was a lot of action on track but I managed to come through it all and take another win. I knew it would all kick-off ahead so I held back early on, I pushed to get good lap times but I wasn’t doing anything stupid as the main thing was to finish the race. When the chance came to fight for the win, we took it.”

At the start, Fielding continued his recent run of excellent form with a great getaway from third on the grid but there was no room ahead and he had to hold position initially. Moving to the outside of Giddings at Paddock Hill Bend though, the TJ Motorsport driver climbed into second and although re-challenged at Druids he held the place.

Morris, starting fifth on the grid, was bundled back to seventh at the exit of Druids and Robertson had his own problems at the very next turn, Graham Hill Bend, when contact pitched him into a near spin, save for some terrific car control in his HHC entry.

Gamble held the lead until lap four when Fielding made his way through at Druids and the battling closed the top five right up. The two at the front though came to grief soon after on the Grand Prix loop with Gamble retiring and Fielding eventually able to recover, climbing back into ninth place.

Giddings inherited the lead therefore with Tom Howard up into second, Murray third and Morris fourth but on lap six at Druids Murray made his move and took the lead. Contact at Graham Hill Bend between Giddings and Murray resulted in the latter running wide but on lap seven, the order was shaken-up again with Murray grabbing first place at Surtees and Morris taking advantage too.

Unfortunately for Howard, his race ended with a retirement to the pits on the seventh tour while at the front Morris managed to see off Murray and Coates. Robertson’s recovery to fourth was terrific, as was that of Fielding who posted a new lap record of 1m46.330 seconds (77.90mph). Giddings took fifth in the end with Brad Bailey sixth ahead of Oliver Chadwick in a season-best seventh.

Runner-up Murray commented: “It was a very hard race, I was up to fifth after the second corner and catching the guys ahead of me. I knew I was quicker, I just had to get by them, and I could see Seb catching so I knew I had to get away. There was a bit of movement with Sennan and George at the front, I didn’t see exactly what happened, but they both went off anyway so that put me in third.

“Then I got the lead, locked-up at Druids and then Seb got past. Then we had a pretty hard fight and at Druids on the last lap – well, it was tough. The car felt great today but qualifying was a disaster as my quickest lap was disallowed and that would have put me on the front row. I’m very happy with the race performance though, we carried on from where we left off at Rockingham.”

Coates added: “It was really hot out there, it was just over 30 degrees in the car before we started! I really enjoyed the race, we got a good launch off the line to get around Will Foster but didn’t really have anywhere to go up to Druids. So I decided I should try a do-or-die move and I got about five or six places – I had to do it because where I was I would have been hung out to dry.

“I had a go past Seb on the Grand Prix part of the track but he squeezed me and I then I couldn’t quite keep with him towards the end. The car did go off a bit in the last few laps, I think we were a bit high on the tyre pressures, but other than that the car was great to drive – I really enjoyed it.”

Round 18 of the Ginetta Junior Championship is scheduled to start at 12.10 tomorrow, Sunday, 2nd October, and will be screened live on Freeview, digital satellite and cable channel ITV4, on ITV4 HD and with live streaming as well at www.itv.com/touringcars

Provisional 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Positions (after Rd17 – inc. drop scores):
CHAMPION: Seb Morris, 490pts; 2nd George Gamble, 364pts; 3rd Charlie Robertson, 358pts; 4th William Foster, 293pts; 5th Max Coates, 269pts; 6th Niall Murray, 268pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Seb Morris is edging closer to the Ginetta Junior crown as the championship heads to Brands Hatch this weekend, October 1st/2nd.

Morris has notched up an amazing season, as the Chester-based race ace has bagged 11 wins from an ultra-consistent season. Eleven wins are impressive in themselves, as is his ability to score, and score well, in every race of the season. Heading into this weekend’s races, he has a 131-point advantage, but he isn’t thinking about the title just yet.

“We’re getting closer and closer to sealing the championship and it could happen at Brands”, says The King’s School, Chester pupil, “But until it’s properly in the bag we’re not taking anything at all for granted. We’ll be working with the same approach we have all year: get the best set-up we can with the car, focus on qualifying as high up the order as we can and then put together two strong races.”

On overall scores, the 15-year-old’s closest challenger is Charlie Robertson some 131 points adrift but when the category’s double drop score ruling comes into play Seb’s attention turns to George Gamble who moves up into the runner-up position, within 105 points of the Hillspeed star.

Both Robertson and Gamble (TJ Motorsport) have been impressive as well in their rookie seasons in the Ginetta G40s. Gamble won a psychological battle by becoming the first person to defeat Morris when he took the chequered flag first at Thruxton and has added wins at Croft and Knockhill to his tally, while Robertson’s HHC Motorsport-run car scooped wins at Croft and Rockingham last time out. Robertson, at 14 the championship’s youngest driver, has also proved adept at taking lap records, four at the last count.

Between them, these three have locked out the wins but there are plenty of other drivers eager to prove their ability before the season closes. Of those to look for this weekend, Max Coates is hunting down William Foster for fourth in the championship, while Niall Murray (Beacon Racing) and Sennan Fielding (TJ Motorsport) have both shown impressive pace of late. So, too, has team-hopper Myles Collins, now at HHC Motorsport, Patrick McClughan (who had a season-nest of seventh at Rockingham) and Sennan Fielding, while Hillspeed’s William Palmer, son of MSV owner Jonathan, will be eager to go well on home soil.

For some of the closest action this weekend, look no further. Free practice for the Ginetta Junior Championship takes place on Saturday October 1st at 09:00 with qualifying at 12:00. Race one takes place on Saturday afternoon at 17:05 over nine laps, with a shorter eight-lap dash on Sunday at 12:10. You can catch Sunday’s action live on ITV4.

Seb Morris is almost able to place one hand on the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship trophy after another superb outing at Rockingham over the weekend, 17th/18th September – the teenage racer securing his 11th victory of the campaign at the Northamptonshire venue.

With just four races now remaining this season, on overall scores the 15-year-old has a provisional lead over his closest rival of 131 points and when the championship’s double ‘drop score’ ruling is applied his cushion is still an extremely healthy 105 points.

Mathematically, the championship fight is still alive between the top three in the driver standings but if the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen-backed racer from Marford can continue his sparkling form during the next two rounds at Brands Hatch the title will be his one event early.

Alongside his round 15 victory at Rockingham’s 1.94-mile International Super Sports Car Circuit on Saturday afternoon, a battling drive back up the order to fourth place in round 16 – having been forced off the track on the opening lap at Yentwood – capped off another very strong weekend.

“We built the championship lead a bit more this weekend so I’m really happy with that”, said the Hillspeed driver, “We’ve had two more great results, it’s always fantastic to win, and although I couldn’t quite claim the title at Rockingham hopefully we can take it at Brands.”

Expectedly strong in qualifying on Saturday morning, Seb only just missed out on pole position for the opening race by a mere 0.016 seconds although his second best time placed him back on the third row for the second of the weekend’s encounters.

At the start of round 15 the 2010 Ginetta Junior Winter Series Champion immediately usurped pole-sitter Charlie Robertson after a great getaway although at Deene Hairpin, the second corner, Niall Murray made a bold move around the outside to take the lead.

His spell at the front of the field only lasted a lap though as Seb pressured and mounted a successful challenge at the same turn on the second tour. Quickly stretching away, The King’s School, Chester pupil set the fastest time on lap three to signal his intent although he soon came under fresh attack from title rival George Gamble.

Driving beautifully and soaking up huge pressure, Seb held firm but on lap seven Gamble dived up the inside at Deene to grab the advantage. The delay for the championship leader also gave Murray a chance to consider a move but Seb was wise to that and defended second place very well.

On lap nine the Safety Car was required and after just a single tour under caution, racing resumed with Seb keen to mount an early bid for the lead which he did successfully into Deene. Building a cushion of almost a second into the final lap of the race, the young Welshman did exactly what he
needed to in order to seal win number 11 of the campaign.

Round 16 was a much different prospect for Seb with his third row grid start meaning mid-pack contact would be a distinct possibility. Away from the start-line cleanly, the teenager tried to make his way through Deene and Yentwood unscathed but contact at the latter turned him around and dropped Seb well outside the top 10.

Mounting a stirring recovery with one of his best performances of the year, Seb was into eighth by lap five and then into the top six on lap seven. Into the final lap, he closed up to the train of cars queuing up behind third placed Myles Collins and the ensuing fight gave Seb just the opportunity
he needed to get among the podium contenders.

Grabbing fourth place, he challenged for third at the last couple of corners but just ran out of time and took the chequered flag a mere 0.186 seconds shy of yet more silverware – a truly sensational drive by a class act.

“The car was fantastic and enabled me to come back through quite easily”, he said, “Everything went swimmingly really, the win in the first race gave me a lot of confidence and although it was quite frustrating to miss out on fighting for another win in race two, I did enjoy coming back through the
order. In the end we only just missed out on another podium.”

Only four races now remain in the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship with the penultimate two rounds taking place just a fortnight from now, over the weekend 1st/2nd October, at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent.

Provisional 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd16 – overall scores):
1st Seb Morris, 494pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

On a day when Ginetta Junior Championship contenders George Gamble and Charlie Robertson both saw their respective title bids falter, points leader Seb Morris increased his advantage in the standings yet further at Rockingham this afternoon, Saturday, 17th September, with win number 11 of the season.

While pole-position starter Robertson was forced off the circuit on the opening lap at Yentwood and had to mount a spirited recovery to ninth position, and Gamble posted his first non-score of the year after crashing out on the final lap, series dominator Morris bagged yet another victory.

Qualifying was unbelievably close with 14-year-old Robertson securing his fourth and fifth pole starts of the season for the weekend’s 15th and 16th rounds of the campaign in Northamptonshire. Morris was a mere 0.016 seconds shy while the impressive Brad Bailey was just 0.073 seconds further adrift.

Robertson wasn’t able to get his HHC Motorsport Ginetta G40 off the line as well as he would like and so Morris immediately grabbed the lead of round 15 on the run into Turn One while second row starter Niall Murray also came into the picture.

Into the first hairpin, Deene, Murray made a bold bid for the lead around the outside of Morris and the move paid off superbly with Gamble coming through from fifth to third shortly before Robertson and Bailey had a coming together at Yentwood.

Through the delay caused by the contact, the top three managed to pull clear of the next group of cars headed by Sennan Fielding and on the next lap into Deene it was Morris’ turn to mount a bid for the lead which he seized. Gamble too tried to make his way past the Beacon Racing driver and completed his attempt successfully on the inside at Yentwood to demote Murray to third.

Morris began to stretch away instantly in his Hillspeed machine and set the early pace but Gamble redoubled his efforts and into lap four he was only 0.4 seconds behind the leader as the pair broke away from Murray. So evenly matched were the leaders, the fighting gave Murray the chance to close back in as Fielding maintained fourth some 1.4 seconds further adrift.

On lap seven, Gamble dived to the inside into Deene to grab the lead back from Morris and Murray also tried to pile on the pressure as they headed to Yentwood. Morris re-challenged at the very same corner on the following tour but Gamble managed to stay ahead – then the Safety Car was deployed to recover the stricken car of the unfortunate Declan Jones.

Racing resumed on lap 10 with Gamble heading a top eight comprising Morris, Murray, Fielding, Foster, Max Coates, Myles Collins and Tom Howard. On the run into Deene, Morris wasted no time and took his chance by slicing up the inside of Gamble to re-take first place once again and the delay for Gamble also enabled Murray to profit as he went through to second position.

From there the TJ Motorsport driver’s race came unstuck as he slipped to fourth behind Fielding at Chapman Curve and then, heading into Deene for the final time on lap 11, Gamble’s involvement came to a dramatic conclusion when an attempt to go around the outside resulted in retirement in the tyre barriers.

Morris ran untroubled to the flag to seal his 11th win from 15 races this season, Murray made a very welcome return to the podium to match his previous season’s best in second and Fielding capped off a fantastic race with his maiden podium in Ginetta Junior.

“George took a slightly wide line, I got up the inside – I knew I could get the move done on the inside there – I checked my reference point and got through”, explained Morris referring to his pass for the lead at the re-start, “I’m really happy to get the win, it’s great for the championship.”

Behind the top three, Coates took fourth place after a strong drive ahead of Collins – the latter’s best finish of 2011 – while the top six was rounded out by William Foster. Following his enforced recovery drive, Robertson salvaged a decent result in ninth place and also added the bonus point for fastest lap after posting a new Ginetta Junior circuit record of 1m36.890 seconds (72.08mph) on lap seven.

Speaking on his runner-up spot, Murray said: “It’s a great result, I got a brilliant start from fourth and tried to get my head down and pull away. But with the tow here, it’s really hard to pull away from the guys behind and when Seb (Morris) got back by I lost a couple of places as I was put wide.

“I just tried to keep my cool, then the Safety Car came out and me and Seb passed George (Gamble) at the re-start. I’m very happy with this result, second matches my best result of the season – well, today is my best finish of the season in the dry actually.”

Podium newcomer Fielding added: “We’ve had the pace most of the season, we’ve just not had much luck, but in today’s race it all went well. We struggled in testing as I’ve never been round here before, and we haven’t used any new tyres, so being on the podium is really good. Every time I get in the car I get a bit faster, a bit more comfortable, so hopefully we can carry on like this tomorrow.”

Round 16 of the Ginetta Junior Championship is scheduled to get underway at 12.10 tomorrow, Sunday, 18th September, and will be screened live on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4, in High Definition on ITV4 HD and streamed online at www.itv.com/touringcars

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Ginetta Junior Championship pace-setter Seb Morris has his sights set on continued success at Rockingham in Northamptonshire this coming weekend, 17th/18th September, where two more race victories will push him yet closer to the 2011 title.

His record of 10 wins from the first 14 races, a total of 11 podiums for the year so far, evidently tells its own story but the 15-year-old is by no means complacent and knows he will have to fight as hard as possible during rounds 15 and 16 to maintain his healthy lead at the top of the points table.

Thus far this year, only Seb’s second season of car racing action, the Marford-based driver has been nothing short of sensational with a remarkable run of results keeping him at the forefront of the championship battle.

Even when things haven’t quite gone to plan for the young Welshman, as was the case at Croft in mid-June and during the second race at Knockhill in Scotland just over a week ago, he’s still managed to salvage top results.

“I know I’ve still got the pace on the others”, said the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen-supported racer, “I made a mistake in race two at Knockhill and that’s why I finished sixth, it wasn’t down to anyone being quicker than we were. As always, we’ll work hard at Rockingham to get the flow and push as hard as we can for pole positions, podiums and wins.”

Seb will arrive at Rockingham’s 1.94-mile International Super Sports Car Circuit later this week 99 points clear at the head of the driver standings but when the championship’s ‘drop score’ ruling is taken into consideration his lead is reduced to 78 points. Having continually attained large scores this season, The King’s School, Chester pupil’s superb consistency does effectively work against him.

With every race that passes, so the Hillspeed driver gets nearer to placing one hand on the coveted trophy. That said, with 35 points up for grabs for a victory, along with bonus points for pole position and fastest lap in each race, the championship is far from over just yet.

He added: “I’m just going to take it weekend after weekend, race after race, lap after lap – I’m not looking at the championship as a whole yet. I’m focused on doing the best I can every race and I’m hoping Rockingham will go well. It’s a good circuit, especially with the huge stands as there’s always a good turn-out. If you get it right it’s a very rewarding track, I’m confident we’ll be quick there.”

After officially timed testing on Friday, 16th September, an additional 15-minute free practice will take place on Saturday, 17th September, with qualifying following at 12.00 and the first race of the weekend, round 15, scheduled to start at 15.40.

On Sunday, 18th September, round 16 of the Ginetta Junior Championship will get underway at 12.10 and will be screened live on Freeview, digital satellite and cable channel ITV4, in High Definition on ITV4 HD and online at www.itv.com/touringcars

Provisional 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd14):
1st Seb Morris, 437pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Welsh teenager Seb Morris secured win number 10 of the Ginetta Junior Championship season at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland over the weekend, 3rd/4th September, to take his remarkable podium tally for the year to 11 from 14 races.

Concluding the visit north of the border exactly 100 points clear of his closest rival, with just six races now remaining on the 2011 calendar the 15-year-old has taken yet another step closer to his aim of adding the main Ginetta Junior crown to the Winter Series title he claimed last November.

Seb, who resides in Marford near Wrexham, delivered a tremendous performance in round 13 on Saturday afternoon to take his latest win – a good start from second place on the grid soon turning into the lead when pole-sitter George Gamble was pressured into a mistake at the chicane.

Punching in some very rapid early laps, Seb quickly built-up an impressive lead and by the start of lap nine he was over three seconds clear and driving impeccably. Just two laps later though, he had it all to do again when the deployment of the Safety Car erased his clear advantage.

Getting back underway cleanly at the re-start on lap 16, the Hillspeed driver was able to pull away at the front and at the chequered flag on the very next tour he took the win some 1.1 seconds clear of main title rival Gamble.

“I just tried to keep my head, not focus on what was going on behind me and instead concentrate on my own lap times – I treated it like a qualifying run really once I got the lead”, he said, “I pulled away well and then the Safety Car came out! George really heated his tyres up well before the re-start, I was a bit more conservative, and he did catch me up a bit. But I knew I had it in hand.”

Aiming to battle for another win in round 14, the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen-backed driver had a much less straightforward time of things as a he became embroiled in some mid-pack tussling which seriously compromised his race.

Lining up on the front row of the grid again, Seb held second position on lap one but a moment on the second tour dropped him to eighth place and with a lot of work to do to recover. Trying to make some headway, on lap seven the Safety Car was then deployed – offering a good chance for The King’s School, Chester pupil to try and get back among the podium contenders.

In sixth position at the re-start Seb got away well and a lap later he benefited from a multi-car tangle at the hairpin to climb into fourth place. With a podium in his sights, he challenged Niall Murray for third but Seb was the one to suffer at the hairpin the next time around when he was bundled back down to sixth position – his eventual finishing spot.

With only three race meetings remaining on the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship calendar, the destiny of the title is still far from assured. However, Seb’s three-figure lead at the top of the driver standings means he heads into rounds 15 and 16 two weeks from now in a very healthy position.

Rockingham International Sports Car Circuit, near Corby in Northamptonshire, is the next stop for the Ginetta Junior racers over the weekend 17th/18th September.

Provisional 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship Driver Standings (after Rd14):
1st Seb Morris, 437pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.