Following the success at Rockingham, the Junior Saloon Car drivers continued to impress at Donington Park.
On Friday morning, the drivers developed their knowledge of the track with their driver coach, Ed Pead alongside them. Finlay Robinson reported during the day that the car kept cutting out which made it challenging for him to accelerate.
Adam Batty also had challenges to overcome during the test day with two broken drive shafts and a replacement gearbox. At least it happened on a test day and not during the race!
The evening session allowed the drivers’ time to put what they’d learnt in the morning sessions into practice in preparation for qualifying.
Qualifying
It was a chilly start to the day but the team waited in anticipation for qualifying session ahead. With qualifying scheduled for the afternoon, the team took the additional time to resolve any problems on the cars from the test day.
Matteo Zanetti had a brilliant qualifying session battling with a lot of competition to put in two fastest laps and gained pole position for both races Sunday. During the penultimate lap, Zanetti suffered a broken throttle cable but this did not affect his qualifying result for the races on Sunday.
At several stages during the qualifying session, there were just seconds between the top 10 drivers making it a competitive track for all drivers! Adam Batty was determined to push the car to its limits regardless of the competition; successfully completing the session in P5.
Finlay Robinson was also fighting for the top 10 but due to the tough completion, he narrowly missed out and secured 14th place on the grid for the two races on Sunday.
This was an excellent qualifying session for our drivers and we hope excitement continues throughout race day on Sunday.
Race 1
As the mechanics made final preparations to the cars, the drivers were studying the footage from yesterday’s qualifying session in order to make corrections during the race. Following the success in the qualifying session, the team were focussed on a podium finish for Westbourne Motorsport.
Zanetti had a good start as he continued to battle with championship leader, Katie Milner. The race came to a sudden pause as several cars collided and went off the track. Due to the amount of damage, the race was red flagged and a decision for a full restart was confirmed.
As the cars took to the grid again, the drivers knew that the outcome of the race was still unknown and all way still to play for. The lights went out and the race begun again!
Within only a few laps of the restart, Adam Batty sustained damage to his front bumper after another car collided with his car. Batty was determined not to let it affect his race so continued fighting for the top 10.
The top 10 was as competitive (if not more!) than the qualifying session yesterday. Finlay Robinson qualified in P14 with a clear goal ahead of him to be in the top 10.
Zanetti was determined to match the current fastest lap of the race as he battled Katie Milner for first place. However, Zanetti sustained damage to his front bumper and his exhaust following a collision with another driver. Determined not to let the damage to the car effect his result, Zanetti took to the track and pushed to remain within the top 3.
With the team eagerly watching the race from the pit lane, they waiting in anticipation to see Zanetti round the final corner. As the car sped round the corner, it was clear that the top 3 drivers had very similar times and anything could happen. Regardless of the damage to the car, Zanetti crossed the finish line in P3 – a great race for Matteo!
Adam Batty was struggling to hold his qualifying position of P5 due to the damage to his car but there was no sign of giving up. The front bumper of his car was being held on by a thread but regardless, he managed to finish the race in P9.
Finlay Robinson continued to battle the competition for the top 10; closely following Adam Batty around the final corner in P10.
Race 2
Following the excitement in race one, there were high hopes for the second. Zanetti sustained damage to his car during the first race which sadly meant he could not maintain pole position from qualifying. However, he knew the potential of the car and was keen to push it further in order to secure P1.
As the cars took to the grid, the drivers were confident they knew what to do to get a good result from this race. Adam Batty also had damage to his car during the first race and had a clear goal to make improvements to his lap times.
Let’s race – the lights went out and the cars sped towards the first corner!
Finlay Robinson had a great start to the race, qualifying in P14 but within a few laps had overtaken the competition in P9. With all three drivers in the top 10, the team nervously waited in the pit lane in anticipation for the race results.
A collision on the track between several drivers resulted in a yellow flag but this did not reduce the amount of determination from the drivers. Finlay Robinson sustained damage to his car which dramatically impacted his position on the track.
Just as the marshals lowered the yellow flag, a red flag was waved following another collision. Due to the extent of the damage the race was brought to a sudden end. The team impatiently waited from the pit lane to find out whether Zanetti had done enough to achieve pole position in the race.
As the cars came around the final corner, it would clear that Zanetti had achieved pole position in the race! A brilliant result for team Westbourne Motorsport.
Adam Batty was putting his knowledge of the track to good use as he battled with previous championship lead, Charlie Kennedy. Adam finished the race ahead of Kennedy in P9.
Unfortunately due to the damage to Finlay Robinson’s car, he did not manage to maintain his place in the top 10. He crossed the finish line in P17.
A great weekend for Westbourne Motorsport! The next race weekend for the JSCC drivers is on 25 June at Brands Hatch. 