Monday 5th June 2023
Round 4 of the Ginetta Junior Championship saw the first of two Ginetta Festivals (G-Fest's) and took place at Silverstone, the second visit of the season. It took place over three days rather than the usual two days between Friday 2nd - Sunday 4th June on both the GP and National circuit layouts. The format was also different in that there was a qualifying session each day followed by two races.
FRIDAY 2nd JUNE: GP
Qualifying:
Race 1 = P3
Race 2 = P3
Race 1: P3 - P9
After qualifying in P3 Alisha raced hard within the front pack for the first few laps before being tagged hard from behind into a braking zone, shunting her across the track. She was very lucky not to be collected by other cars but this effectively dropped her to the very back. Alisha drove a very impressive race from there to move up from 20th to 9th by the end of the race, but this was clearly not the ideal start to the weekend.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Race 2: P3 - P3
Alisha got a good start in this race but entered turn one in P4 due to being on the outside. However, a great run up the hill saw Alisha jump up to second which she then held for the majority of the race, absolutely glued to the rear bumper of the car in front. The front two broke away but were then joined by the third place runner and they ran closely together before the pack behind caught a few laps from the end which mixed things up. After dropping a few places for a lap or so Alisha made a move for the lead but crossed the line in P3.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
SATURDAY 3rd JUNE: National
Qualifying:
Race 3 = P5
Race 4 = P2
Race 3: P5 - P4
Alisha raced hard with some good battles through the race on the shorter National circuit layout. Drivers in the lead pack were gaining and loosing positions from corner to corner and she went on to finished in 4th place just off the podium.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Race 4: P2 - P11
For this one, Alisha lined up on the front row and made a strong start to take the lead into turn one. Alisha then led for the first handful of laps before a move was made into turn one, forcing her wide, allowing the pack of cars behind to have a better exit and pass up the hill. This put Alisha down the order before further contact towards the end of a lap resulting in her finishing in P11.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
SUNDAY 4th JUNE: National
Qualifying:
Race 5 = P9
Race 6 = P17
Race 5: P9 - P6
Qualifying was tough as Alisha got 2 laps of the 3 qualifying laps deleted for track limits, one was as a result of a car ahead going off and dropping mud on the track ahead of her and the other was unexplained. This made the races more difficult as she started out of position. Alisha also began to struggle with straight-line speed which made it a difficult day overall. Alisha was able to finish this race in P6.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Race 6: P17 - P10
The last race of the weekend was always going to be difficult starting in 17th towards the back of the grid. She had a good start and made good initial progress getting up to 10th but the pack ahead had broken away and with a straight line speed issue was unable to make up any further places and so finished the day in P10.
This race can be viewed at the following link:
Again, a big thank you goes to Elite Motorsport, Rhys Simpson, Chris & Stefan Hodgetts and Adam Smalley for all the hard work and support throughout the longer than usual weekend!
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