2012 Ginetta Junior Championship Explained

The 2012 Ginetta Junior Championship was a multi-event, one make motor racing championship held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers, aged between 14 and 17, competing in Ginetta G40s that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. It formed part of the extensive program of support categories built up around the British Touring Car Championship centrepiece.

This season was the sixth Ginetta Junior Championship. The season commenced on 1 April 2012 at Brands Hatch – on the circuit's Indy configuration – and concluded on 21 October 2012 at the same venue, utilising the Grand Prix circuit, after twenty races at ten meetings, all in support of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.

Regulation changes

The championship included a new two class structure, with a rookie class running alongside the main class. The rookie class was run by Ginetta instead of independent teams and open to any race driver who had not been in the championship before. The £2,800 cost per weekend was intended to encourage young drivers to enter motorsport.^[1]

Teams and drivers

Team		Drivers	Rounds
JHR Developments	3	Sennan Fielding^[2]	All
JHR Developments	33	Ollie Chadwick	All
HHC Motorsport	4	Will Palmer^[3]	1–4, 6–10
	12	Tom Jackson^[4]	1–3
	55	Charlie Robertson	All
Douglas Motorsport	5	Niall Murray^[5]	All
Douglas Motorsport	11	Andrew Watson	All
Privateer	8	Finlay Ractliffe	2, 10
Privateer	12	Tom Jackson	4–10
Tollbar Racing with WIRED	17	Oliver Basey-Fisher	All
Tollbar Racing with WIRED	22	Ricky Collard	4
Hillspeed	21	George Gamble	1–2
	25	Pepe Massot	All
	27	Nathan Harrison^[6]	1–3
	30	Keith Donegan	6–7
	51	Freddie Lee	6–10
Beacon Racing	30	Keith Donegan	1–5, 8–10
Beacon Racing	88	Harry Woodhead	1–5
RPM Motorsport	43	Aiden Moffat	10
RPM Motorsport	72	Elliot Paterson	1–2, 4–10
BOMAG Racing	88	Harry Woodhead	6–10

Race calendar and results

The 2012 calendar supports the BTCC at all rounds, with no major changes from 2011.^[1]

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	R1	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	1 April	Sennan Fielding	Charlie Robertson	Niall Murray	Douglas Motorsport
1	R2	Brands Hatch (Indy), Kent	1 April	Charlie Robertson	George Gamble	Charlie Robertson	HHC Motorsport
2	R3	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	14 April	George Gamble	Sennan Fielding	Niall Murray	Douglas Motorsport
2	R4	Donington Park (National), Leicestershire	15 April	George Gamble	Sennan Fielding	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments
3	R5	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	28 April	Charlie Robertson	Charlie Robertson	Charlie Robertson	HHC Motorsport
3	R6	Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire	29 April	Charlie Robertson	Charlie Robertson	Charlie Robertson	HHC Motorsport
4	R7	Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire	9 June	Charlie Robertson	Niall Murray	Niall Murray	Douglas Motorsport
4	R8	Oulton Park (Island), Cheshire	10 June	Charlie Robertson	Charlie Robertson	Niall Murray	Douglas Motorsport
5	R9	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	24 June	Sennan Fielding	Niall Murray	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments
5	R10	Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire	24 June	Sennan Fielding	Niall Murray	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments
6	R11	Snetterton (300) Circuit, Norfolk	12 August	Ollie Chadwick	Charlie Robertson	Pepe Massot	Hillspeed
6	R12	Snetterton (300) Circuit, Norfolk	12 August	Ollie Chadwick	Sennan Fielding	Charlie Robertson	HHC Motorsport
7	R13	Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife	26 August	Charlie Robertson	Harry Woodhead	Charlie Robertson	HHC Motorsport
7	R14	Knockhill Racing Circuit, Fife	26 August	Charlie Robertson	Niall Murray	Charlie Robertson	HHC Motorsport
8	R15	Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northamptonshire	22 September	Charlie Robertson	Charlie Robertson	Ollie Chadwick	JHR Developments
8	R16	Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northamptonshire	23 September	Charlie Robertson	Sennan Fielding	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments
9	R17	Silverstone (National), Northamptonshire	6 October	Charlie Robertson	Andrew Watson	Andrew Watson	Douglas Motorsport
9	R18	Silverstone (National), Northamptonshire	7 October	Charlie Robertson	Sennan Fielding	Pepe Massot	Hillspeed
10	R19	Brands Hatch (GP), Kent	20 October	Pepe Massot	Andrew Watson	Niall Murray	Douglas Motorsport
10	R20	Brands Hatch (GP), Kent	21 October	Charlie Robertson	Charlie Robertson	Sennan Fielding	JHR Developments

Championship standings

Pos	Driver	BHI		DON		THR		OUL		CRO		SNE		KNO		ROC		SIL		BHGP		Total			Pts
1		12	1	2	Ret	1	1	4	7	3	2	5	1	1	1	2	2	2	Ret	4	2	524	11	6	507
2	Sennan Fielding	7	4	3	1	8	6	3	2	1	1	4	2	2	5	13	1	6	4	6	1	503	22		481
3	Niall Murray	1	2	1	DSQ	2	2	1	1	4	3	3	3	4	2	6	4	5	3	1	5	527	38	21	468
4	Pepe Massot	Ret	6	Ret	2	6	8	2	3	2	4	1	5	6	11	4	5	11	1	2	4	411		16	395
5	Andrew Watson	6	7	6	3	5	10	Ret	10	6	11	2	6	5	3	7	Ret	1	2	3	7	367			367
6	Harry Woodhead	5	11	5	Ret	3	3	6	4	5	10	8	10	3	7	5	6	3	Ret	5	3	351			351
7	Ollie Chadwick	11	5	4	8	12	4	Ret	6	8	5	7	4	Ret	4	1	3	8	8	7	6	334		15	319
8	Keith Donegan	9	12	7	6	9	9	7	5	9	6	9	7	Ret	6	3	11	4	6	8	10	292	9	9	274
9		3	9	Ret	4	11	11	5	9	11	8	6	9	7	Ret	9	8	7	5	9	8	270		9	261
10	Tom Jackson	10	Ret	8	7	10	12	9	8	7	7	Ret	11	Ret	10	11	12	13	9	10	Ret	190			190
11	Elliot Paterson	8	13	Ret	10			10	11	10	9	12	12	8	9	12	10	12	10	11	11	181		10	171
12	Will Palmer	NC	10	Ret	Ret	4	7	8	12			11	8	10	8	10	9	9	7	13	Ret	180		10	170
13	Nathan Harrison	4	8	Ret	5	7	5															92			92
14	Freddie Lee											10	Ret	9	Ret	8	7	10	Ret	Ret	9	76			76
15	George Gamble	2	3	Ret	DNS																	59		9	50
16	Finlay Ractliffe			Ret	9															12	Ret	21			21
17	Ricky Collard							11	Ret													10			10
	Aiden Moffat																			Ret	NC	0			0
Pos	Driver	BHI		DON		THR		OUL		CRO		SNE		KNO		ROC		SIL		BHGP		Total			Pts

Notes and References

News: Ginetta to boost junior motorsport career ladder, rookie style!. Ginetta.com. Ginetta Cars. 13 January 2012. 22 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090934/http://www.ginetta.com/news_article?id=477. 4 March 2016. dead.
News: Ginetta Juniors gear up for Brands opener. Ginetta.com. Ginetta Cars. 29 March 2012. 31 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402165023/http://www.ginetta.com/news_article?id=542. 2 April 2015. dead.
Turner. Kevin. 23 February 2012. News in Brief. Autosport. 207. 8. 85. Teddington, Middlesex. Haymarket Publications. Charles. Bradley. William Palmer, son of circuit boss Jonathan, will return to Ginetta Juniors for a full season in 2012. The 15-year-old brother of GP2 racer Jolyon, who contested a part-season in 2011 with Hillspeed, will drive for HHC Motorsport..
Turner. Kevin. 9 February 2012. Robertson back for title attack. Autosport. 207. 6. 86. Teddington, Middlesex. Haymarket Publications. Charles. Bradley. Ginetta Junior frontrunner Charlie Robertson will return to the series for a second season this year with HHC Motorsport...Robertson will drive alongside former kart racer Tom Jackson, who has graduated from HHC's Junior Academy..
Turner. Kevin. 1 March 2012. New Irish team to Ginettas. Autosport. 207. 9. 82. Teddington, Middlesex. Haymarket Publications. Charles. Bradley. Ex-Formula Vauxhall race winner Wayne Douglas will enter a new team in Ginetta Junior this year to run series frontrunner Niall Murray and Irish graduate Andrew Watson. Douglas...will run two Ginetta G40s under the Douglas Motorsport banner..
News: Ginetta recruit stars of the future and discover Nathan Harrison. Ginetta.com. Ginetta Cars. 21 December 2011. 22 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120315124120/http://www.ginetta.com/news_article?id=485. 15 March 2012. dead.