Donington Park played host to a memorable season-opener for the championships competing on the TOCA support package this past weekend (April 23/24).
Taking centre stage alongside the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, five all-action categories delighted fans with two blockbuster days of wheel-to-wheel entertainment under the flightpath of East Midlands airport.
Boasting a bumper grid of youngsters all hoping to forge a career in motorsport, the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship has always been good value down the years and 2022 looks to be no different as they produced an exhilirating trio of races.
Josh Rowledge claimed bragging rights in the season-opener as he charged to victory from third before he was denied by a mere 0.068s from clinching honours in race two, with Harri Reynolds pipping him to the line. Reynolds doubled his account for the weekend by charging to the top step of the podium in race three.
It’s been a winter of change for the ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA with just about everything being new, most importantly the car. Boasting a competitive grid of drivers all hoping to scale the single-seater mountain, the series kicked off what is a new era in style.
Hitech GP’s Alex Dunne withstood a Carlin charge in race one to take a commanding win before sophomore racer Georgi Dimitrov netted his first win for JHR Developments. Dunne then doubled his win tally with another dominant performance in race three.
The Porsche Carrera Cup GB is another to have introduced a new car for this season and it too didn’t disappoint. Making debut in the series, former British GT champion wrote his name into the history books by claiming victory in race ahead of Porsche Junior GB winner Adam Smalley.
Redline Racing enjoyed further success in race two as Matthew Graham produced a commanding drive to claim victory ahead of Theo Edgerton and Kiern Jewiss – who had endured a rollercoaster race day.
Tin top thrills were in high order courtesy of the Quaife MINI CHALLENGE JCW’s, with three barnstorming races putting fans on the edge of their seats. Sam Weller charged to the top step of the podium in the opening bout and then repeated the feat in race two. Race three spoils fell the way of Ronan Pearson, who produced a perfect safety car restart to pull clear of the chasing pack.
Rounding out the weekend’s action were three races from the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge, which came hot on the heels of competing over the Easter weekend at Oulton Park.
Will Orton claimed victory in race one before Will Jenkins made his mark in the race two, clinching a hard-fought win after a multi-car battle entertained at the front of the field. Jenkins then stormed to victory in race two before Connor Grady triumphed in race three.
To view the full classification of results from all sessions at Donington Park, CLICK HERE.