For 2008 we have entered the Club Ginetta Series using our G20 with the latest upgrade packages. These include new 1.8 Zetec engine, throttle bodies and revised cooling and exhaust systems. We now have a new colour scheme and new sponsors.

Rounds 1 and 2 Cadwell Park 6 th April
After some pre season testing at Elvington and Oulton Park our first outing was the Ginetta Festival at Cadwell. The weather was cold and often wet but some Saturday testing gave Stuart some good confidence in tricky conditions.

Sunday qualifying saw Stuart on pole position by nearly a second and in the race he made a superb start leaving guest driver and professional racer Barrie “Whizzo” Williams trailing into the first corner.

Stuart pulled out a healthy lead of about 8 seconds from Simon Moore but at about half distance a broken anti roll bar made the handling very difficult but Stuart held on to take the win, his first since 2005.

Race 2 and Stuart was 4th on the grid. Another cracking start saw him 2nd behind Moore at the first corner but at the entry to Park Straight there was confusion as Stuart and Moore made contact resulting in both spinning in a cloud of tyre smoke. Stuart emerged in 4 th place and by the end of lap 1 was 2nd . He harried leader Williams till the end of the race and finished 2nd, 4 seconds behind the leader and 25 seconds in front of third placed Gavin Mitchell, a former Ginetta champion.

A superb start to the season and we are looking forward to the next round at Snetterton.
www.ginettacars.com/ClubGinetta/Results08/CadwellR1_2results.htm

Rounds 3 and 4 Snetterton May 5th
After the fine performance at the opening rounds at Cadwell we set off to Snetterton with high hopes. There were only eight cars entered but as usual there was quality at the front and Stuart qualified on pole position for both races, firmly putting to rest memories of the crash of last year.

Race 1 saw a flag to flag tussle between Stuart, Giles Dawson and Paul Morgan, one of the Ginetta Cup runners with all three leading at one point or other, the win went to Dawson by half a second from Stuart. Morgan was ten seconds behind at the flag after a spin in the later stages.

Race 2 was something of a rerun in the early stages but Dawson managed to break away as Stuart was scrapping with Morgan, taking the runner up spot by a second. Another second place at a track where power counts is always good for us.
www.ginettacars.com/ClubGinetta/Results08/R3_4SnetRace.htm


May 24 - Extra Update
Stuart was asked to guest drive in a saloon car at Brands Hatch. The car, a 1959 Ford Falcon freshly built by www.ikclassicsandracing.co.uk for Mike Haigh was due for a shakedown race before entry to the Goodwood Revival meeting in September.

This was Stuart's first experience of racing a historic car, let alone left hand drive but he finished the race at Brands Hatch without any problems. We'll keep you posted on developments.


Rounds 5 and 6 Anglesey July 6th
Our first visit to the revamped circuit on Anglesey was one of mixed weather and fortunes. Howling gales, horizontal rain and brilliant sunshine throughout the weekend. The entry was bolstered by some of the guys from Ginetta giving their sales cars an outing.

Qualifying on a drying track Stuart was fourth on the grid for both races.

Race 1 and a good start saw Stuart up with the leaders but a mid race puncture required a pit stop. He rejoined 2 laps down and drove like a demon to unlap himself. End result was a few points for a finish but that's racing.

Race 2. Another cracking start and our man was second into the first corner which was the best we would see for the next 20 minutes. A lack of pace through and out of the corners meant Stuart was passed by car after car finishing the race a frustrated seventh.

We're off now to get some professional advice, watch this space!


Rounds 7 and 8 Silverstone August 10 th
After a poor outing at Anglesey we decided outside help was required so we engaged tha services of Reflex Racing. They have a wealth of experience of racing in general and Ginettas in particular. A testing session in one of their cars at Mallory proved to us that the handling of our car wasn't up to scratch so we sent it off to Reflex at Ashford in Kent for a full going over.

We tested our newly built car at Snetterton before the Silverstone rounds and Stuart pronounced that the handling was noticeably better. We set off for Silverstone in high spirits and we were not to be disappointed.

Qualifying on Sunday morning gave us a front row slot just 0.1 seconds shy of pole man Phil Sykes, one of the front runners from the Ginetta Senior runners.

The heavens opened just before race I so with a sodden track and needing to score good points Stuart came home in a safe second place, some way behind Sykes but with a bag of points and a podium finish.

It was dry for the second race and with the front grid positions pulled out of a hat Stuart was pleased to be on pole. A cracking start as usual and he was well placed at the first corner and in the lead by the second. He led the rest of the race finishing five seconds up on Sykes and with fastest lap as well. He also established the lap record for the class, what a day.

Not much work to do before the next round at Mallory .

We are greatly indebted to the assistance we have received from Derek Holden at www.reflexgb.co.uk and would strongly recommend their services.

Click on track names to visit their websites.

April 6 : Round 1 and 2
Cadwell Park

May 5 : Round 3 and 4
Snetterton

July 6 : Round 5 and 6
Anglesy

August 10 : Round 7 and 8
Silverstone

September 7 : Round 9 and 10
Mallory park

October 4 : Round 11, 12 and 13
Lydden Hill

October 14, 15 : Round 14 and 15
Brands Hatch