Media Release: Walkinshaw Nets Tenth At Croft
Croft, North Yorkshire – Sunday, June 24, 2012; Fergus Walkinshaw took another top ten finish in the second of three Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup races at Croft on Sunday June 24, to maintain his seventh place in the championship points. On the back of a strong seventh place on Saturday, the 21 year-old from near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire finished tenth in this afternoon's first race, but was forced into retirement in the second, with bodywork damage whilst avoiding a first corner collision.
After a promising start to the weekend, in which the Oxford Brookes University student proved among the pace-setters in both practice sessions and qualifying, Walkinshaw was hoping for another solid finish in round 12, which kicked off at 12.45. Lining up seventh Walkinshaw made a storming getaway to move ahead of Jake Hill and Josh Wakefield off the line and get alongside Colin White going into the first corner.
However entering the right-hander at Clerveux, the 21 year-old was forced wide and had to drop back to seventh, to avoid hitting another car. Getting the run on both Hill and Wakefield again as the trio headed into Tower Bend for the first time, he was hit by both cars, and as they headed into the hairpin for the first time Walkinshaw was tipped into a spin by Hill, which dropped him to dead last, and with a mammoth task ahead.
A strong drive by the automotive engineering student over the remaining 14 laps allowed Walkinshaw to pick off several cars, including a superb move for 14th at the Complex, and another, a lap later to claim 13th at Sunny. With the damage sustained in the collision now badly affecting the handling of his Century Motorsport Ginetta G55, Walkinshaw did well to hold on to the tail of the top ten battle, crossing the line 11th at the flag. Following the race, Hill was adjudged by the officials to have gained an unfair advantage in the collision and had 28 seconds added to his finishing time, promoting Walkinshaw to tenth.
Starting race two from the fifth row, another superb getaway allowed Walkinshaw to move up several places going into turn one. However before the completion of the lap, the #91 car dived into the pits with damage sustained when avoiding a first corner accident involving another car. The resultant impact with a tyre bale ripped off the rear wing and forced instant retirement.
“In the first race today, I made a great start and managed to get the jump on Jake Hill and Josh Wakefield off the line and went into Clerveux side-by-side with Colin White," said Walkinshaw. "However I got forced out wide which allowed them to get by. I got a run on Hill and Wakefield going into Tower Bend and they both tried to push me out and we touched, however I was certain I could get the positions back.
"We went into the hairpin side by side and I was tapped into a spin by Hill, which dropped me right to the back of the field and damaged the tracking. The vibration was so bad, I actually thought I had a rear puncture and the tyre was completely wrecked, with no tread left by the finish.
"In the second race I made another good start but going into the first corner I tried to avoid another car going off and went off into the gravel and eventually the tyre bale, which ripped off the rear wing. I went into the pits but there was nothing they could do in the time we had remaining. It's a disappointing end to the weekend which started off so well, but we'll put it all behind us and head to the next rounds looking for a better result."
Fergus now enjoys a six-week summer break before the next triple-header rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup which will support the MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk, over the weekend of 4/5 August, 2012. Live timing of those races will as usual, be available via www.ginetta.com/live while Fergus' official Facebook and Twitter feeds will follow his progress over the weekend at www.facebook.com/FergusWalkinshaw and www.twitter.com/FergusPR
Media Contact: Emma Spearing
Mobile: +44 (0) 7736 341828 | E-mail: emma.spearing@hazelpr.com
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