Media Release: Walkinshaw Ready For Rockingham

9/8/2011 11:06 AM EST

The next championship rounds at the Northamptonshire circuit, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, will mark Walkinshaw’s third outing in the fiercely competitive sportscar series after a three-year study break from racing.

The Scottish driver endured a tricky weekend last time out at his homeland circuit of Knockhill, coping with everything from rebuilding his car overnight due to non-fault contact in race one, to parts failure ruining his round 20 chances.

The 20 year-old, however, set an impressive pace in Knockhill qualifying, securing third on the grid with his best lap time less than two tenths of a second off pole position. Although hampered with clutch failure in round 19, he scored his best fifth-place class finish to date and eighth overall.

Despite misfortune in Scotland, the Oxford Brookes University student is already proving his potential and it’s sure to be only a matter of time before Walkinshaw returns to the podium. For now, the Oxfordshire racer will concentrate on developing his chariot throughout the remaining 2011 rounds with the option of taking up a full season in the series next year.

Racing at Rockingham for the first time in his self-constructed 3.7 litre V6 Ginetta G55, Walkinshaw is ready to tackle two 30 minute races in place of the usual three 20 minute Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup events.

As a precursor to the Ginetta GT Winter Cup, qualifying and a sprint race will take place on Saturday while Walkinshaw will encounter his first compulsory pit stop and mandatory two-wheel change on Sunday, adding a fresh new challenge to his second outing running with team FML.

Walkinshaw commented: “It’s been a few years since I last raced at Rockingham in the Ginetta Junior series, so I’m really looking forward to returning for the double-header Ginetta GT Supercup event.

“There are still some repairs to complete on the car after the challenges of Knockhill but we’ll be ready for testing at Rockingham next week. The set-up required for the Ginetta G55 seems to vary quite significantly from circuit-to-circuit, more so than with any other car I have driven, so it will be important to find a good balance in preparation for the event.

“The change in race format should also make things quite interesting as, like many of the drivers, I’ve not completed a mid-race pit stop before but it’s all good experience. It could level the playing field a little but we will just have to see how things work out.

“I’m really pleased with how the car is developing and I hope to continue that positive progress at Rockingham. I’ve proved I’ve got the pace, now I just need to get some race results under my belt.”

Walkinshaw’s Rockingham racing action starts on Saturday morning, with the 20-minute qualifying session at 10:45 preceding the first 30-minute race of the weekend at 16:50. Sunday’s pit stop race will take place at 15:20 with coverage live on ITV4 and live timing available from www.tsl-timing.com.

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