Media Release: Walkinshaw’s Recovery Charge Equals Best Result At Rockingham

9/19/2011 6:41 AM EST

The impressive recovery drive came after a disappointing start to his third race weekend of the season in his self-built Ginetta G55. In a continuation of the poor luck he suffered at Knockhill two weeks ago, a tyre issue prevented him from qualifying higher than 13th place. Then the driveshaft snapped approaching the grid for round 21 on Saturday afternoon, leaving the 20 year-old Oxfordshire racer stuck on the start line.

With the drive shaft replaced, Walkinshaw made a solid start from 16th on the grid on Sunday afternoon. Wisely steering clear of the first corner chaos, Walkinshaw mounted his charge through the pack, taking Michael Doyle and Lee Pattison to finish lap one in 13th overall and eighth in class.

Firmly establishing himself in the middle of the battle for 10th position, Walkinshaw then took the G50 of Jody Fannin on lap three while the five car train ran mere tenths of a second apart.

For the first time this season the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup round included a mandatory 92 second pit stop in which every car had to change two wheels. Although closing on Aaron Williamson, while held up in heavy traffic Walkinshaw timed his stop to perfection shortly after the pit window opened, approaching 10 minutes in to the reduced 25 minute race.

The Ginetta Supercup newcomer took the new challenge in his stride and his strategy paid dividends while the FML crew delivered a faultless pit stop. Walkinshaw rejoined the fray in eighth place and put in a flying lap to jump G50 driver Jake Hill for seventh overall as he exited the pits.

With a brand new set of tyres saved from qualifying bolted on to his 3.7 litre V6 Ginetta G55, Walkinshaw was able to set an impressive pace in the closing stages, reducing Andrew Richardson’s two second plus advantage to just 0.5 seconds in four laps of the 1.94 mile Rockingham International circuit.

Having set his fastest time on lap nine, Walkinshaw slashed his personal best by another half a second on the penultimate lap but maintained position to the chequered flag. His measured nine place assault through the field secured seventh overall and fifth in class, equalling his best class result of the season so far, scored in round 19 at Knockhill.

“I’m really pleased with my round 22 result and scoring another fifth place class finish,” said Walkinshaw. “The tyre issue and driveshaft failure yesterday was rather frustrating, but that’s racing and the main thing is that I bounced back to get another race finish under my belt.

“Some significant set up changes made a huge difference to the handling of the car which gave me the confidence to push. Rockingham isn’t one of my favourite circuits and we’re still developing the car. Each circuit demands a completely different set up and Rockingham was only my third race meeting driving the G55, so it’s naturally going to take time to build that experience and have more confidence in the race set up.

“I think we coped really well with our first pit stop race. We got the strategy just right and the crew did a great job. The car just got better and better and although the tyres were naturally falling off towards the end of the race I was still able to set my personal best lap time.

“If the race had run to the full 30 minute distance I think I would have had a good shot at taking sixth overall, but I’m still happy with the result. Every round is a fresh learning curve and I’m enjoying the challenge.”
Walkinshaw will now turn his attentions to the penultimate race weekend of the season which takes place around the infamous Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, Kent, on October 1&2.

For full race results visit www.tsl-timing.com and for further information on the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup visit www.ginetta.com/championship_supercup

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Emma Spearing, Hazel PR:
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