Adam Smalley battled back to the podium to leave Silverstone still leading the Ginetta Junior Championship – after an incredible car rebuild after a big crash in Race 1 threatened to derail his title bid.

The Ginetta Junior Championship headed to Silverstone for the penultimate round of the championship on the 15-16 September.

Smalley qualified 6th and 3rd at the power sensitive circuit – where a slipstream is worth a handful of free lap time.

 

Race One was sadly cut short for Smalley, as a four-car accident at the start of the race on Lap 3, eliminated the championship leader before his races could really start!

His Total Rail Solutions and Reflex Vans backed Elite Motorsport car was severely damaged, almost beyond repair.

 

Incredibly, the team managed to repair the car enough to get Smalley out for the 2nd race of the weekend later that day. Starting from 3rd, Smalley made a solid start to run with the leading pack from the off.

Despite the car balance being far from perfect due to the hasty, yet brilliant repair by the Elite Motorsport mechanics, Smalley managed to move into 2nd position on Lap 4.

 

The battle of the top 5 continued to rage all the way through the race, with no-one able to break away due to the ‘tow’ down the long back straight.

 

Smalley crossed the line a solid 4th position, all the more miraculous considering the state of the car just a few hours earlier after Race 1.

The third and final race of the weekend saw Smalley make a good start from 3rd on the grid, lining up behind teammate Louis Foster and Patrick Kibble as they negotiated the opening laps.

A furious battle for 2nd emerged, which allowed Foster to streak clear – while Smalley had a train of 6 cars all trying to pass the championship leader.

 

Smalley defended brilliantly, soaking up all the pressure to eventually establish a small gap to his pursuers in the closing stages, allowing him to finish a strong 2nd – meaning he would lead the standings heading into the final round at Brands Hatch in a fortnights time.

 

Smalley leads the championship on dropped scores with 593 from Foster who is 9 points further back – albeit who currently leads on total points, following Smalley’s race ending crash in Race 1 at Silverstone.

 

The Ginetta Junior Championship heads into the season finale at Brands Hatch GP on the 28-30 September perfectly poised for a final shootout to see who will be crowned the 2018 champion.