TAYLOR IN A GINETTA CLASS OF HIS OWN
Having claimed four race victories during the regular Ginetta Junior season en route to finishing fifth in the final standings, James Taylor was expected to be a strong contender in the Winter Series at Brands Hatch last weekend, and he did not disappoint.
After taking pole position for three of the weekend’s four races, Taylor took a clean sweep of race wins to seal the Winter Series title and add his name to a roll of honour that includes Seb Morris, Jamie Caroline, Seb Priaulx and recently-crowned Ginetta Junior series champion James Hedley.
Differing conditions threatened to provide variables and challenges over the weekend for all the drivers, but Taylor displayed confidence from the outset.
“The car has been set up really well this weekend, both in the dry and the wet,” Taylor said. “So I knew if I made a good start and kept the car on track, I was in a good place to win.”
Taylor took a lights-to-flag win by over four seconds from Daniel Gale in a dry race one, but not before Ben Kasperczak and Joel Pearson had tangled at Graham
Hill Bend battling over the runner-up spot. Further back, 2020 Ginetta Scholarship winner Tom Lebbon impressed with a fine drive to fifth from 10th on the grid. It was a performance that was to earn him the “Hard Charger” award.
Track conditions changed for the worse in the second event, but Taylor repeated his earlier performance with another faultless drive. Behind him, a cautious Gale claimed another second place finish ahead of
Pearson, who had fought his way past Aston Millar at Graham Hill Bend on the fourth lap.
“It was difficult to match the pace of
James in these conditions and I didn’t want to throw it off,” Gale said. “But I’m happy with the way things have gone today.”
Millar denied Taylor pole position for race three, but a pass around the outside of Paddock shortly after the start instantly gave Taylor another lead he would never lose. Millar kept Taylor honest in the early stages but, as the race unfolded,
Millar began to fall into the clutches of third-placed Bailey Voisin.
Voisin, who had endured a difficult day on Saturday following a tangle with Zak Taylor in race one, bounced back by powering his way past Millar at Paddock on lap 13 of 16.
Race four provided the best action of the weekend and also provided the dominant Taylor with his sternest test. After dropping to third on lap one, he fought back to dispose Millar of the lead at Paddock before sealing the win and rounding off his season in perfect style, despite the close attentions of Pearson in the final stages.
“They’ve got closer and closer to me as the weekend has gone on,” Taylor added. “I didn’t want to do anything stupid [in that last race] but it was tough, Joel was all over me.”
As for the future, Taylor is keeping his options open.
“We’re still undecided on what we are going to do next year, but winning the
Winter Series has opened up chances for us to look at our options, whether that be in G55s or elsewhere,” he said.