Joe thrilled by his class podium spot
ROCHDALE racing driver Joe Cruttenden secured his best result of his career last weekend, taking a class podium spot in the MG Trophy Championship at Knockhill Race Circuit in Scotland.
In just his inaugural year in the sport, the JDC Racing Team driver took his A&D Appliances Oldham backed MG ZR to a season-best third in Class C during the final race of the weekend. Along with his 4th spot in the opener, Cruttenden now sits third in class and tenth overall in the hotly contested single-make formula.
The 27-year-old is enjoying his first season behind the wheel of a racing car, having previously been involved in Autograss and latterly co-driving in rallies across Europe. In a shift of direction, Cruttenden has launched into one of the most popular racing championships in the UK and is climbing up the leaderboard with every race.
The MG Trophy Championship would head north of the border for rounds seven and eight with the Fife track providing a unique “switch” feature of racing around both directions of the circuit during the weekend. Just three weeks ago, Cruttenden took a confidence boosting fourth at Silverstone and he would head to Scotland with the aim of replicating that success.
After a brief test on Friday evening, Cruttenden would knuckle down on Saturday mornings anti-clockwise tour to see his times tumbling during the qualifying session. The undulating and narrow hillside circuit would make the going tougher than expected and early traffic meant the JDC Racing pilot would see the best of his tyres disappear before the track became clear. Fifth in class was the result, although just one second covered the gap to third.
Sadly all the hard work would be undone with a slow start off the line in the opening race, dropping Cruttenden down the order to the back of the field. Contact on lap four would stunt progress further still but a mature drive over the closing stages of the race saw him claw his way back up to fourth in class by the chequered flag.
Sunday would see a shift to the traditional clockwise direction and the PEC Automotive and Guide Bridge MOT & Service Centre supported racer found a turn of speed overnight, holding third for much of the second qualifying session of the weekend. Cruttenden was pipped into fourth for race two.
In traditional Knockhill fashion, the weather played its part in the race with a downpour minutes before the start. Cruttenden opted for slicks which eventually proved to be the correct decision as it soon became a drying track. Not that it helped as, despite a decent getaway off the line, became embroiled in a slowing pack, shuffling down towards the back.
An early safety car helped close the field and the rookie kept the pressure on the front-runners in the class. With seven laps to go, Cruttenden made his move on the final hairpin to take third, a place he would secure to cross the line for his best result in the sport to date.
“Knockhill is one of the hardest circuits to master and to come here and secure my best result this season is pretty overwhelming,” said Cruttenden. “We didn’t have much luck at Silverstone and I knew I just had to keep it together and stay neat and tidy, especially here and I’d reap the rewards. It’s a great feeling to get a class podium just a few rounds into my career so now the plan is to make sure they come a little more regularly.”