TEENAGER HARRI STARS ON DEBUT
ONE of Welsh motorsport’s rising stars – Harri Reynolds of Narberth – made his debut at the wheel of a top-line Ginetta sports car at the fastest track in Britain.
He was in a Ginetta Junior Championship race that formed part of the opening meeting of the prestigious British Touring Car Championship at the famed Thruxton circuit in Wiltshire.
Reynolds is only 14, but has many karting successes to his name, including being named Top Rookie in the Rotax Karting Championship of 2020.
Testing of the car was limited to pre-race weekend, but the West Walian made good use of the available time.
But after a downpour he was faced with a wet circuit and took an understandably cautious approach to a first 15-minute practice session.
It saw the young Welsh driver lower down the order than he would have wished, but in the following qualifying session he was able to increase his pace despite being held up in traffic.
In race one he flew past seven of his rivals on the opening lap, fighting through the field before a safety car was brought out.
Once the race resumed, he was able to finish a creditable 16th on his rain-drenched debut.
Race two took place later in the day and the Reynolds Fencingsponsored car began from 18th on the grid. But Reynolds battled through to take the chequered flag in 14th.
Before his debut, Reynolds said: “We looked at joining the Ginetta Junior series last year, but with the pandemic difficulties we concentrated on raising the budget for this 2021 season.
“I’ve had much-appreciated support from my dad Julian, and all my family, and I’m also appreciative of the help from Greenlight Sports Management.
“I’m also with a great team in Assetto Motorsport, headed up by Jim Edwards and run by Simon Traves, and my mechanic on the Ginetta is Liam Barnard from Cardiff, who knows the car inside out.
“People have asked what my championship targets are, but my answer to that is that I’m not setting myself any.
“Of course, top rookie again would be nice, but this is a big learning year. I’m getting in as much simulator practice as I can, training hard on our family farm to keep fit, and avoiding hot dogs and burgers at the circuits!
“There were no spectators at Thruxton but as the BTCC year progresses the hope is they can return to the tracks, but each round will be televised by ITV4, so at least that helps.
“I’m used to competition from my karting years, but I can tell you that two races in a Ginetta at Thruxton in the rain was quite a weekend for me.”