Jamie Caroline stars for Pirtek at Donington Park

Uncategorised,Racing

Pirtek Racing’s Jamie Caroline drove an incredible race in round four of the KICK Start Energy Ginetta Junior Championship at Donington Park over the weekend (18/19 April). From 20th place on the grid for the weekend’s second race, he overtook 16 cars in just nine laps to finish an incredible fourth.

Caroline, 16 years-old, has been selected by Pirtek Racing and Andrew Jordan for support in the series for young racers and is among the key championship contenders with the HHC Motorsport squad. Just how competitive the Ginetta Junior season is was once again demonstrated in qualifying when less than a second covered the top 19 drivers, with Jamie posting eighth best time only 19-hundredths of a second away from pole position.

“It was really tight in qualifying but I didn’t get a tow from another car so that made it harder to be right at the front of the times,” said Jamie. Unfortunately, things got worse in the opening race as he battled to make up places. “I got the run on another car out of the Old Hairpin and went round the outside at Schwantz Curve, but they squeezed me onto the grass. I held my line and they squeezed me again and I locked up and spun into the gravel.”

He rejoined to finish a frustrated 20th, which would also mean starting Sunday’s race from 20th place on the 25-car grid. However, that set the scene for the drive of the race as Jamie turned in a sensational performance to charge right through to fourth place after just nine laps of all-action racing.

“I’ve always enjoyed battling through the pack. I made three places off the line and one more at the first corner. I think I passed seven cars on the first lap and just picked them off from there. I’m really happy with that performance!”

Now, Jamie will turn his attention to the next two races at the high-speed Thruxton circuit over the weekend of 9/10 May. He is currently seventh in the points after the first four races of the season.

Pirtek is Europe’s number one provider of hydraulic solutions and mobile hose replacement, with over 170 centres supported by over 700 mobile service workshops throughout Europe. Offering solutions to a number of business sectors, including the automotive industry.