Dutch driver Rocco Coronel discovered that things don’t always run smoothly during the seventh and penultimate round of the British Ginetta Junior Championship season at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire. He was held up in qualifying, which meant he had to start the first and second races further back than usual. He then got involved in several battles, in which he fell back somewhat, but also attracted attention with some impressive overtaking manoeuvres. After some strong overtaking, the R Racing driver finished the weekend with an eighth place and two third places. « Another two podium places and plenty of points scored, » said the Red Bull Junior driver, who still has a comfortable lead in the championship standings.
The Croft circuit, once built on the site of a former RAF air base in the north of England, was another new discovery for Rocco Coronel. « It’s a nice, fast track, » he said, « but I prefer Brands Hatch, for example. Here, it’s a bit too much about slipstreaming. » The two test days leading up to the weekend went well for him, with Coronel showing excellent pace and consistently being among the front runners.
Qualifying, in which the fastest time determined the starting positions for the first race and the second-fastest time determined the starting grid for the second race, did not go so well for Coronel. « We always have to go out on the track in groups for qualifying, and I had a driver in front of me who was having problems with his car’s electronics. He was constantly in my way, which meant I couldn’t set any faster lap times, » he said. As a result, he ultimately had to settle for seventh place on the starting grid for the first race and sixth on the grid for race two.
With a good getaway in the opening race, Coronel immediately made up some ground, but in the heat of the battle, his progress was initially halted: « We were really driving three abreast through the corner, but there was contact, which caused me to fall back to 19th place, » he said. « From that position, I had to start my chase again. » He succeeded: Coronel kept up a good pace, made up one position after another and finished the eleven-lap race in eighth place.
Coronel got off to a very good start in the second race, laying a solid foundation for his progress. Once again, the race did not go without a struggle, he said: « I had already gained a few places, but then I was pushed onto the grass, causing me to fall back again, this time to eighth place. I was then able to drive well again and eventually finished third. It was a really good race. »
Because the results of the second race also determine the starting grid for the third race, Coronel was able to start the final race in third place. This time, it was the rain that presented a new challenge: « Just before we got on the grid, there was a real downpour. Those were new conditions, because I had never driven in the rain at Croft before, but that went well too. » In the early stages, Coronel immediately climbed to second place, but he briefly lost control of the car, causing him to lose the position he had gained. For the remainder of the race, he kept the car under control and finished third again.
« All in all, I’m still quite satisfied with the outcome of the weekend, » he said. « The race in which I moved up from 19th to eighth place was particularly good, and I also managed to secure two podium places and score valuable points. » With three races to go, on 4 and 5 October at the Donington Park circuit, Coronel leads the championship standings with a total of 637 points. His lead over his closest rival, Fred Green, is 81 points, with some drop scores still to be taken into account. « I’ve raced at Donington before, and I hope to end the season there with some good results, » said Rocco Coronel.