Finlay Lines Makes Strong Ginetta Junior Debut at Brands Hatch
Finlay Lines made a positive start to his car racing career last weekend as he made his Ginetta Junior Championship debut at Brands Hatch GP.
Having made the move from karting into cars for the first time, the 14-year-old faced a completely new challenge as he took on his first competitive weekend in the championship with the race team Elite Motorsport.
Despite having no previous Ginetta Junior race experience, Lines quickly settled into the weekend and showed strong pace from the outset, qualifying an impressive seventh for his debut.
Race 1 provided Finlay with his first taste of wheel-to-wheel competition in the championship. Starting from the third row, he battled hard throughout the race, after dropping back to last place after finding the gravel trap at the last turn, Finlay kept his foot on the power and rejoined the track like he’d been doing this for years and re joined the race. He caught the pack and eventually finished 12th, gaining valuable experience of the close and highly competitive racing that Ginetta Junior is renowned for.
Sunday brought an encouraging step forward. Starting sixth for Race 2, Finlay produced a confident drive to secure his first top-ten finish in car racing, crossing the line in eighth position after another closely fought race. With the top 11 cars crossing the finish line 1.2 seconds between them all.
With the experience of two races behind him, Finlay headed into the final race of the weekend determined to finish his debut on a positive note. Starting eighth, he once again found himself in the middle of a competitive midfield battle. As the weather conditions changed and rain fell on circuit, he brought the car home in 11th place. Great result with limited experience in those conditions.
While the final results only tell part of the story, the Brands Hatch weekend provided Finlay with three valuable races of experience as he continues to adapt to the demands of car racing.
From his strong qualifying performance to his first top-ten finish in Race 2, Finlay demonstrated that he has the pace to compete in the championship while also gaining important experience that will help him continue to develop throughout the season.
The weekend marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Finlay following his successful karting career. He will now look to build on his Brands Hatch experience when the Ginetta Junior Championship returns to the track.
Finlay Lines Racing would like to thank Elite Motorsport, all partners, sponsors, family and supporters for their continued support throughout this exciting new chapter.
