Tom Wood Up to 2nd in Ginetta Juniors after Croft

Date:
June 12, 2017
Event:
Croft
|
2016-2017
Season

Tom Wood’s progression up the championship order continues after a fantastic turn around at Croft. Despite some misfortunes in qualifying, three top five finishes, including a podium, have helped the Donington Park backed driver up to 2nd in the championship as he continues his assault for the 2017 title.

Qualifying was almost very good, but luck didn’t quite go Tom’s way. The session was very wet which made it tricky for all drivers, but pushing hard Tom put himself 2nd with just minutes to spare. The lap was then deducted with Tom running wide at the Jim Clark Esses and on his next lap just as Tom was about to go 3rd the red flags came out four seconds before he crossed the line. This put him momentarily 3rd, but the lap being taken away gave Tom a 6th and 16th.

The qualifying result for race one wasn’t too bad and was something Tom could work with. After a strong start Tom managed to drop the chasing pack and set about chasing the lead three down. The conditions were horrendous; visibility was very limited and it was calculated risks that rewarded drivers. Tom’s driving was doing just that as he closed in on the leaders by half a second a lap and on the penultimate lap he had caught 3rd place driver and championship rival Tom Gamble.

Biding his time Tom waited for his opportunity which came on the final lap, going into the Jim Clark esses at 100mph Tom made a move many would have never even considered to take a well deserved podium.

For race two Tom was faced with a much trickier task as he would start all the way down in 16th place. A perfect start saw him gain six places off the line, but as Tom gambled for the outside another driver crashed into him which saw Tom going into the gravel but somehow keeping position. With now mud and rain on his wet screen, limited visibility somehow led to Tom making more places as he made two places in the next two laps.

Now up to 8th place, Tom would find it more difficult to make places, but he was the fastest driver on track by some six tenths of a second! Over the next three laps Tom passed Adam Smalley and Daniel Harper, before the race was cut short meaning he wouldn’t get the chance to make anymore places. In just six laps Tom made 11 places and was just 1.2 seconds behind 3rd a driver he was almost a second a lap quicker than. Now flying with confidence Tom would start race three from 5th in much better conditions. Despite a great start Tom had to avoid an incident as two drivers ahead came together, one a close championship rival. Although it had gained Tom two places, getting past the incident saw him lose touch to the lead four. But Tom was determined to get a second podium of the weekend and lunged Smalley from a few lengths back to pull off a stunning overtake for 4th.

A safety car then came out which would bring Tom to the top three and with one lap left once the safety car came in he made an attempt to take 3rd which didn’t quite come off, but a 4th with fastest lap was a great result for Tom and would move him up to 2nd in the championship! Tom is 52 points behind Tom Gamble with five weekends gone and five still to go.

Tom Wood “The weekend didn’t quite go to plan, but I was very happy to be awarded extra points for fastest laps in two races. The team have done a great job for me. I hope I can get a few wins under my belt at Snetterton, at the end of July. I have some wonderful sponsors supporting me and hope to do them proud.”

It’s now the summer break for the Ginetta Junior Championship which will return at Snetterton on the 29th/30th July.

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