Richardson Racing enjoyed another successful weekend on track as the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship headed for Donington Park for the penultimate weekend of the campaign.
The Corby-based team headed for the East Midlands circuit once again fielding a two-car entry for Robert de Haan and Edward Pearson, with the team eager to build on a race winning performance two weeks earlier at Silverstone.
Qualifying saw Robert secure fourth place on the grid for the opening place, with Edward lining up in 16th spot having lapped within a second of pole position.
The opening race would be an action packed affair at the front, despite limited racing laps as a result of two safety car periods, and Robert would be firmly in the fight for the podium places until being shuffled back down the order to sixth spot three laps from home.
However, the Dutch racer fought back well through the final two laps to work his way back up into fourth spot, handing him top honours amongst the rookie racers.
Unfortunately, one of the two safety car periods would be as a result of an incident involving Edward, who had been shuffled down the order after contact and then suffered a spin at the Old Hairpin before being collected by one of the following drivers.
Both cars were able to line up on the grid for race two, with Robert starting from fourth once again and Edward in 20th spot.
Robert had moved up into second spot although further contact for Edward had dropped him back down to 25th when the race was halted as a result of an incident on track – with the action then resuming over a shortened distance of just six laps.
Showing strong pace throughout, Robert was a firm fixture in a huge battle for the win and would briefly hold the lead before crossing the line in third place for his seventh podium of the season – and a second rookie win of the weekend.
From 25th on the grid, Edward enjoyed a storming opening lap to rocket up into 17th and he would continue with his forward progress to cross the line in 13th spot having made up twelve places.
Whilst the leading two drivers in race three were able to break away from the pack behind, Robert would spend the whole race embroiled in a huge battle for the final step of the podium.
The current Ginetta Scholarship winner would end up crossing the line in fifth spot, taking third place amongst the rookie and strengthening his championship position ahead of the season finale at Brands Hatch.
Edward would be in the wars once again in the final race after more contact in the pack left him with a loose bonnet on the car, and he would battle hard to bring home a 20th place finish that wasn’t a fair reflection of his pace.
Edward Pearson (Guildford, Surrey) – #41 Ginetta G40:
“I got involved in a clash at the start of race one which dislodged the bonnet pins on the car and then had an incident at the Old Hairpin that ended up with me getting collected by someone else. Race two there was more contact but after the restart, I was able to get up to 13th which I was really happy with.
“I thought we would have the pace in race three but there was some more contact in that race that cost me ground so it ended up being a tricky weekend that could have delivered more.”
Robert De Haan (Eerbeek, Netherlands) – #46 Ginetta G40:
“I wanted to try and get a win this weekend but we have scored a lot of points which is good for the rookie championship, and it also means we have a chance of fighting for a top three overall finish in the final rounds.
“This has been a circuit I’ve really enjoyed even though it hasn’t been an easy one, and I’m looking forward to going to Brands Hatch for the final round as we were quick there in testing and I’m confident we can do well.”