Richardson Racing enjoyed a fine weekend on track at Silverstone with an impressive victory in its home round of the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship season.
The Corby-based team went into the weekend running a stream-lined two-car line-up after team regular Oliver Flashman was forced to sit out the meeting.
Come qualifying, Dutch racer Robert De Haan qualified an encouraging fifth overall as the second best of the rookies, with team-mate Edward Pearson lining up 13th on the grid.
The opening race of the weekend would take place across 11 laps and a solid start saw Robert move up into the top three, where he ran for the first two laps.
Battling ahead of the leading pair of Aston Millar and Seb Hopkins to hit the front on lap three, Robert would hold the lead for the remainder of the race despite the best efforts of the chasing pack to find a way through, giving him a third victory of the campaign.
Edward was able to hold his position through the opening lap but an incident on lap two saw him drop back down to 25th place. However from that point on, a series of assertive overtaking moves saw him work his way back through the pack to take the chequered flag in 15th place.
From third on the grid for race two, Robert would be embroiled in a frantic battle for the podium positions throughout and would secure third place late on thanks to a move on Hopkins – earning him a second podium of the weekend as he also wrapped up the rookie win.
Edward once again fought hard in the midfield pack to take 13th place as he improved on his earlier result, recovering well from slipping back to 15th early on.
From third on the grid for race three, once again fought his way to the front of the pack and was running in second place going into the final lap. Making his move on Millar for the lead, Robert looked set for a second win of the campaign, but his rival would steal victory on the run to the line as the pair crossed the line for a photo finish.
For the third race in a row, Edward found himself caught up in plenty of squabbles on track that would prevent him from showing his true potential and he ended the weekend with a twelfth place finish.
Robert ends the weekend as top rookie in the standings in fourth overall, with Edward now holding 18th spot.
Edward Pearson (Guildford, Surrey) – #41 Ginetta G40:
“I was right in the action in all three races but I think we had the pace to be much higher up. I’ve made a few mistakes but have also been affected by mistakes from other drivers which has made the races tough and I know we could have had more.
“A better result in qualifying would have given me the chance to fight for a rookie podium at least this weekend but I’m sure we can improve at Donington Park and come back stronger.”
Robert De Haan (Eerbeek, Netherlands) – #46 Ginetta G40:
“I hadn’t been here before we arrived for testing but I was able to learn the track really quickly and it seemed to really suit me. The racing has been really tough at the front, so to get a win in race one was a good start, and I was happy with another podium in race two.
“I pushed hard to get to the front in race three and that was a win in my eyes because Millar was well off track to get back ahead on the run to the line. However it’s been a great weekend, particularly in terms of the rookies, and I’m in a good position going into the last two rounds.”