The Richardson Racing team was able to celebrate victory for the third straight meeting in the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship after another strong weekend on track at Thruxton.
The Corby-based outfit headed for the fastest circuit on the calendar in confident mood, with drivers James Taylor, Will Martin and Casper Stevenson all seeking to push towards the sharp end of the grid.
Will was the best placed of the trio in qualifying having posted the third quickest time, with Casper starting race one just ahead of James in ninth.
It was James who was the man on a mission when the lights went out however, rocketing up to third on the opening lap, with Will and Casper slipping back to fifth and 15th.
By the end of lap two, Will had fought his way up into P2 and then hit the front at Goodwood a lap later – securing a lead he would keep to the finish with a controlled drive that saw him edge away from the chasing pack to earn his maiden race victory.
Battling hard behind, James got up as high as second with a fine move around the outside at Church but would then find himself shuffled back down the order as a huge gaggle of cars fought for the podium places. Multiple bouts of contact would ultimately lead to a slow puncture, that saw him slip back to 15th place.
After the opening lap, Casper battled hard in the pack to make up places and worked his way through to tenth by the finish – securing a place on the podium as the third best of the rookie drivers.
The grid for the second race saw Will lining up in fourth place, with Casper just behind in sixth and James in ninth.
The opening lap would prove to be one of mixed fortunes for the team, with contact going through the Complex resulting in a spin for Will that dropped him to the back of the field and left him requiring a pit stop.
Having jumped up into third spot on the opening lap, Casper was able to run inside the top three throughout the race, lapping quickly and consistently for his first overall podium in the series.
As had been the case in race one, James found himself in the wars in the middle of the pack and a spin on lap three saw him drop down to 18th place. From there, he fought back to take the flag in twelfth place, with Will consistently lapping as quick as the leaders after his pit stop, but ending up a lap down in 22nd place.
At the end of the weekend, James sits third in the championship standings, with Will now in eighth and Casper in eleventh, as fourth best of the rookie drivers.
Will Martin, #10 (Battle, East Sussex), said
“It was an amazing weekend for me on track and to secure my first win is fantastic. To do it by more than six seconds around a circuit like Thruxton is incredible and I’ve never enjoyed my racing as much as I did in that one!
“I owe it all to my family, the team and my sponsors because they all do a brilliant job to get me out on track to do my best and show what I can do. I wouldn’t be able to do it without their support.”
Casper Stevenson, #25 (London), said
“It’s been a bit of an up and down weekend but I’m really pleased to end it with a podium finish. I’d hoped to qualify higher than I did but didn’t quite manage to get a tow and it left me right in the middle of the pack for the opening race. It wasn’t easy after the opening lap so to recover for a top ten was a solid result.
“I really wanted to get onto the overall podium and it’s nice to have now been able to do it. Hopefully it will be the first of many this season.”
James Taylor, #66 (Rotherham, Yorkshire), said
“This weekend has been one to forget for me to be honest and I just have to put it behind me and look ahead to the rounds that are still to come.
“Things haven’t gone my way but have sorted some of the problems we had and we will learn from this weekend. My focus is on taking each of the remaining races as they come and fighting for more wins.”