Taylor wins Silverstone finale in photo finish
3 min read
James Taylor won the final Ginetta Junior race at Silverstone in a photo finish with Gus Burton and Lorcan Hanafin, despite the chequered flag not being shown.
The clock had already ticked to zero when the drivers ran down the start-finish straight three abreast. The last lap board was shown as the trio crossed the line, Taylor just 0.02s ahead of Hanafin, and they continued to battle for what appeared to be the final lap.
Taylor ran wide, allowing Hanafin, Will Martin, and James Hedley to pass the Richardson Racing driver, before Martin snatched the race lead from Hanafin.
But the chequered flag was called midway through the final lap scrap and results counted back to the last lap, putting Taylor on the top step of the podium and Martin back in fifth.
It was a frustrating end to a chaotic race in which there was often a five car battle at the front of the field.
Hanafin snatched the lead off the line before a small mistake dropped Taylor back to third and into a battle with Hedley.
The pair were joined by Zak O’Sullivan and Martin, making it a three-way fight for third while Burton challenged Hanafin at the front of the field.
Taylor managed to shake off Hedley and passed Burton for second before taking the race lead back from Hanafin before a safety car was brought out when Ben Kasperczak and Ethan Brooks came together.
Hanafin and Burton both kept the pressure on Taylor on the restart, with Burton briefly taking the race lead before being pulled back into the battle.
Taylor managed to just hold on ahead of Hanafin and Burton, taking his second win of the weekend after another tough battle with Hanafin and Burton in the second race of the weekend.
As in race three, Hanafin briefly assumed the race lead but was soon shuffled back as positions changed almost every lap among the top four. Taylor was able to edge away from the rest of the field in the final laps to take the win 1.1s ahead of Hanafin, with Burton third and Hedley P4.
Zak O’Sullivan finished fifth, securing the rookie cup.
Hedley matched his race two result in race three, finishing fourth ahead of Martin and rookie winner Joel Pearson.
Josh Rattican and Haytham Qarajouli took seventh and eighth, with O’Sullivan and Ethan Hawkey rounding out the top 10.
Image Credit: Caroline Rhea
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| Position | Name | Number | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Taylor | 66 | Richardson Racing | 20m00.310s |
| 2 | Lorcan Hanafin | 23 | Douglas Motorsport | +0.020s |
| 3 | Gus Burton | 57 | Douglas Motorsport | +0.091s |
| 4 | James Hedley | 67 | Elite Motorsport | +0.313s |
| 5 | Will Martin | 10 | Richardson Racing | +1.125s |
| 6 | Joel Pearson | 29 | R Racing | +1.307s |
| 7 | Josh Rattican | 21 | R Racing | +2.563s |
| 8 | Haytham Qarajouli | 75 | Total Control Racing | +3.432s |
| 9 | Zak O’Sullivan | 51 | R Racing | +4.485s |
| 10 | Ethan Hawkey | 40 | Richardson Racing | +5.381s |
| 11 | Ben O’Hare | 95 | Premiership Academy | +5.717s |
| 12 | Casper Stevenson | 25 | Richardson Racing | +7.837s |
| 13 | Dan Gale | 68 | Total Control Racing | +8.285s |
| 14 | Freddie Tomlinson | 62 | Douglas Motorsport | +8.362s |
| 15 | Aston Millar | 70 | R Racing | +9.355s |
| 16 | Bailey Vosin | 22 | Douglas Motorsport | +9.771s |
| 17 | Suleiman Zanfari | 52 | Elite Motorsport | +12.884s |
| 18 | Molly Dodd | 47 | Premiership Academy | +13.732s |
| 19 | Frankie Taylor | 32 | Team HARD | +17.893s |
| DNF | Zak Taylor | 23 | Alastair Rushforth Motorsport | +32.276s |
| DNF | Ben Kasperczak | 35 | BK Racing | +9 Laps |
| DNF | Ethan Brooks | 86 | Total Control Racing | +10 Laps |
| DSQ | Kieran Fuller | 88 | Privateer |
