Rocco Coronel has added his name to the illustrious roll call of Ginetta Junior champions as the landmark 20th anniversary season for the championship reached its conclusion at Donington Park this past weekend (04-05 October).
Coronel secured both the overall and rookie titles after a sensational campaign that featured 11 race victories and a record-equalling 19 podium finishes, with his efforts helping R Racing on their way to an historic fifth Teams’ title in the last six seasons.
Qualifying
Rocco Coronel (R Racing) got his weekend off to the perfect start in qualifying as he secured his second pole position of the campaign. The Dutchman edged out George Proudford-Nalder (MDD Racing) by just nine hundredths of a second at the top of the times.
Max Cuthbert (R Racing) was close behind in third overall, half a second clear of title contender Fred Green (Elite Motorsport). Jarrett Clark (R Racing) produced his best qualifying result of the season in sixth ahead of Torrin Byrne (Pace Performance) and Scott Kin Lindblom (R Racing).
Race One
The opening race began with a great launch off the line for Proudford-Nalder netting him the race lead ahead of Coronel on the run to Redgate for the first time. Another early change behind saw Green pick off Cuthbert to move into third place.
That kicked off a thrilling battle for the podium places throughout the 20-minute encounter. Coronel and Green traded second place in the early laps, before a decisive move from Cuthbert into the chicane on lap four secured him the position and allowed Clark to move up to third.
This squabbling had allowed Proudford-Nalder to crucially break the tow and storm clear at the front, while Cuthbert was quickly able to follow suit. It looked like Proudford-Nalder was comfortably on course for his maiden win, however a heart-breaking last lap retirement opened the door for Cuthbert to secure his first Junior victory.
Behind, Clark’s hold on third had been short-lived, with Green and then Coronel taking the spot as they played out the latest chapter of their season-long battle. It developed into an entertaining five-car battle in the closing stages as Clark, Lindblom and Harry Bartle (Pace Performance) got stuck in.
Positions changed almost every lap between them as they fought over what eventually became second position. Green emerged with the position ahead of Lindblom, while fourth place was enough to secure Coronel the title with two races to spare. He went on to sit out of Sunday’s action.
Clark ended up fifth overall, with Bartle finishing sixth on the road ahead of Lewis Goff (ProjectR) and Colin Cronin (Elite Motorsport). Bartle and Cronin both received five-second penalties for exceeding track limits though, losing them positions.
Goff therefore ended up completing the top six as he continued his impressive run of results since joining the championship. Noah Young (Performance One) was another beneficiary as he rose to a career-best seventh place finish, with Bartle and Cronin classified eighth and ninth respectively.
Emmilio Del Grosso (Elite Motorsport) impressively gained seven positions through the race to complete the top ten overall. Josh Watts (Performance One) dropped back to 21st early on but fought back well to finish 11th, while Byrne unfortunately slipped out of the leading battle and ended up 12th.
Revie Lake (Elite Motorsport) was tenth on the road before a post-race penalty demoted him to 13th ahead of Henry Cameron (Fox Motorsport), Matthew Chiwara (Tim Gray Motorsport) and Joshua Henry (Elite Motorsport). The race finishers were rounded out by two drivers contesting their first-ever race; Jesse Phillips (ProjectR) and Vladislav Tomenchuk (Pace Performance).
Race Two
With the destination of the title decided, it was bragging rights and the final wins of the season up for grabs on Sunday. Byrne started from pole position, with the grid based on the second fastest times in qualifying, however he slipped back to fifth on a frenetic opening lap.
Proudford-Nalder briefly grabbed the lead from him before Clark ended the lap out front. As contact between Ethan Carney (Elite Motorsport) and Cuthbert in their battle for sixth led to them both spinning at Redgate on lap two, Green picked off Proudford-Nalder for third.
Green’s momentum continued on the next lap as he passed Lindblom for second at Mcleans, before both drivers moved ahead of Clark through Melbourne to grab the top two positions. The top three continued switching positions over the next few laps, allowing the next pack of cars to catch up.
Clark fought back to the front with a double move at Coppice on lap six, however he was shuffled down to third again at Mcleans on the next lap. That would be the last time that Green was headed through the race, with a brilliant defensive drive in the closing laps netting him the victory.
It ended up being a four-car train battling it out at the front in the final few laps. Lindblom came home second on the road, while a late move put Cronin third at the expense of Clark. That completed a great drive from the Irishman, who charged through the field from 20th on the grid.
Post-race however, both Lindblom and Cronin received one place penalties for indiscretions during the race. Clark was therefore promoted to a maiden Ginetta Junior podium in second, with Lindblom completing the podium.
After dropping back to 16th place early on, Bartle mounted an impressive fightback to fifth. Goff rounded out the top six overall ahead of Watts, who was another driver on a charge as he rose from 19th on the grid to seventh.
Proudford-Nalder and Byrne lost places in the closing laps as they finished eighth and ninth respectively. Cuthbert fought back from the rear of the field as his early spin to round out the top ten overall ahead of Henry, Lake, Young, Cameron, Chiwara, Carney and Andrew Robinson (E3 Sport).
Race Three
The final race of the 2025 season began with Green leading the way from Clark, Lindblom and Cronin through the opening couple of laps. That led into a safety car period, as an incident for Proudford-Nalder led to his car needing to be recovered from the side of the track.
After the restart, the leading pack stayed in formation for a couple of laps before the battle intensified in the closing stages. Clark attempted a move into Melbourne on lap eight but Green shut the door, as the Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner continued to soak up the pressure.
The top four cars headed into the final lap nose-to-tail, but Green was able to hold firm at the front to secure his ninth win of the season. Nine further podium finishes ensure he completes one of the most successful years ever for a scholar as the overall and rookie vice-champion.
Clark secured another podium finish in second ahead of Lindblom and Cronin. A fierce battle for fifth was settled at Melbourne for the final time, as a move from Bartle on Goff pushed them both wide and allowed Cuthbert to dive past them both.
Fifth place was enough to secure Cuthbert third in the final championship standings, with Bartle finishing up sixth overall ahead of Goff and Byrne. Carney secured his best result of the weekend in ninth, having climbed up the order from 15th on the grid.
Young was another driver on the move, fighting up from 19th on the grid to a top ten finish. Lake and Henry were next up, while Phillips concluded an impressive debut weekend with a 13th place result having climbed into the top ten overall at one stage. Cameron, Robinson, Chiwara and Tomenchuk completed the finishers, with Watts unfortunately retiring from the top ten battle.
In the Freshmans Cup, a class for car-racing rookies with no previous national-level karting experience, Young enjoyed a double win. Lake secured the other victory as he ends the season as the winningest driver in the class, while Cameron joined those two in taking podium hat-tricks from the weekend.
Full race results can be found at www.tsl-timing.com/event/254005
All three races can be watched back at www.youtube.com/user/ginettatv
