Niall Murray returned to the 2012 Ginetta Junior Championship as one of the hot favourites for the title. Finishing his 2011 campaign with an impressive six consecutive podium finishes including a win in the final round at Silverstone, left the young Irishman brimming with excitement as the first weekend approached.
Friday testing saw Niall open the weekend as the fastest driver around the 1.2 mile Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. Running on slick tyres for the first time, Murray extracted the best from them over close rival Charlie Robertson. In the second session, Murray opted to stay on the same tyres to gain experience with running used tyres, however most of his rivals opted for new tyres. Despite this, Niall was a mere half-second off Robertson’s fastest time in the session.
Saturday morning provided one final opportunity for the drivers to make some last minute alterations, with a final free practice session ahead of the afternoons qualifying. Once more, Murray opted to run with used tyres, as he was happy with his new tyre pace. A much improved performance from Friday’s final session, Niall was a mere 5 hundreths of a second off fastest man Robertson who had opted to run on new tyres.
With dark clouds in the air, qualifying was going to be a close call as the threat of rain loomed. However as the drivers left pitlane, any chance of a downpour seemed to disappear as the session got underway. Similar to 2011, qualifying was a very close affair, with tenths here and there separating most of the top 10. Niall was running consistently in the top 5 but in the closing moments of the session, Murray was really getting into the groove and his times were tumbling. However with just 2 minutes left on the clock, William Palmer went off a Paddock Hill to bring out the red flag. This brought the session to a close with Murray putting himself 4th on the grid for race 1, and 3rd for race 2.
Saturday’s dark clouds and cold wind disappeared and the massive crowds at the season opener were treated to beaming sunshine for race 1. A good start from the second row of the grid allowed Niall to climb up to third at the end of lap 1. However, all was not well in the Murray Motorsport car, a lack of rear end grip meant Murray had to fight with the car to hold his position. At the end of the 3rd lap, Murray was now back in 7th position having been passed by William Palmer, Harry Woodhead and Ollie Chadwick while trying to keep his car on track. Shortly after this, Palmer brought out the safety car as he put his car off into the gravel at
Paddock Hill. Three laps later the race was back underway and this was now Murray’s chance to make his way back up the field. Having adjusted to the handling of the car, Murray was back up to 4th by lap 8 and putting pressure on Harry Woodhead. A superb move up the inside at Clearways put Murray in 3rd as he went about chasing down the lead pair of George Gamble and Sennan Fielding who were now locked in battle. As Niall closed in, Gamble and Fielding touched at clearways and both ran wide allowing Murray to move into the lead of the race. Niall went on to control his lead despite increasing pressure from Woodhead and with it take the first victory of the 2012 season, and continue what is now a run of 7 consecutive podium appearances from 2011.
Speaking after the race, Niall expressed his delight at starting the season with a win, “I’m really delighted to start the season with a win, starting the championship on a high was our aim and to have 7 podiums in a row continuing from last year is brilliant. I managed to keep my nose clean for the race despite a lack of rear end grip and lots of incidents around me. Coming back from 7th, I just wanted to get back up to a podium position but to win was amazing.”
For Sunday afternoons race 2, Niall lined up 3rd on the grid and keen to emulate his race 1 performance. With Charlie Robertson and Sennan Fielding just in front of him, race victory was going to be no easy task. As the race got under way, Niall got a great start to come out of Paddock Hill along side Fielding to move into 2nd as they approached Druids. Niall went in hot pursuit of Robertson for the lead but with the pair doing almost identical lap times it was prooving a difficult task. Niall continued racing hard to ensure he consolidated his strong 2nd place, but was always ready to capitalise on any mistakes from the leader just in front. As they crossed the finish line it was Robertson who took the win with Niall securing a strong points finish in second and with it, a good championship lead coming away from the first weekend of the season.
Speaking after the race, Niall outlined how it had been a perfect start to the weekend, “this has been a fantastic start to our season, just what I would have hoped for. We have a good lead in the championship to build on as we move to Donington. I have to say a massive word of thanks to my sponsors and my team Douglas Motorsport who prepared a fantastic car this weekend. Also well done to my team mate Andrew Watson finishing seventh in race 2.
Niall moves to Donington Park on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th April for rounds 3 & 4 of the
2012 Ginetta Junior Championship.