BY MARTIN WALSH
RACING with the Fox Motorsport outfit, Colin Cronin took a race win in the Junior Ginetta Winter Series at Silverstone over the weekend to finish runner-up in the prestigious series.
The Ballylickey teenager was one of the star performers of the weekend and his victory in the third of three races on Silverstone’s 1.6-mile ‘National’ circuit saw him finish just five points shy of a maiden title in single seat car racing.
In qualifying, Cronin put his Ginetta G40 third on the grid for the Essex-based team. In the opening race he was amongst the leading contenders and headed the pack, albeit briefly, before finishing just 0.110 seconds shy of the race winner. In race two and again amongst the pacesetters with three laps remaining he was in contention for second until he was eased off the track by a rival and had to settle for fifth.
In the third and final race and running inside the top four all through, Colin waited until the final lap to make his move for the lead. He used a slipstream to perfection and braking on the inside at Becketts (right-hander) seized the advantage and took the chequered flag in style.
Team principal Paul McNeilly said, ‘Colin displayed what a big step forward he’s taken since we raced here in August and showed that the confidence of coming here as a Ginetta Junior race winner meant he could run at the front all weekend. His win on Sunday was incredibly well-judged and he’s come so close to winning the title.’
