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Rounds 17 & 18 of the Ginetta G50 Cup Championship headed to Mallory Park in Leicestershire. The occasion was also the second Ginetta Festival of 2008, held in honour of the 50th anniversary of Ginetta
Non stop rainfall during the previous 24 hours changed track conditions dramatically for the 20 minute early Sunday morning qualifying session. This presented a gamble on car set-up, with temperatures remaining cool and high humidity. A wet set up was used for the tricky conditions. Frank managed to put the Dynojet/Will Hoy Scholarship car 6th on the grid for both races, making the most he could of the car set-up and conditions.
Sunny dry conditions for race one saw a hectic start as all cars negotiated Gerards' bend without incident. Frank's aggressive start produced a move up the order to 5th, but in the congestion and jostling at Shaw's hairpin he lost a place, but fought back to 5th and then up to 4th. By a third distance of the 25 minute race, the car started losing grip. However, Frank managed to maintain this position over the finishing line, gaining more valuable championship points.
Sunny dry conditions for race one saw a hectic start as all cars negotiated Gerards' bend without incident. Frank's aggressive start produced a move up the order to 5th, but in the congestion and jostling at Shaw's hairpin he lost a place, but fought back to 5th and then up to 4th. By a third distance of the 25 minute race, the car started losing grip. However, Frank managed to maintain this position over the finishing line, gaining more valuable championship points.
Frank's 6th place on the grid for race 2 instantly turned into 4th spot thanks to a rapid start. A short safety car period prevailed for some three laps, due to debris on the track. The racing commenced again with Frank taking 2nd place. An exciting battle began for the top spot with Christian Dick, who used tremendous defending skills to keep Frank behind him until lap 27, when Frank made a meticulous out braking manoeuvre at the end of the back straight into the Esses. The over taking manoeuvre allowed Frank to seal his first win of the season in the G50 Dynojet/Will Hoy Scholarship car, with a cushion of over 3 seconds. His rapid pace also allowed him to take the lap record in the process.
Frank Jr commented: 'The team got the car working very well for the second race and I was comfortable from start to finish. The nature of the circuit makes overtaking very difficult, so to come from 6th on the grid, it was none stop action and I had a great battle with Christian. It's a fantastic feeling to get my first victory and I would like to thank the whole team for doing such a good job, Carolynn Hoy, and everyone who has helped and supported us so far this season.'
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