Georgi Dimitrov made a welcome return to the top step of the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship podium this past weekend (September 26/27), scoring his fourth victory of the season at what proved to be a blockbuster race meeting at Silverstone. Having endured a frustrating outing at Thruxton the weekend previous, the Richardson Racing driver bounced back in style around the 'Home of British Motor Racing' to claim a sensational win and score a further podium finish. Clocking valuable mileage around the 1.64-mile National circuit during Friday’s two practice sessions, the British-Bulgarian racer carried his eye-catching pace into qualifying where he set a best time of 1:11.543 to secure second on the grid. Making a great start off the front row in the opening encounter, the Hitech Academy driver leapt into an early lead and set about breaking clear of the chasing pack. Unfortunately, as the battle for top spot swapped hands on several occasions, Dimitrov was caught up in an incident which left him with nowhere to go and he sustained race-ending damage. Starting in second for race two, Dimitrov once again launched into the lead although this time he was not to be denied. The 15-year-old controlled proceedings out front during the early stages, however he would see his lead eroded as the halfway point due to a red flag. Handling the restart with ease, Dimitrov re-established his position at the front of the field and picked up where he left off only to see the red flag fly once again. This time, the result was to be final and therefore it meant that the teenage sensation was declared the race winner. Rounding his weekend off live on ITV2, the rookie capped a memorable day with another podium result. After leading early on, Dimitrov slotted into the final podium position and found himself embroiled in a thrilling battle for the lead. Despite his best efforts, the four-time victor couldn't retake the lead and ultimately settled for third. Following the fifth event of the season, Dimitrov sits fourth overall in the Drivers' Championship and has closed the gap to the Rookie class leader to just 20 points with three meetings remaining. Georgi Dimitrov: "Overall it has been a really good weekend. To come away with a win and a podium is just what we needed and I'm proud of my performance, as this was a great way to bounce back after a difficult Thruxton weekend. "Race one was unfortunate as I just got caught up in an incident at the front but we made amends in races two and three. My starts were great all weekend and as soon as I was out front in race two I was able to maintain the lead, although there was a lot of pressure to reset after the red flag on the restart. "It was nice to end the weekend with another podium finish as well. I gave it everything I had to challenge for the win again and to come away with more silverware is fantastic. Hopefully we can continue this form at Croft in a few weeks." The Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship now heads to Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire for the next instalment of the 2020 season on October 10/11.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.