Murray wins Junior opener on Douglas Motorsport’s debut

Niall Murray made a winning start to his Ginetta Junior season with new team Douglas Motorsport, beating George Gamble to the line by a mere 0.133s after a typically dramatic race.

Charlie Robertson had headed the race early on after getting the better of Sennan Fielding in a tight battle on the first lap, while Murray attacked Gamble for third at Graham Hill bend.

Having taken the place, Murray then got caught napping at Clearways when Gamble snuck his Hillspeed G40 inside the Irishman and took the spot, but Murray lost another place to Oliver Chadwick, who took advantage at Paddock Hill bend to sneak inside for fourth.

Murray then lost out a corner later to Harry Woodhead who squeezed him out onto the grass at Druids, dropping him behind Will Palmer briefly before HHC’s Palmer spun off into the Clearways gravel trap. 

At the restart, Palmer’s team-mate Robertson mysteriously pulled off with the safety car into the pits to relinquish the lead, handing it to Fielding who had Gamble right on his tail.

Chadwick’s bonnett had also come lose on the restart, dropping him out of contention, while the front four were now locked together and Murray snatched third with a nudge at Clearways on Woodhead.

Gamble looked either side of Fielding for the lead, and a lap later tried a late, optimistic move at Clearways that ended in contact that spun Fielding, handing Murray the race lead from Woodhead.

Despite a five-second penalty, Woodhead attacked the leader in the closing laps, but it was Gamble who attacked behind them and on the final lap he snuck inside Woodhead at Paddock and set off after Murray, but the Irishman just held on to take the first win of the season, and a debut win for Douglas Motorsport. 

Oliver Basey-Fisher finished an impressive third for Tollbar, ahead of Nathan Harrison and Woodhead, while Murray’s team-mate Watson finished sixth after a gravel-visiting moment at Paddock Hill.

Spainish driver Pepe Massot was also in the mix of the battle, but spun into the gravel at Paddock Hill bend.

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