Fylde racer speeds to further success

Adam Smalley had a successful weekend Picture: Jakob Ebrey

Smalley recorded a first place and two seconds in round five of the championship, setting a lap record in the process.

The Fylde coast driving coach has enjoyed great success racing the iconic Ginetta cars.

Having been crowned Ginetta junior champion as an 18-year-old in 2018, Smalley finished fourth in last year’s Ginetta GT5 Challenge and has stepped up again this year, winning his first Supercup race at Brands Hatch in August.

After an excellent practice day at Croft, Smalley matched his best performance of the season in qualifying by eventually finishing in second place despite rain on his fastest lap.

This proved good preparation for the first race in wet conditions and he finished second.

He started second again for race two and defended his position at the start, though the leader moved away strongly to open up a gap.

The Fylde racer chased him down, recording the fastest lap of the race, but couldn’t quite overtake the frontrunner and finished second again.

Smalley started the final race in third position but a strong start saw him move up to second on the opening lap.

He then set the circuit’s lap record in catching the leader, whom he overtook five laps from the flag before pulling away for victory, opening up a 2.5-second gap.

Smalley told The Gazette: “Overall it was our best weekend to date, taking three out of three podiums, a race win and a new lap record.

“The first race was the first time I had properly driven the car in the wet, so I had a lot to take in and learn.

“In race two I got my head down and created a gap behind, which allowed me to chase down the leader, though there wasn’t enough time to take the lead.

“We made some set-up adjustments for the final race and the car handled perfectly. My bold move took the leader by surprise as I went on to win.

“A massive thank you to all of Elite Motorsport and my sponsors. Without them none of this would be possible.”

Smalley stands fourth in the championship going into this weekend’s penultimate round of races on the Snetterton circuit in Norwich.