Poulton motor race ace Adam Smalley meets Ginetta GT5 Challenge head on with double win at Oulton Park

Poulton motor-racing ace Adam Smalley has made a superb start to his debut season in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge, winning two of his three races on the opening weekend at Oulton Park.

The 18-year-old motorsport engineering student from Myerscough College was crowned Ginetta Junior Championship last year and was one of two drivers selected for the Elite Motorsport team in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge.

The Ginetta GT5 Challenge is a prestigious national competition, in which all competitors drive the same model of Ginetta car and races are staged at such iconic circuits as Silverstone, Donington Park, Snetterton and Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

Glorious weather and a bumper crowd greeted the traditional Easter weekend opener in Cheshire and the 31 competing cars produced some sensational wheel-to-wheel racing as 11 different drivers graced the podium.

Having only driven the car twice before, Adam qualified second, just 0.036 seconds off pole position.

His second-fastest lap was the quicker than any of his rivals’, which put him pole for race two.

In the opening race, Adam made a great start only to get a puncture three laps in. The need to fit a new tyre in the pits saw him drop to the back of the field and he finished 26th.

Adam had an immediate chance to bounce back as he lined up on pole for race two and the junior champion stormed clear.

A faultless performance secured a maiden victory on his championship debut by an impressive margin of nearly 10 seconds.

That result meant Adam started on pole for the final race, though he was soon overtaken by two rivals who got great starts. He battled back from third for his second successive race win of the day.

After his outstanding opening weekend, Adam is looking forward to the next round at Thruxton, Hampshire, in three weeks, when the Ginetta GT5 Challenge joins the support bill for the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.