As things got underway at a sufficiently wet and cold Donington Park it was Adam Smalley who took his second pole position in a row as he qualified with a 1:34.661s lap; over half a second faster than second-placed man Browning. Foster continued to impress in his rookie season as he was third overall, just ahead of Matt Luff and James Hedley.
As their first race got underway, the rainfall was enjoying a brief hiatus but the damp track sent a handful of cars skittering off the track as the pack headed into Redgate Corner for the first time. As the cars completed the opening lap, it was Foster in the lead from Smalley and Browning. Fin Green, who had started eighth, enjoyed the best start of the bunch to pick up four spots on the opening tour.
Foster ran wide at the end of lap one letting Smalley and Browning back through as Green, Greg Johnson and Ruben Del Sarte were embroiled in a great fight for fourth. Midway through the action, the rain came down once again and a slight moment for Smalley sent him off the track and into a spin, dropping him to fifth and handing the race lead to Browning.
With a clear track ahead, Browning ploughed on and took eventual victory by just shy of three seconds. He was followed over the line by Foster with the duo joined on the podium by Johnson, who made his debut on the main championship rostrum (although he did collect a trophy in the Winter Series) to the delight of his friends and family.
On a recovery drive, Smalley set the fastest lap of the race in pursuit of the leading pack. He managed to pass Del Sarte to recover to fourth by the time the flag fell. Green finished in sixth, whilst Patrick Kibble and Hedley - after a great battle - completed the Rookie podium and took seventh and eighth respectively. Ginetta Scholarship winner James Taylor and Jonny Wilkinson rounded out the top 10.
In race two, the action was all about the fight for third place after Browning and Smalley enjoyed a race of their own out front; one which Browning led from lights-to-flag. Jonny Wilkinson was the first man to hold third place at the front of the rookie class and the chasing four-car train. Two laps later and both Foster and Luff had found their way past, and the gaggle of G40’s fighting for position had grown to seven.
Three abreast and position-swapping with every corner was the order of the day for the next handful of laps as the teenagers put on a show for the crowds. On lap nine, the action took a breather as Johnson spun at Roberts chicane and left the rest of the pack scattering in avoidance.
After a great fight for the class win between Foster and Taylor, it was three-time rookie winner Foster who made it four in a row as he finished third overall and first in his class. Browning and Smalley rounded out the main podium, whilst Luff finished fourth overall and Taylor fifth. Ruben Del Sarte recovered to sixth after dropping to tenth on the opening lap, whilst Kibble, Green, Wilkinson and Hedley rounded out the top 10, following a fantastic race.
