Holly Miall secures season's best in Ginetta Juniors at Donington

Holly Miall achieved her best result of the 2024 Ginetta Junior season with a P12 finish in Race 1 at Donington Park, showcasing her progress and setting the stage for a confident push toward the season finale at Brands Hatch.

Photo credits: JEP

Ginetta Junior's only female driver, Holly Miall, achieved her best result of the 2024 season with a P12 finish in a damp and tricky Race 1 at Donington Park, expertly navigating through the chaos to deliver a convincing drive for Fox Motorsport.

The prestigious and highly competitive junior series arrived at Donington Park for rounds 20, 21, and 22 of the season, with 16-year-old Miall coming off her best result of the year at the previous round at Silverstone GP circuit.

This weekend marked the penultimate round of the Ginetta Junior season, with championship leader Jeff-Hall entering with a 48-point lead over rival Charlie Hart. Meanwhile, Miall continued to show progress after securing a top-15 finish in Silverstone.

It was a return to friendly ground for Miall, who had secured her all-time best in the Ginetta Junior Championship at the Leicestershire circuit last year, with a remarkable top ten in the season finale.

In a wet qualifying, however, Miall had a challenging session and would have to make her way forward from P19 in Race 1, in a field led by Chase Fernandez and Jeff-Hall.

As the lights went out, a fierce battle ensued at the front, while Miall focused on staying clean and avoiding incidents. Early on, Robinson retired on lap 2, and Slater, Byrne, and Moss hit trouble, allowing Miall to climb up to P15. Despite losing a position to Slater, Miall quickly regained ground as Fernandez and Jeff-Hall collided, putting Cronin in the lead and advancing her further.

The safety car was deployed, and after the restart, Miall defended hard from Moss and Byrne, moving into P13 following a crash involving Dan and Phelps at the Hairpin. She fought off intense pressure from Moss but ultimately dropped to P14.

In the final minutes, she maintained her position and crossed the line in P14, but post-race penalties elevated her to P12, marking her best finish of the season.

It was a standout result for Miall, bettering her previous best of 15th from Silverstone, and her P12 at Donington Park underscored her growing confidence.

Photo credits: JEP

Race 2 on Sunday morning proved to be a tougher challenge. Starting again from P19 in wet conditions, Miall unfortunately spun into the gravel at Turn 1. She managed to extricate herself and rejoined the race, although now 10 seconds behind the pack.

As Moss and Ellis collided at the Hairpin, Miall began to catch up but needed a safety car to close the gap. Despite the tricky conditions, she kept her pace, finishing P17 after gaining positions when Moss got stuck in the gravel.

The final race of the weekend, Race 3, took place in dry and sunny conditions. Miall started from P17 and had a clean start, briefly dropping to P19 but quickly gaining back positions when Moss and Slater made mistakes and dropped a wheel off the gravel.

Holly battled fiercely, getting stuck into close battles and passing Byrne and Carney, but a spin on lap 3 dropped her to P18. She continued pushing and clocked her personal best lap of the weekend at 2:00.382, finishing P19.

Although Race 3 ended with a lower result, the highlight remained Miall’s P12 in Race 1, her best finish of the season, showcasing her progress throughout the year.

The P12 result on Saturday was a major boost for Holly Miall as she looks ahead to the season finale at Brands Hatch with a renewed sense of confidence and momentum.

"Overall, a positive weekend, the rain gave us some challenges, but that adds to the excitement and we're now fully focused on the last round." - wrote Holly.

The season finale will take place at Brands Hatch on 28-29 September, where Holly Miall will aim to continue her positive trajectory.