Ginetta Junior Championship 2020 BARC Review
The Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship proved to be one of the leading lights of the British Touring Car Championship support package this past season as Tom Lebbon made history by becoming the first Scholarship winner to take the overall title in their maiden campaign.
Serving up more of its entertaining brand of action-packed, wheel-to-wheel racing across what was an ultra-competitive season, the one-make series once again showcased the next generation of emerging motorsport talent across eight high-octane events.
Earning a fully-funded season in the championship after triumphing out of 68 aspiring teenagers in the Ginetta Junior Scholarship, Lebbon entered the year as one to watch but nobody could have foreseen what was to come from the Elite Motorsport driver.
After a delayed start, the season kicked off at Donington Park with Lebbon providing a flavour of what lay ahead by netting a podium, as Georgi Dimitrov and Bailey Voisin shared the spoils.
One week later at Brands Hatch the 15-year-old came to the fore and established himself as a credible contender, powering his way to an impressive first win in scorching conditions.
Consistent points finishes towards the sharp end of the grid would keep Lebbon in the title picture as the rounds ticked by, with the trio of Voisin, Dimitrov and the emerging Josh Rattican also firmly in the hunt for the coveted prize.
As the series reached the business end of the season though it was Lebbon that really hit his stride. At Croft, the rookie claimed one of the most dominant Ginetta Junior wins in recent memory before really cranking up the heat two weeks later.
Taking centre stage during the penultimate event of the season at Snetterton, Lebbon became the first driver since Louis Foster in 2018 to record a weekend victory hat-trick. In the process of closing the gap at the summit of the points, he was also provisionally wrapped up the Ginetta Junior Championship ‘Rookie’ champion for 2020.
Entering the Brands Hatch series finale trailing Voisin by 11 points, Lebbon produced a superlative final day performance to net a pair of second place finishes and overturn the deficit to be crowned champion.
Image: BARC