Fergus Chalmers Racing

Irish Junior Mini Challenge

Well that was a last minute surprise😳

Thanks to a kind invitation and the support of Preptech UK, I found myself on a plane to Dublin😎

Leo Nulty Promotions offered his recently purchase Mini Cooper to drive at Mondello Park in the weekends race at the irrc

After some last minute rearranging and the support of my ever efficient travel manager (Dad🤣) flights, hire car, hotels and entry were all in place👍🏻

Never one to miss a night in Dublin, Mum decided to come as well🍷

So, about the racing

Practice was in the circuit school car on Friday morning as the Mini was still being prepared.

The Mazda gave me useful time with a manual gearbox and helped me leant the track.

I was able to get behind the wheel of the Mini in the afternoon and get some laps in but there was still more work to be done.

Leo and the guys from O’brien Motorsport worked hard into Friday evening and got a lot of things sorted for race day which got me on the grid.

After only 3 qualifying laps the clutch failed which was frustrating but maybe the ‘best’ time for that to happen 🤷🏼‍♂️

Having started the race well I had moved into 2nd position into turn one and enjoyed a great and clean battle with Cody for a few laps👌🏻

Sadly, the gearbox died and that ended the day for the car which was such a shame😔

Massive thanks and credit to everyone, including rival competitors, who all worked their socks off to try and get us back in the race.

Hopefully we might be able to return later in the year and get a full race weekend in this brilliant championship.

If you are 14-17 and looking at options to get you started, this is definitely a championship worth looking at👍🏻

It might not have all gone to plan but the people, the circuit, the car (when it was going) fellow competitors, even rivals, were all brilliant and helped keep us smiling all the time

Huge thanks to Preptech and Leo for giving me such an amazing opportunity and you deserved more for your efforts 💪🏻

Ireland? I’m coming back ❤️

Next up it’s back to Ginetta Juniors at Knockhill Racing Circuit for the BTCC on July 30th/31st

My first ever rally was one I’ll never forget!😁

Fantastic weekend at Knockhill Racing Circuit for the Mcrae Rally Challenge 👌🏻

All very last minute but a huge thanks to everyone in the Junior 1000 Ecosse challenge for sorting this and putting it all together without fuss.👏🏻

Massive credit to Marc McCubbin and his team at AM Motorsport Services for their help in sourcing, preparing and servicing the Yaris we used for the event, can’t recommend them highly enough.👌🏻

The first time I drove the car was off the groundsheet to the stage start line.😳

The fact we were able to set competitive stage times all weekend surprised us and the wee car which must have thought we had just robbed a bank😂

The Yaris is quite a ‘basic’ car compared to the newer generation and it showed on a couple occasions but that made it easier to throw it around and have a good time 😎

Andrew Falconer was amazing in the ‘silly seat’ all weekend keeping me right and staying calm throughout a few hairy moments we had 😂

Going into the last stage we were only 4 seconds off the podium, unfortunately we broke something on a bump and the car lost power for a lot of the final stage.🤕

It was a brilliant weekend where I must thank many of the other competitors for making me so welcome and becoming new friends.🙌🏻

I wish them all the best of luck for the rest of their championship season🤞🏻

As always, huge thanks to Knockhill, the organisers, marshalls, recovery and emergency crews who make these events possible and take care of everyone as required.👍🏻

First Round of the 2022 Ginetta Junior Championship ✅

The sun shone all weekend at Donington Park to kick off the 2022 Ginetta Junior Championship season.

I was more grateful than most as this was my first weekend in the Kilt which has been supplied by Mitchell Scott, thank you to them.

Qualifying is now in the new short format of 3 flying laps from which the 2 fastest times are grid positions in Races 1 & 2.

Qualifying P11 in Race 1 I was unable to progress back through the field after a mistake at turn 1 lost me 4 places and later developing a stiff/sticking throttle which saw me dropping to P13 for the end unfortunately.

Starting from P9 on the grid for Race 2 I was running in a pack of cars inside the top 10 after a couple of laps when contact in front rippled through the group.

Unable to avoid collecting damage to the front end after a heavy impact, the hole in the front clam made the car act as a parachute, slowing me down for the remaining laps.

Losing outright speed on the straight in particular meant I crossed the line in 11th and that would be my starting place for Sunday's race.

Saturday had shown there was pace in the car and I was determined to push for an improved result.

Feeling confident, I got a really good start and began to move forward instantly.

Staying in touch with the front pack there were some great battles and I was involved in a couple of my own!

It was satisfying to bring the car over the line to secure 6th after swapping places 4 times and finally securing the position on the last lap.

I'm now looking forward to Round 2 at Brands Hatch to continue the move forward.

Delighted with how the weekend ended and a massive thanks to the team for always being where they are needed and their willingness to always get things done. Preptech UK

Now, head down and study for my exams.

Thanks to my family, friends, supporters, driver coaches and sponsors who all contribute the extra bits that are needed to make this all possible.

Big shout out to Dreelside Engineering Ltd, Lawrence of Kemnay, Mitchell Scott, Donside Slating, The Barbers, Champion RV

Race week for the first time of 2022 🤩

Very excited to get back out there for some competitive driving after 6 months alongside Preptech UK and my new teammates for this year 💪🏻 Zac Meakin Racing AP__Racing Flynn Mchardy

Massive thanks to my sponsors who have helped me to get to this point. Dreelside Engineering Ltd Donside Slating Lawrence of Kemnay The Barbers Mitchell Scott

Excited to continue with Preptech UK for the 2022 season 🙌🏻🏆

Sunny Donington

The weather and the venue couldn’t be faulted, both excellent all week☀️
Round 8 was another eventful weekend 🥴
Finally broke the qualifying curse and recorded a season best so far of P9 & P11🏎👍🏻
The races would take more words than they deserve so I will simply file all 3 under useful experience!!😂
Now under pressure with only 1 weekend remaining to break another season long curse, Sunday TV race starting position🙈
Delighted with the pace in the car and the steady progress once more.
As a team we all know what can be achieved 💪🏻
have done all they can👏🏻
has also done his bit🙌🏻
Now it’s over to me to deliver🤔
Well done to team mates + 🏎
Big congrats to who is a great driver and an even better friend😉 awesome race win, well deserved 🥇
Thanks to all my sponsors who help make this all possible and make sure I am the best version of me on and off track🙏🏻 See you all in 2 weeks for the final round of the year 🏁