Hucknall racer Ruben Hage opens Ginetta GT campaign with excellent podium finish at Oulton Park

Ruben Hage claimed a podium finish and two other strong results as he made an impressive start to his Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship campaign over the Easter weekend (8-10 April).

Competing at Oulton Park in Cheshire, the 17-year-old from Hucknall made a statement in qualifying by setting the third fastest time in his brand-new Ginetta G56 GT Pro car.

This would see him line up third for the first two races ahead of his more experienced Breakell Racing team mate Carl Garnett.

In the first race which was held in dry conditions on Easter Saturday (8 April), Ruben made a slightly sluggish start to drop to fifth early on. However, he fought back to fourth and then caught up to the back of Callum Davies for third as the race headed into the closing stages. On the final lap Ruben got a run on Davies but some robust defensive driving from the SVG Motorsport driver saw contact ensue and Ruben forced onto the grass.

The teenager showed maturity and car control beyond his years to keep the car out of the barriers and nurse it home to fourth. With the front grill filled with grass, there was relief that it was the final lap otherwise he would have been forced to retire the car with an overheating engine. As it was, he was able to negotiate the last few corners and take the flag in fourth.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News about race one, Ruben said: "Fourth is definitely not a shabby result but with the podium so close in sight it was a bit frustrating not to be on it in that first race."

The second race saw another competitive showing tinged with disappointment as Ruben finished third on track in difficult wet conditions but was demoted to fourth thanks to a ten second time penalty imposed for a false start which looked an incredibly harsh decision.

"It was really frustrating," said Ruben. "I just had to forget about it as quickly as I could and try and make amends for it in the last race."

Ruben by his own admission was slightly more aggressive in the final race and this paid off as he charged to second position in changeable conditions. He was catching race leader Luke Reade but was denied an opportunity to fight for the win by a red flag which brought the race to a premature end.

Reflecting on the weekend as a whole, Ruben concluded: "I think it was a mixed reaction from me from this weekend. Obviously the results on paper were great and to be up there in the championship straight away is the ideal start but again it was just one of those weekends of what could have been.

"In theory we could have been on the podium every single race. Race one it was contact and race two it was a questionable penalty and finally on race three it came together. I really wanted a win on that last race and I think I could have had it but those red flags always seem to come out at the wrong time. Either way, great points quite glad to get a trophy and a cap from it, and a bottle of champagne, it was good stuff."

The second round of the championship takes place at Silverstone on the first weekend in May.