Ollie Chadwick made a welcome return to the top step of the Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge podium at Rockingham Motor Speedway in Northamptonshire over the weekend, 2nd/3rd May, after taking a dominant victory in front of the Motors TV cameras during the live televised sixth round of the year.

Finishing on the podium in all three races, second position in round four, third in a rain-affected fifth round and then winning the final outing of the weekend, the 19-year-old from Tetbury is now up to second in the championship.

After winning the opening race of the 2015 campaign at Oulton Park last month, Ollie encountered technical issues in the subsequent races and similarly frustrating problems impacted this weekend’s qualifying session when a broken differential compromised his performance.

However, a concerted effort from Ollie and his Xentek Motorsport team delivered an impressively strong recovery in the races. In addition to his podium silverware, the Gloucestershire racer also secured fastest lap in rounds four and six to wrap-up a very successful event.

“Motor racing doesn’t always go to plan, and we had a few unexpected problems at Oulton Park and in Rockingham qualifying, so it called for a revised strategy in the races,”, said Ollie, “In Race 1 I managed to get from sixth to second, Race 2 was a bit more tricky with heavy rain and traffic, so I erred on the side of caution and settled for a safe third place.

“The sun was shining for Race 3 and, with a start from P3 on the grid, I felt ready to push for a win. I got boxed-in, though, and some fairly physical opposition had me running back in sixth place. I knew I had the pace and, with a bit of patience, I was able to gradually progress to the front and extend my lead.

“I am now second in the championship but there are some very good and improving drivers in this series, so I’m not taking anything for granted at all – there’s still a long way to go.”

• Next on the schedule for Ollie is a visit to Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit on 30th/31st May for Rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the Ginetta GT5 Challenge

• In addition to his commitments in Ginettas, Ollie also races the Wolf GB08 in the MSA Dunlop British Endurance Championship which will next be in action at Zandvoort in The Netherlands on 20th/21st June

• Away from the track, Ollie currently studies Business Management at Bath

• His 16-year-old sister, Jamie, is currently racing an Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Jamie also won her race at Rockingham this weekend, a unique ‘brother and sister double’ at a major UK race meeting