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Declan Jones ‘rocks’ off
with another rostrum!
CHOCARGO Soft and The London Perfume Company
Limited-backed youngster delivers again in only his third outing in
the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup. Liverpool based teenager Declan
Jones maintained his run of rostrums at Rockingham last weekend, 22
September to 23 September 2012, in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup.
The 17 year old, who took 2 podiums at Knockhill last month, in only
his 2nd outing in his Century Motorsport-run Ginetta G50, began
strongly on Friday in the 1st test session, setting the 12th best
time overall, which impressively left him 2nd in the G50 class,
behind only championship leader, Mark Davies. However after that he
began to experience gearbox problems and while it was changed
overnight, 5 laps into qualifying there was an oil leak on the new
‘box' which ended Declan’s qualifying. Despite lining up 15th
though for race 1, he put in a mature drive and gradually hauled his
way up the order, finally snatching 8th and 3rd in class on the very
final lap. Sunday saw Declan slowed by handling problems and he was
also hampered by a broken windscreen wiper, meaning he had next to
no visibility in the wet and tricky conditions. He persevered
though, and safely brought his car to the chequered flag, finishing
15th overall and claiming another 18 championship points to take his
year to date tally to 127 from just seven races.
“It was a hard weekend, but I am glad I came
away with a podium. In the 1st race I had a couple of issues early
on, but I just kept chipping away and chipping away and got third on
the last lap. That was definitely the upside to the weekend. It was
more challenging. I am no slouch in the wet and you only have to
look back at Oulton Park to see that. But we had severe handling
issues with the car, and through Turn 1 I had a lot of over-steer.
The car just didn’t feel balanced. Also the windscreen wiper wasn’t
working, so I couldn’t see much for the whole of that race! We got
to the end though, and that in itself was quite an achievement. It
was nice to have my dad here this weekend too, instead of him having
to be at work like he was when I was racing at Knockhill.”
said the Chicago Soft and The London Perfume Company Limited-backed
youngster.
Declan now faces a busy October and will take in both of the
remaining two Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup rounds at Silverstone
from 6 October to 7 October and Brands Hatch from 20 October to 21
October 2012. He is also planning to do the French V de V event at
Magny Cours from 26 October to 28 October.
“I am really looking forward to Silverstone and enjoy racing there.
Last year I was very fast in the Ginetta Juniors, but obviously I
had issues in both races and got taken out. However the pace was
there and I am sure I can be quick this time too. I will have some
sponsors there that weekend and I want to perform to my best, like
always. I’ll definitely be after more podiums.” Declan
added.
Declan’s dad and manager, Kelvin Jones meanwhile was pleased to see
his son maintain his strike rate at Rockingham and take his fifth
rostrum from as many events.
Kelvin told us that:- “The weekend started off well on Friday,
but in qualifying, about 4 or 5 laps in, the gearbox went. That was
frustrating. Today in the second race the car just wasn’t right and
through Turn 1, it was stepping into over-steer. The windscreen
wiper also stopped working, so that didn’t help either! Still Dec
got 3rd in the 1st race and that was very good. 5 podiums from five
events this year is something we are very happy with. We will now
look forward to Silverstone and getting some more trophies. Dec will
also test at Aintree next weekend driving a Chevron B16. He will
probably be the youngest driver to ever drive a Chevron at Aintree
and that is quite special, as it is where Chevron use to do all
their testing back in the day. It will be a nice way for us to
warm-up for what is going to be a busy and exciting October.”
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United Utilities repairs -
Southbound A5036 re-opens!
DRIVERS in Merseyside are being advised that
the Southbound A5036 heading towards Liverpool Docks has re-opened
after closing on Thursday, 6 September 2012, following a burst water
main and for United Utilities to carry out subsequent repairs.
The southbound carriageway of the A5036 Dunnings Bridge Road between
its junctions with Copy Lane and Heysham Road was affected by the
burst main and closure. United Utilities has today advised the
Highways Agency, which operates the A5036, that the repairs have now
been completed.
The Northbound carriageway remained open throughout the work and was
unaffected by the mains burst.
Women Train Driver Applications on
the Right Track
THINK of a stereotypical ‘train driver’
and traditionally it conjures up nostalgic images of Thomas
the Tank Engine, greasy overalls and young boys playing with
mechanical train sets, but Northern Rail is predicting a definite
shift from blue to pink, thanks to its latest recruitment figures.
Northern, the UK’s largest train operator, has recently seen a
record number of women apply for its train driver vacancies.
The past 12 months saw an increase of more than 300% in the number
of female applicants putting themselves forward to drive trains
across the North of England.
Tracie Wing, a driver for Northern out of Blackpool North stations
said:- “I love this job for many reasons. I get to see plenty
of daylight during winter, when most of my friends are stuck behind
a desk. At times it can feel like I am my own boss as I am working
my shift, driving my train and in complete control. The pay is
excellent and I get work varied hours allowing me to see more of my
family than I would in a traditional 9 to 5 role. The banter with
the team is something I really enjoy and would encourage any woman
to consider doing this; we are just as capable as the guys!”
For train driver roles, Northern has traditionally had an average
female applicant figure of 5%. In the last twelve months this figure
has increased to 17%.
Adrian Thompson, HR Director for Northern, comments:- “We are
delighted to see more women applying to become train drivers. The
role is certainly a challenging one, requiring great concentration
and knowledge to learn all the routes and mechanical aspects of the
different types of train we use, and is as well suited to women as
it is to men. A well paid role, with a host of benefits including
final salary pension, is obviously appealing and no doubt due to the
recession, some women are opening themselves up to more diverse
roles than before.”
Train driver roles are always popular when they are advertised due
to the high salary (trainee starts at £17k, rising up to £40k when
qualified).
Since 2009, Northern has seen a growth in female applicants across
the business, growing from 11% to 15.5%.
Mick Whelan ASLEF (Driver Union) General Secretary, added:-
“Northern has shown a commitment to changing the traditional
perception of the rail industry as an employer. The company has made
it a priority to recruit more women and ethnic minorities to roles
within the company. Whilst there is still some way to go until we
have railway depots that reflect the communities in which they are
based, ASLEF applauds the efforts that Northern has made.”
To see live vacancies for all roles on offer or to register for a
job alert, visit:-
northernrail.org/careers.
Help us keep the Paralympic flame burning
A little while ago, in the wake of the
wonderful Paralympics, I urged your readers not to forget about the
many challenges facing people with disabilities in their daily
lives. They confront their own personal hurdles each and every day,
and their quiet heroics in overcoming adversity get scant
recognition. I work for the charity Vitalise. We run the
Sandpipers centre in Southport, which provides desperately-needed
respite breaks for people with disabilities and those who care for
them. We’ve seen at first hand the incredible obstacles they have to
overcome and the toll it can take on their lives. Thanks to
the Paralympics, people with disabilities have never had such a high
profile and so much goodwill from society. But that feeling can’t
last forever, so we’ve come up with something to celebrate the
achievements of people with disabilities and keep the Paralympic
spirit alive. We’ve made an amazing video, performed by the
disabled guests and volunteers at Sandpipers and set to the
inspiring ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen. It celebrates
the indomitable spirit of people with disabilities and pays tribute
to the Paralympic heroes of Team GB. It’s already had over 10,000
hits on YouTube and I hope your readers will find it uplifting and
inspiring. It certainly put a smile on our faces! I’d like to
invite your readers to view our video and, for the sake of all
people with disabilities, help us keep the Paralympic flame burning
a little longer in our hearts. You can view the video on our
website. |
