Due to a lack of funding for the last races on the calender of the Ginetta Junior Championship, Myles Collins could not compete in rounds 19 and 20 at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire.

Unfortunately for Myles, as hard as he tried to gain sponsorship to fund his drive as some sponsors pulled out mid-season, and his dad Chris McDonald did everything he could to run the car for the last two races, they just couldn’t get enough money together in time for Silverstone.

Myles said: “It really is just a case of we have ran out of money trees in the back garden which is such a shame. It is too late to do anything now so we are concentrating on things to do next season but we are not sure what to do, budget wise.”

After a painful start to the season at Brands Hatch when he was left with neck and back injuries after a nasty crash on the first lap back in April, things were a bit up and down with Myles and the Westbourne Motorsport team. As soon as Myles thought his luck was in, he would always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving him frustrated that he couldn’t show his full potential.

Then, it was announced before Rockingham back in September that Myles had parted from Westbourne, and had instead moved to HHC Motorsport to become team-mates with Charlie Robertson. From there, he really did show his new team he can race up there with the front of the pack.

In race one at the Corby circuit, Myles managed a solid fifth place finish and in race two, ran in third position for a good chunk of the race, finally finishing in sixth position. Showing HHC that he had the pace, it was then onto Brands Hatch, where he really showed he could sit pretty at the front of the field.

Although race one didn’t quite go to plan, race two certainly made up for it. Myles got a flying start off the line from fifth on the grid, and put his HHC Ginetta in the lead and that’s where he stayed for well over half the race. If it wasn’t for an unfortunate spin, which he recovered from extremely well, he could possibly have been on for a podium finish.

It was such a shame for Myles not to be racing at Silverstone after such a positive second half of the season. Myles added:

“I am mostly disappointed because I really wanted to prove to everyone I could win a race with the right car underneath me which I had with HHC Motorsport. Last time out was promising with leading for most of the race, and I was hoping this time at Silverstone I could finish it off. 

“I would just like to say a massive thanks to my Dad, family and my girlfriend for all supporting me and having patience throughout the season! Another special thank you to my sponsors, without them I could not have started the season. 

“I really can’t thank everyone enough for their support this season – without all of you it wouldn’t have been the same.”

 Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey

Becki Mitchell is our designated Ginetta Junior correspondant. You can contact her at becki@btcccrazy.co.uk or on her personal twitter account at @bexcci.