By Chris Manning;

BUDDING young Maldon racing driver Brad Bailey is all revved up and ready to face a new racing challenge by competing in the 2010 Ginetta G40 Junior championship.

The new Ginetta G40 to be used for the 2010 Junior Championship

Brad, 15, the current British and Open Junior Rallycross champion, has been selected as one of 26 young drivers from around the country to take part in the sports car championship for drivers aged between 14 and 17 years old and will see him race at premier race circuits around the UK.

It is quite apt that Essex boy Brad will be driving a Ginetta, as the company was originally founded in Witham by the Walklett brothers back in the 1958.

The Championship supports the prestigious British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) which attracted attendances in 2009 of 325,000 people during the 10-round championship and in addition to this the whole race day is covered live on TV on ITV4, which reached over 13.7 million UK viewers via 116 hours of broadcast time.

Brad at Ginetta Juniors Test, Pembrey

To qualify as one of the 26 selected to line up on the grid for the first race on April 4 at Thruxton, Brad had to attend a test session at the Pembrey circuit in Wales, before being given the green light by the championship organisers.

During the year Brad will have the opportunity to race on such famous race circuits as Brands Hatch, Siverstone, Snetterton and Donington Park and for each round Brad gets two 15 minute races on Sunday race day, plus practice and qualifying sessions the previous day.

The 26 identical race cars are currently being built at the Ginetta factory in Leeds and will be powered by a sealed Ford 1800cc Zetec engine, running on standard Michelin road tyres and the race car complies with all motorsport regulations for safety laid down by the sport’s international governing body, the FIA.

With all the cars having identical equipment the Ginetta G40 Junior championship is a showcase for developing young motor racing talent and for Brad it could be the next step for the 15-year-old as he makes his way up the motorsport ladder.