Member Article

Teenage racing sensation looking for more sponsors

A TEENAGE racing sensation is leading the field heading into his ‘home’ race at Croft this weekend.

Northallerton’s Ethan Hammerton, 16, recorded two wins in the first two rounds of the 2017 Junior Saloon Car Championships (JSCC) and his run of victories has continued since. Ethan has finished on the podium for every race bar one so far this season, and has also recorded numerous fastest laps.

Having won at the first two rounds, Ethan was under pressure in Round 3 of the championship when he could only qualify fourth at Wales’s Anglesey circuit. However, Ethan stormed to second and third place finishes and kept the momentum of his title challenge going.

Round 4 was at the Snetterton circuit in early May. In Race one, Ethan was forced wide off the track and dropped to eighth spot, but battled his way through the pack and finished a very creditable third. He spent much of Race two chasing down the leader, but despite closing the gap lap after lap, he couldn’t overhaul the leading driver and had to settle for second.

The latest round – at Knockhill in Scotland earlier this month – produced plenty of drama and a win for Ethan. The juniors were supporting the Super Touring Cars so there was a large crowd to watch the action.

Qualifying was difficult, with a dry start which turned to a heavy downpour of rain, and Ethan could only manage to qualify in fifth place. However, he converted this to third place in Race one, while also setting a new lap record.

Ethan had incurred a two-place penalty for Race two, but nevertheless cut through the field to take the win, beating his previous lap record and retaking the championship lead at the same time.

Ethan now heads to Croft for Round 6 of the championship this weekend (July 1 and 2).

“I’m really looking forward to racing at my home circuit and I’m sure my family and friends will be there to support me. There are four rounds of the championship left so there’s still plenty of racing to go and I’m looking forward to continue battling for the title,” he said.

“There have been some tough races so far this year and I’m learning all the time,” he added.

Last year Ethan made a successful step up from karting to the JSCC circuit, competing at the UK’s major racing tracks, including Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donnington. Ethan surprised older and more experienced drivers by finishing the season fourth overall – out of 26 entrants. He was also the JSCC’s highest ranked rookie.

He hopes to progress into either the UK Clio Cup, which supports British Touring Cars, or JCW Mini’s that support the British GT.

In the meantime, he has just finished sitting 22 GCSE exams at Northallerton School and Sixth Form College.

He would like to thank all his sponsors that make his racing possible: Walter Thompson, Hadrian Health Care, HMC group, Sigma, Northern Floorcraft, Geoffrey Robinson, AEL, Matheson Underfloor Heating and James Burrell Building Merhcants.

Contact Ethan on Facebook, via his racing page @Ethan Hammerton Racing or email him at hammerton23@outlook.com for any questions or sponsorship opportunities.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Walter Thompson .