Dream day at Thruxton for HHC Motorsport

HHC Motorsport is celebrating a perfect weekend at Thruxton with Charlie Robertson taking two wins, two pole positions and two fastest laps in the pair of Ginetta Junior Championship races.

Robertson qualified on pole for the opening race and shone as he pulled clear to win the 11-lap race by a massive margin of over 10 seconds from his nearest rival, Niall Murray. Robertson also took the fastest lap of the race. Team-mate Will Palmer qualified seventh, but was one of the stars of the race as he battled his way up to fourth on his debut at the fastest circuit on the Ginetta Junior calendar, while Thruxton rookie Tom Jackson qualified 12th and battled up to 10th at the end of the opening race.

Race two was hugely challenging for the drivers, as it ran in appallingly wet conditions. From a safety car start, Charlie bolted away from the pack to lead throughout and never gave up trying, as he attacked the kerbs in his quest to build a gap over Niall Murray. Never headed in the nine-lap race, Charlie set the fastest lap as he maintained his advantage over the Irishman to take his third win of the season and to be the only driver in the championship to win both races at one event in 2012.

Will slithered into the side of Sennan Fielding’s car on the opening lap for which he was penalised two seconds for gaining an unfair advantage and dropped the Southwater-based driver to seventh place, while Tom Jackson kept a cool head in his first wet race to take 12th place and gain valuable experience.

HHC Motorsport boss Charlie Kemp said: “This is a great way to bounce back from our disappointments at Donington. The weather today was horrible and all the guys brought back their cars without drama. Charlie drove really well and never let his concentration slip. To master the conditions as well as he did shows real star quality. Will was unlucky to be penalised for tagging another car on the opening lap which was inevitable in the wet and slippery conditions, but again he proved his pace is good and it won’t be long before he is a podium finisher. Tom did a solid job, learning about a daunting circuit and ghastly weather and he did what we needed, which was to bring home the car and gain experience.”

Robertson’s wins give him a five-point championship lead heading to Oulton Park on June 9/10, while Tom lies 11th in the title race and Will 13th after the first six rounds.

Easter eggs-citement for HHC Motorsport

Top Ginetta Challenge team HHC Motorsport had a hectic start to its Total Quartz Ginetta GT5 Challenge campaign at Oulton Park on Easter Saturday.

The Harrogate-based team ran a brace of cars for William Burns and Richard Sykes but both drivers suffered drama at the start of qualifying. On a wet-but-drying track, Richard elected to be bold and run slick tyres in anticipation of the road drying out sufficiently to make them work well. Sadly, before he could get sufficient heat into them, he fell foul of the wet conditions and hit the tyre barriers. Team-mate William ground to a halt on his first lap with a an alternator failure which meant that both drivers would be forced to start at the rear of the grid.

William was unlucky to be squeezed off the road during a hectic first lap of race one and, as a result, was a retirement on the opening tour. Richard was able to keep out of trouble and carved his way through the field to grab ninth place at the flag.

Both drivers started race two at the rear of the grid and worked their way through traffic, with William bagging ninth in the 26-car field and Richard coming home 11th after 15 frantic minutes of racing.

For the longer 20-minute race, with a grid based on race two results, William and Richard started on rows five and six respectively. Richard was able to work his way through the pack better and took seventh place, his best result of the weekend, while William was again unlucky to become involved in other people’s accidents and dropped back to 12th place.

HHC Motorosport’ Charlie Kemp said: Today has been very hard work with three races and needing to change the alternator on Will’s car. A legacy of the qualifying dramas was both drivers having to fight through the pack and that always creates headaches! What Will and Richard showed, though, was that they can race hard and overtake well and when they had a clear road ahead, that the HHC Motorsport cars have the pace to run at the front. We are felling very positive heading to Rockingham for the next rounds.”

Winning start for HHC Motorsport

HHC Motorsport got off to a winning start at Brands Hatch in the opening rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship on April 1st.

Charlie Robertson scored a lights-to-flag victory in Sunday’s televised second race having led the opener until a punctured tyre forced him to pit.

The 15-year-old qualified second fastest for race one but headed rival Sennan Fielding until a safety car was deployed for team-mate William Plamer who was off the road. On the restart, Charlie was forced to pit to change his punctured rear tyre. He rejoined a lap down but the Investigo and Ria Capital Markets-backed driver put in a stunning performance to take a new lap record.

Starting from pole position for Sunday’s second race, he out-dragged the field heading into Paddock Hill Bend on the opening lap and was never headed, the Caterham school pupil pulling out a gap of three seconds by flag-fall.

After his incident in race one, William Palmer showed impressive pace in race two, running in the midfield battle-pack and impressed the team by his ability to learn and make progress every time he was in the car. He completed his weekend with a top 10 finish in race two having shown much improved speed and ability after his move to HHC Motorsport. The hours spent testing during the winter paid dividends as William was much more at home in the Ginetta G40 and wasn’t afraid to push hard and work his way up the pack.

The team’s third car, in the hands of newcomer Tom Jackson, qualified 14th for the opening race but Tom battled his way into the top 10 to illustrate his racecraft, but was unlucky not to finish the second race.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “It is always good to win, especially in front of the television cameras, and Charlie drove brilliantly in race two to make the race his own. We’re frustrated that a win in the opening race got away from us with a puncture, but we are looking good for Donington where Charlie was very impressive last season and finished second. Will and Tom both showed good pace and potential and we are really pleased with both of them, with Will pushing really hard. It is clear already how much he has come on since his few races late last season and the Winter testing has really paid off. We’re confident that they will be moving higher up the grid with every outing.”

HHC Motorsport driver Charlie Robertson now lies third in the Ginetta Junior Championship with the next pair of races at Donington Park on April 14/15th.

Will Palmer joins HHC Motorsport for 2012 Ginetta Junior campaign

Will Palmer, son of Jonathan and brother to GP2 driver Jolyon, is to contest his first full season of motorsport in the 2012 Ginetta Junior Championship, having signed with HHC Motorsport.

The 15-year-old from Southwater in West Sussex took part in his first race in the junior sports car series last August and went on to compete in another three events during the autumn.  He will now embark on a maiden full campaign when the season gets underway at Kent’s Brands Hatch circuit on April 1.
The Ginetta Junior Championship is the UK’s top junior series for drivers aged between 14 and 17. It forms part of the support package to the popular British Touring Car Championship, which enjoys large crowds and live television coverage on ITV4.

Cranleigh schoolboy Will Palmer has already impressed the team during pre-season testing and is very much looking forward to the start of the season.

Palmer said: “I'm really excited to be doing my first full season of Ginetta Juniors with HHC Motorsport, having raced in several meetings last year where I learnt a lot, and now I am looking to build on that experience this season, with a target of fighting for the top six positions in the championship.”

Charlie Kemp, Team Principal at HHC Motorsport, added: “We’re delighted to have Will onboard. He’s done three days of testing with us at Brands Hatch, Snetterton and Donington Park and we’ve watched him really come on as a driver, and we’re confident he’ll be challenging for podiums this season.”

Father Jonathan Palmer is looking forward to seeing Will progress this season: “Ginetta Juniors is an excellent series; the cars look good, are safe, fast enough and reliable.  It’s also very competitive, so Will was inevitably towards the back of the field last year.  However he is very determined and has already proved quicker than me in his race car!  HHC are a very nice, motivated team and I think top six results are realistic this season.”

Sykes goes Historic Touring Car racing with HHC Motorsport

Experienced sports car racer Richard Sykes will make his historic racing debut this season at the wheel of a newly-acquired Ford Mustang.

Yorkshireman Sykes has bought the ex-Nigel Vaulkhard 1965 Ford Mustang and the car will be run by HHC motorsport for whom Sykes drove in last year’s Ginetta Challenge. It will mark his debut in historic racing as well as the first time he has driven anything like the rear-wheel drive, V8 Mustang. Sykes plans to tackle the Masters Pre-66 Touring Car championship, co-driving with HHC Motorsport team principal Charlie Kemp.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” says Richard. “It is something very different for me but I thnk we will be competitive this season. The car is good and HHC will run it well so we are aiming for wins.”

Charlie Kemp said: “Richard has improved greatly in the last few seasons, racing in Ginettas and also in Porsche Boxsters. It is a new departure for him but he should be up to speed very quickly.”

The Masters Pre-66 Touring Car season begins at Oulton Park, Cheshire on March 17th.

HHC Motorsport narrowly misses out on Winter Series glory

HHC Motorsport narrowly missed out on the Ginetta Winter Series after clutch failure struck Charlie Robertson at Snetterton at the weekend.

Having finished second in the Ginetta Junior Championship, school pupil Robertson was expected to be the pace-setter for the four-race mini series and so it proved as he took pole position for both races on Saturday.

Charlie won race one easily and was leading race two before a clutch problem intervened. As the pace of the Ginetta G40 ebbed away, Charlie lost the lead and had no option to park the car. That cost him a good points haul in the championship where all points counted and it meant that Charlie went into day two needing to win both races.

Despite the speed of the HHC Motorsport-run car, Charlie struggled to find a clear lap in qualifying but took third on the grid for both races. A blistering start in the opening race allowed Charlie to take a second win of the weekend along with a new lap record, while he was in similarly feisty form in race two by pulling a great move at the Esses and nipped into the lead.

However, rival Max Coates fought back and retook the advantage and George Gamble became involved in the mix as well. Charlie tried to keep ahead of Gamble but ran off the road at Hamilton and fell to fourth place. A typically gutsy recovery meant that Charlie narrowly missed out on a podium finish, and he finished the weekend third in the championship.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “It was disappointing that we couldn’t translate our speed from the weekend into a championship win. With the need to score points in every race, that retirement in race two was costly but Charlie again proved his ability and reflected the pace of the HHC Motorsport car by taking two wins, this season has been exceptional for a rookie and we hope we can look forward to further success together in 2012.”

HHC Motorsport rounds out season in style

HHC Motorsport rounded out its 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship campaign in style, with 14-year-old Charlie Robertson securing second place in the championship.

Robertson qualified eighth for the opening race on his maiden outing on the Silverstone National circuit but became embroiled in an early race battle that prevented him from catching the race leaders. Showing his usual racecraft, Charlie fought his HHC Motorsport-run Ginetta G40 up to fourth place in the final third of the race but was then passed by a couple of cars on the wide expanses of the Northamptonshire circuit. That meant that Charlie finished sixth but was able to secure the runner’s up spot in the championship.

Robertson started sixth for race two and was delayed on the opening tour by a multi-car crash ahead of him. Having worked his way up the order once more, another accident ahead of him allowed Charlie to secure third place in the race. With the pressure off after having secured second place in the championship, Charlie lost out on the fastest lap by only half a tenth of a second.

Team-mates Patrick McClughan and Andrew Watson also raced hard. McClughan continued to show the improved pace a move to HHC Motorsport has given by working his way to 13th place in the opener, but produced a storming drive in race two to finish in eighth place having started 15th on the grid. Newcomer Andrew Watson made his Ginetta Junior Championship debut and took to the HHC team like a duck to water. He qualified 13th for race one and an even-better 12th for race two and took 11th in the opening race, his first car race. An excellent performance in race two netted sixth place and he has served his intentions of being a championship contender in 2012.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “Second place in the championship for Charlie is a great result in a really impressive season. Both Paddy and Andrew were impressive as well but it is a shame that incidents delayed them in race two but I think that all three will be potential championship and race winners in 2012. It has been a pleasure to work with young drivers with so much talent this season and we look forward to continuing the relationship into next season.”

Three top-six results for HHC Motorsport at Silverstone

HHC Motorsport drivers Rick Parfitt Junior and William Burns took two impressive results apiece at Silverstone in the final rounds of the Ginetta Challenge.

William, in just his second Ginetta Challenge event, went the wrong way on tyre choice in qualifying and was forced to start at the back of the grid, 34th. He made a brilliant start in the opening race and worked his way through the pack on the first lap and despite having not raced on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit before, and his relative inexperience of Ginetta G40s, his pace was extraordinary. By the end of the 20-minute race, William was an astonishing third!

Behind him, Rick bagged 13th place after battling his way past G40s and G20s alike but a down-on-power engine meant that he wasn’t able to work his way up with the leading battle.

However, with the engine problem rectified, he shone in race two as Rick started 22nd on the grid and wriggled his way up to fourth place and William, having started even further back (last on the 34-car grid), charged his way up the order to fifth place, meaning that they passed 47 cars between them. It was an excellent performance by both drivers and one that rounded out their season on a high note.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “What excellent performances by both drivers! William has done very little Ginetta racing but he drove like a veteran and a podium in race one was an unbelievable result. To do that from the rear of the grid is extraordinary, and battling up to fifth in race two was another amazing drive. Rick underlined his potential with fourth in race two. We saw how good he is at Rockingham when he battled his way into the lead, but this was a very fast and assured performance to secure fourth place. They can be rightly proud of their results this weekend and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them next season.”

Third win of the season for HHC Motorsport

HHC Motorsport took a third win of the Ginetta Junior Championship season at Brands Hatch yesterday after a fine performance by Charlie Robertson.

The win made up for disappointment in race one when Charlie was tagged into a lurid slide on the opening lap.

Charlie’s win came from third on the grid but he lost ground at the start and was bundled back into fourth place. He charged back into contention and moved past Jake Giddings for third at Druids on lap two and then he overtook Brad Bailey for second. A lap later, Giddings and Bailey moved back ahead of Charlie, but the Caterham-based school pupil powered back into contention and when his race-leading team-mate Myles Collins spun when under pressure from Bailey, Charlie nipped past the pair to grab the lead.

Charlie then had to withstand pressure from newly-crowned champion Seb Morris, which he did in fine style to win by 0.181 seconds.

Myles qualified fifth for the second race of the weekend and drove excellently to lead for the first time this season, but a tiny slip when under pressure for a maiden win dropped him to seventh place while Patrick McClughan was unlucky to be the victim of contact with Seb Morris. Patrick showed greatly impressive form, and was a contender for a podium finish in his most impressive performance season of the season. Sadly, the incident cost Patrick valuable places and although he fought back, his excellent pace bore little reward and he lost out due to a technical infringement. He had raced well on Saturday to secure eighth place after a typically gutsy performance from 12th on the grid.

Poor Myles was a victim of dramas on the first lap of the race and was a retirement. Charlie, meanwhile, was the victim of contact on the opening lap and had a huge slide at Graham Hill Bend and fell way down the field. His recovery to fourth was a highlight of the race, although he narrowly missed out on a podium finish by just over a tenth of a second.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “It has been a really good weekend for us where we have taken another win with Charlie and shown great speed with Myles who was unlucky in race two, while Paddy was very impressive and it was great to see all three drivers being so competitive over the weekend as all of them were genuine contenders for a podium finish in race two. The Ginetta Junior Championship is a great learning zone for young drivers and it is very rewarding to see the progress that Charlie, Myles and Paddy have all made since joining HHC Motorsport. They are all fast, all good overtakers and have all found a turn of speed compared to where they were at the start of the year.”

Points for HHC Motorsport at Donington Park

HHC Motorsport’s Ginetta Challenge drivers had a mixed weekend in challenging weather conditions at Donington Park, but newcomer William Burns took the team’s best result of the weekend with sixth in race one.

Burns qualified sixth for the opening race and raced well in the leading group against more experienced drivers to score a fine sixth place finish.

Behind him, team-mates Richard Sykes and Rick Parfitt had a lot of work to do as they hadn’t been marshalled to parc ferme after qualifying and hence were penalised and started at the back of the grid. Sykes turned in a storming opening lap to be ninth over the line, while Parfitt rocketed up the order as well, mirroring his ability to overtake in the wet as he did at Rockingham three weeks earlier. Ninth and 11th was the end result for the two cars, having overtaken 16 cars each.

Problems befell all of the squad in race two, which was run in awful conditions. Richard slithered off the road on lap three, and a broken CV joint stopped Rick mid-race. William did his best to adapt to the wet road on his slick tyres but after a few scares, wisely settled for a finish and took 16th place.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “It hasn’t been a perfect weekend but it was great to see how well the guys did in the opening race up from the back of the grid. The conditions in race two were really difficult and survival was key but we can take away good car speed as the positives form the weekend.”

HHC Motorsport is back in action this weekend in the Ginetta Junior Championship at Brands Hatch.

Robertson wins for HHC Motorsport

HHC Motorsport is celebrating a second win of the Ginetta Junior season after Charlie Robertson took a mighty win at Rockingham, Northamptonshire, yesterday.

Caterham-based Charlie, one of the three drivers in the HHC Motorsport team, qualified on pole position for both races but suffered early contact with rival Brad Bailey in race one that caused him to drop to last place in the 15-car field. Charlie charged through the pack and was ninth at the end of the 11-lap race with the consolation of having taken the fastest lap of the race, proof of his pace. Not only did Charlie set the best lap of the race, but it was a new lap record, his fourth of the season. Better news came post-race, however, as Bailey was penalised one second for gaining an unfair advantage and Robertson was promoted to eighth place.

Charlie ran second in race two behind reigning Irish Ginetta Junior Champion Niall Murray, but a superb move at Brook on lap three put Charlie into a lead he was never to lose. Despite Murray retaliating, Charlie soaked up the pressure for his second win of the season.

“It’s a really good result for me and the team,” said Charlie. “I just managed to hold Niall off over the last few laps. That was the biggest thing on my mind as he was pretty close.We had the pace to win though, the car felt really good and I really like the track as Rockingham is one of my favourites.”

Team-mates Myles Collins and Patrick McClughan also took solid results. Myles qualified seventh for both races while Patrick took 13th for both grids.

In race one, Myles was a victim of early contact, which caused his bonnet to flap and in turn restrict his visibility. A remarkable effort allowed Myles to secure fifth place, just eight-tenths of a second behind Max Coates. Patrick, meanwhile, battled hard to move up to seventh place and proved his ability to work his way through traffic.

Myles ran third for much of the second race, but was then muscled aside on the last lap by Sennan Fielding. As Myles tried to recover, he lost momentum and was passed by Seb Morris and George Gamble as well, but he battled to the line in sixth place. Patrick, meanwhile, fought his way up into 10th place as he proved to be one of the drivers to watch in his efforts to gain places.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “We’ve had a really good weekend and a win is the icing on the cake. Charlie was unlucky in race one, but two poles, a win and a fastest lap make it a really good weekend on his Rockingham debut. That also helps Charlie In the championship and we are all working hard to ensure he is runner-up with just four races to go. Myles underlined his pace once more and it is pleasing to see that his decision to switch teams and to join HHC is paying dividends. Race two disappointed him, I know, but he has showed his speed and this means a podium is not a case of if, but a case of when. Patrick also did a cracking job of wriggling through the mid-field battles to gain places and keep out of trouble at the same time which isn’t easy in one-make racing.”

The next stop for HHC Motorsport is Donington Park this weekend in the Ginetta Challenge.

Speed and spins for HHC Motorsport

HHC Motorsport enjoyed a highly competitive weekend in both the Ginetta Junior Championship and the Ginetta Challenge at the weekend.

The Harrogate-based team split itself in two as it ran cars at both Rockingham and Knockhill. The popular Ginetta Challenge raced at Rockingham where the team ran cars for Richard Sykes and Rick Parfitt junior and Rick had his best weekend yet. On a wet road, he battled his way from fifth on the grid to grab the lead. Coping brilliantly with the awful conditions, Rick eased past more experienced racers to head the 30-car field but ultimately was caught out by the slippery track and rotated out of the lead. His final result of seventh was poor reward for a stellar effort early in the race. His efforts to make amends in race two were thwarted as well after contact caused his bonnet to fly up and obscure his vision. The damage sustained spelt retirement for Rick, but the team’s honour was upheld by Richard Sykes. After a driveshaft problem in race one, Richard charged from fourth on the grid to second place at the end of the 20-minute race.

The team also ran Autocar journalist Vicky Parrott who made her race debut. Vicky was caught out by the wet road in the opening race and slipped off the circuit, but posted her first ever race finish in the second race by taking 23rd position.

The team’s Ginetta Junior Championship drivers headed to Knockhill where pre-event testing went well. However, heavy rain the night before qualifying undid some of the team’s work and meant that the circuit felt different come Saturday, costing the cars a little pace. Charlie Robertson qualified eighth and seventh for the two races, while Myles Collins made his HHC Motorsport debut and put his car ninth on the grid for both races.

The opening race contained accidents aplenty and Charlie and Myles did their best to keep out of trouble. In doing so, they became mired in traffic and rather than muscle a way past their rivals, they tried their best to overtake when opportunities arose. Charlie took fifth and Myles ninth, but post-race it was discovered that Charlie’s car had suffered a bearing failure in the diff that cost him pace. Also, Myles’ race was affected by a bent trackrod and both drivers went into race two confident that they could go faster.

Charlie had a promising start and ran third from seventh on the grid, taking second from Sennan Fielding after a safety car period. However, he was tagged into a spin by Fielding and he fell to seventh with two laps to go. Charlie’s recovery to third was a highlight of the race. Myles followed Charlie as he worked his way up the field but suffered from backing off to avoid a wayward Declan Jones who had a grassy moment. As Myles braked to avoid him, he was mugged for two places and fell to seventh.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “It has been another weekend of HHC Motorsport displaying its pace. Each driver proved that they can run competitively and we are delighted with podium results for Charlie and Richard. Rick’s effort at Rockingham was fantastic and only inexperience tripped him up, and Myles’ first races for us were very impressive and we are thrilled to be running him for the remainder of the season. We know that more wins aren’t far away and we will be back at Rockingham with the Junior cars in two weeks time.”

HHC Motorsport scores points and podiums at Snetterton

HHC Motorsport came away from the new Snetterton 300 circuit with points and podium finishes in the Ginetta Junior Championship at the weekend.

Once again, 14-year-old Charlie Robertson starred by taking pole position for the opening race and by scoring the extra bonus point for the fastest race lap. Caterham School pupil Charlie made a good start from pole position for the opening race but ran wide and was pushed down to third place by Seb Morris and George Gamble. When Gamble spun, Charlie took second spot and chased down leader Morris with the cars racing to the finish line together. Morris maintained his advantage but Charlie was a fighting second, just a tenth of a second behind at flagfall.

Race two wasn’t as kind to Charlie although a win was a real possibility. The HHC Motorsport-run car battled with Gamble and Morris for the race lead and Charlie made his move on Gamble heading into the Esses for the final time. Charlie was ahead on the inside but was forced on to the outside line for the second element and, after contact, dropped to fourth place, just over a second from race-winner Morris. It means Charlie lies third in the championship.

Team-mates Patrick McClughan and Mikey Day had mixed weekends. Paddy lost ground at the start of the first race and then found himself stuck in traffic for the duration of the six-lap race, the first time the Ginetta Junior runners had raced on the new-look circuit.

Paddy went better in race two as he battled his way up to 14th, but by being involved with traffic again, the result wasn’t a true reflection of McClughan’s pace.

Mikey Day was an unfortunate victim of the Recticel barriers at Williams corner in the opening race and having glanced one, he was an early retirement. Sadly, the damage affected Mikey in race two and he valiantly battled his way to 16th place.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “Once again, it is a weekend in which we have proved how competitive we are. To win at Croft, our home circuit, was fantastic but to go to a fresh circuit and prove our pace there is a great achievement. Having one driver third in the championship in his rookie season is excellent news and we are looking forward to taking more podium finishes and race wins before the end of the season.”

HHC Motorsport continues top six form in Ginetta Challenge

HHC Motorsport once again proved its pace in the cut-throat world of the Ginetta Challenge, where it recorded three top six finishes at Brands Hatch at the weekend.

Richard Sykes qualified second for the opening 20-minute race and ran in second place over the early laps until he was knocked into a spin at Graham Hill Bend by a forceful Sean Huyton. Richard’s fightback was a highlight of the race as he worked his way back into fifth spot, but a late-race safety car period interrupted his challenge for the podium. The race restarted but as the cars charged through Paddock Hill Bend, a number slipped off into the gravel trap and the race was stopped. That left Richard a frustrated fifth, confident that he could have been better placed had the race run its course.

One of those drivers ensnared by the gravel was HHC Motorsport’s Rick Parfitt but he was to be the star of race two. From 10th on the grid, Rick kept out of trouble and fought his way up to sixth place for a career-best finish in Ginetta racing, while Sykes led the race having started on the front row. Once again, though, the pack battled into contention and muscled Richard down to fifth place.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “We were a bit unlucky this weekend. Richard again proved to have the pace to run with the leaders but was unfortunately bundled out of the lead in the opening race after some robust racing. Rick made up for his drama in race one by a really good drive in the second race and to be in the top six in a championship as competitive as the Ginetta Challenge is very impressive. We can take a lot of positives away from Brands Hatch.”

HHC Motorsport celebrates first Ginetta Junior Championship win and produces poles in Seniors and Juniors thanks to Sykes and Robertson

HHC Motorsport is celebrating a maiden win in the Ginetta Junior Championship at Croft at the weekend, after a stunning performance by Charlie Robertson.

Charlie, aged just 14 ½ years old, became the youngest ever pole-setter, race winner and lap record holder as he scored victory in the second of the weekend’s all-action races.

Having been fastest in free practice, young Charlie guided his HHC Motorsport-run car to pole position in the qualifying session and was confident for the race. After a good start, Charlie braked early for the first corner and was passed around the outside by a quick-starting Tom Howard. George Gamble tried to pass as well at the end of the lap but contact was made between the two cars and Gamble dropped back with damaged steering. Charlie moved himself ahead of Howard to score his first ever car race win and drove within himself over the final few laps to ensure the win was his.

“This has been my ultimate goal as the year has gone on”, said the HHC Motorsport racer, “We’ve been building up to it, we’ve had a few second places, but now we’ve taken the first win so I’m really happy. The car has been really, really good all weekend so a big thank you to the team for that.”

It could have been a double as Charlie was in contention for honours in race one. Rain before the Ginetta Juniors took to the grid made tyre choice difficult and Charlie elected to run on slicks as the road was expected to dry out. As he slithered off the line, he was overtaken by George Gamble and had to defend his second place from a charging Seb Morris. As Charlie fended off the efforts of the championship leader, Gamble eked out a gap but free of Morris’ attentions, Charlie started to close on the race leader. On the last lap the Caterham School pupil made a move around the outside at Tower to take the lead but clipped the kerb at Barcroft and spun through 360 degree. He was able to recover for second but with a hard lesson learnt.

Team-mate Mikey Day was caught in traffic in qualifying and had to fight his way up from mid-grid in the opening race. He started on wet tyres, a safer option when driving off-line in order to overtake, and charged up to an impressive fifth demonstrating great racecraft. Sadly, the road dried out quicker than expected and slipped back to 14th. In race two, he was passed by team-mate Paddy McClughan at the Complex but Paddy went sideways and tagged Mikey’s car, putting both cars into retirement. Paddy had raced well in the opening round after a spin in avoidance of mayhem at the first corner. He was last at the end of lap one but battled his way to an impressive ninth place.

While the HHC fleet of Juniors were at Croft, Richard Sykes, Rick Parfitt and Tiff Needell were racing in the Ginetta Challenge at Brands Hatch in the more powerful HHC-run Ginetta G40s.

Richard led the bulk of race one after putting in a fantastic qualifying performance to grab pole and headed a pack of five cars all vying for the lead. Eventually, the opposition wriggled past but Richard was able to secure third place, illustrating that a maiden win is not far away. In race two, he was again involved in the lead battle and secured fourth place after a very competitive weekend.

Rick had a spin on the opening lap of he first race but recovered well to take 12th place in the G40 race but was sidelined in race two with overheating.

Former Grand Prix racer-turned-TV presenter Tiff drove in just the first race and loved the car’s handling and balance. He stormed up to sixth place in his first G40 race.

HHC Motorsport’s Charlie Kemp said: “This has been a very busy weekend with six cars racing across the country, but it has been a very positive one. In the Challenge, Richard has again proved that a win is imminent and Charlie’s amazing result as UK motor sport’s youngest-ever race winner is a fantastic piece of history, which we are delighted to share. Now that he has had his first win, more cannot be far away and Charlie is proving to be the man to watch in the Ginetta Junior Championship now.”