Ethan hoping for first BTCC points

North motor sport with ZOE BURN

NORTHALLERTON’S Ethan Hammerton lines up for another Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship event today as the season wraps up at Brands Hatch.

The 20-year-old will start the first of today’s three races from 23rd on the grid after battling through a wet qualifying session which was stopped early after a handful of crashes by other drivers.

Hammerton will make his second outing with the GKR Tradepricecars.com squad after being drafted in to replace regular driver Bobby Thompson, who suffered a concussion injury at Croft last month.

He made his team debut at Snetterton three weeks ago, taking the wheel of Thompson’s Audi S3 and despite having no previous experience of the S3, enjoyed a strong weekend with a best result of 19th in the second race.

With Thompson still sidelined, Hammerton is looking forward to what is set to be a much stronger weekend, having now ditched the additional ballast he was forced to carry into the Snetterton weekend as a new driver.

Now, as he takes his place in the final round of the season, Hammerton admits he has his eyes on scoring his first BTCC points.

“It’s a shame for Bobby that he isn’t able to race again this weekend, but I’m obviously thrilled that the team has asked me to continue in the car for Brands Hatch,” he said.

“It shows they are happy with the job I did at Snetterton, and I’m really looking forward to the season finale.

“Snetterton was always going to be a tricky weekend for me because I didn’t have the chance to do any testing and we also had less practice time that usual, so I was really in at the deep end.

“However, I felt I got used to the car quickly and was pleased with how I drove.

“We made good progress across the weekend and to get my best BTCC result so far on race day was a big positive.

“I’m grateful to Dan [Kirby] and the GKR Tradepricecars. com team for the opportunity to race at Brands Hatch and I hope we can build on the progress we made at Snetterton and push towards the points.”

Also looking for a strong finish to the year is Hammerton’s former Renault Clio Cup team-mate Max Coates of Scorton, North Yorkshire.

It’s been a tough season for Coates, who has probably suffered more bad luck this year than ever in his career.

But as he lines up for his final Quaife Mini Challenge race today, he will be keen to end the year on a high with a win after finishing fifth in yesterday’s race.

Coates’ race will begin at 11.45am today and he will be looking to cut through the pack from sixth on the grid.