Brentwood School sixth former Ethan Brooks has enjoyed an outstanding success in the final two rounds of the Ginetta Junior Championship.
During the first races at Silverstone, an unfortunate issue meant Ethan had to retire from race one, but after a lot of hard work from the team the 16-year-old was ready to go for a wet race two. He was able to come away with his first rookie podium in the series, a fantastic result after the heartbreak on Saturday.
Race three was looking promising, but while fighting in a five-car battle for the lead of the race, Ethan was pushed off and sustained race ending damage. Nevertheless, Ethan remained confident as he moved onto the Brands Hatch circuit.
A drying track made qualifying conditions very tricky, but Ethan rose to the challenge. After finishing in an excellent fourth place and top rookie in a slippery race one, Ethan’s charge in race two really showed his true potential. With a soaking track and fading light, conditions were less than ideal, but Ethan charged through from fifth on the grid, pulling off some sensational moves to finish in third. This was his best result in the series, claiming his first overall podium and another rookie win.
Sunday brought grey skies and the prospect of more rain for the huge crowds excited for the ITV4 televised race. Ethan once again rose to the challenge and achieved a third place overall finish, as well as a third rookie win to complete a sensational weekend that consisted of five out of a possible six podium finishes.
Proud mum, Michele Brooks, appealed for sponsors to help Ethan fulfil his racing dreams: “Having shown the potential spotted in him last year, when he won the highly coveted Ginetta Junior Scholarship, Ethan would love to compete in a second season and compete for the overall title. However, this is budget-dependent and currently, Ethan is well short of the budget required to compete in the championship.
“The championship is broadcast live to over 20 million people annually on ITV4 and watched by around 55,000 people trackside each weekend, and so is a great opportunity to expose your business to a huge audience. If you would be interested in investing in Ethan, please contact me, Michele Brooks (mrsbrooks@talktalk.net).”
Words by Riana Dixon
