2011 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Winner Benji Hetherington
On the eve of the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship evaluation, the 2011 Scholarship winner Benji Hetherington has spoken out about the importance of the scheme and reflected on his first season in the Carrera Cup.
The Scholarship scheme sees drivers fight it out to win an £80,000 grant towards their budget to compete in the following years Carrera Cup GB season. Hetherington says that winning last year's Scholarship was a massive boost in his bid to make a career in sports and GT racing.
Hetherington said: “It's a superb scheme that is bringing young talent through into a very professional and competitive championship. I've learnt so much this year and the podium at Silverstone shows just how much I've learnt.”
The 19 year old has enjoyed a strong maiden season in the championship, taking thirteen top ten finishes in the nineteen races, including four top six finishes in the competitive series. The former Ginetta G50 Cup racer's season culminated with a superb maiden podium finish in the final race of the year.
Hetherington, from Hulme Walfield in Cheshire, said: “It's been a very tough year and a bit of a roller coaster. The Carrera Cup is so competitive that you can't afford to be off the mark at all. To finish the final race at Silverstone on the podium was just amazing.”
Hetherington is planning to return to the seres in 2012 and hopes to follow in the footsteps of 2010 Scholarship winner Michael Meadows, who was a race winner and title contender in his second season. Hetherington commented: “Michael has demonstrated the benefit of winning the Scholarship and then doing a second year in the Carrera Cup. This is definitely a two-year programme for me. I look forward to putting all that I've learnt into practice next year. You'll now arrive at a circuit in your second year and know just what to do.”
The 2012 Carrera Cup GB Scholarship will be fought out between Jody Fannin, Tom Ingram, Daniel Lloyd and Ollie Millroy. They will undergo evaluation on Monday 31st October at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone, the process including a test in the current 911GT3 Cup car.
