One of the most surprising stories of this past winter came when Charlie Robertson, after a successful first year in single-seater racing, announced his decision to return to Ginetta competition in the 2014 GT4 Supercup.
The 17 year old’s foray into the open-wheel formula was a hugely positive one, with three race wins earning him third overall in the inaugural BRDC Formula 4 Championship and a coveted finalist spot for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
Despite that success, the expensive nature of the single-seater ladder means the 2012 Ginetta Junior champion feels his prospects of becoming a professional racing driver in the future currently lies in GT racing.
“After the single-seater success, that was a route we considered for 2014, but once we’d evaluated our options over the winter, we decided that it wasn’t the best option for me,” Robertson told TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk.
“To further my career as a driver, I think GT’s is the best route at this time. Single-seaters is too much of a risk at the moment, you can shell out the amount of money that it costs to make a single-seater career and never get it back. I want to make a career in motorsport and at the moment I think GT’s is the way to go.”
Robertson’s entry into the championship comes with HHC Motorsport, his fourth consecutive season running with the Yorkshire-based outfit.
While HHC, like Robertson, are making their Supercup debut, they have enjoyed some positive early pre-season testing and the Surrey-based racer is confident he’ll have a car capable of challenging at the front from the opening round.
“There’s a lot of experienced teams out there in the Supercup paddock, but I know HHC will give me a good car, and we’ve always worked well together,” he commented.
“Testing has gone well so far, I had my first day at Snetterton last week and now Silverstone. We’re close to the pace, so it’s just about fine-tuning the set-up now, making it suit me, and learning the techniques to get the most out of the car.”
While Robertson would love to add a second Ginetta championship to his trophy cabinet this year, he’s cautious of setting himself any specific targets for the season until he’s sized up his opposition for the first time at Brands Hatch in two weeks time.
“I’d love to win the championship, but it’s going to be tough I think, and it’s just a case of me doing the best I can in the series,” he concluded.
“There’s a lot of talented drivers in the Supercup this season and we’ve just got to do all we can in testing so we’re ready come Brands Hatch. The first time we’ll truly know where we stand is qualifying on the first weekend.”
*The Checkered Flag chatted to Robertson at the annual Ginetta Media Day at Silverstone, where Robertson and his Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup competitors continued their preparations ahead of the opening rounds of the 2014 season at Brands Hatch on March 29/30.*
