HHC Motorsport commercial director Charlie Kemp feels Will Tregurtha “thoroughly deserved” to win the 2016 Ginetta Junior Championship, after the 16 year old sealed the title with a meeting to spare at Silverstone last weekend.
A hat-trick of top five finishes secured the honours for Tregurtha, continuing a remarkably consistent campaign in which the Milton Keynes-based racer has only finished outside the top five once in 23 races and finished on the podium on thirteen occasions.
Six of those were race victories, with Kemp feeling that Tregurtha produced a perfect blend of showing the killer instinct to win where he could, whilst also driving with a level of maturity that belies his age to ensure he got strong points hauls on the board each weekend.
“It’s been a pleasure working with Will. Right from the very first test he did with us, he’s always been a relaxed driver and he’s been happy to work with us and make suggestions about how to improve the car for the next session,” Kemp enthused.
“When he’s had the pace to win this season, he’s won, and he’s regularly had the pace to be the fastest guy out there, but when things have gone slightly awry, as is always the nature in motorsport, he’s got an incredible knack of keeping calm and bringing home a result.
Kemp (Left) Celebrates Tregurtha’s Success With The Team – Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
“Whilst finishing fourth or fifth at certain times might not seem that great, when you continue that momentum it piles on the pressure to the guys you’re racing against. Will has driven a championship beyond his years.
“I’d like to think he’s enjoyed coming and working with people that want to win just as much as him, and we’ve certainly enjoyed it because he’s given absolutely everything this season and he thoroughly deserves to win this championship.”
Tregurtha’s title continues a remarkable run of success for the HHC squad in the series, having now won four drivers titles in the last five seasons – Tregurtha joining Charlie Robertson (2012), Harry Woodhead (2013) and Jamie Caroline (2015) on the roll call of champions.
Whilst celebrating their latest triumph, Kemp says attentions have also already turned to planning for 2017 and working on trying to defend their crown and continue their sensational record in the series.
“It’s going to be incredibly tricky to defend the title, as it is every season in this championship. We always want to go into a season knowing we can have a good crack at it, but we know it’s never going to be easy,” he concluded.
“There’s a lot of good drivers out there who’ll be on the grid next year and some brilliant teams that have sprung up. We’ll keep working away, doing what we do and see what happens, but yes we’ll be back to try and defend the crown.”
