Multiple Ginetta Junior Championship title winners HHC Motorsport have made a shock departure from the championship for 2018.
The Yorkshire outfit are the most successful team in the series in recent times, taking four drivers titles in the last six seasons.
They suffered their least successful campaign in the series so far in 2017 though, recording only two race victories and a best championship position of fifth with Tom Wood.
The team have left the series to focus their efforts on defending the British GT4 Championship, which they won last season with Junior graduates Will Tregurtha and Stuart Middleton.
Alongside their two car entry into British GT, the team are also returning to the Ginetta GT5 Challenge for the first time since 2012, and mounting a European GT4 campaign.
“We’ve got a European GT4 programme, a British GT4 programme and GT5, and you can only do so much,” team boss Charlie Kemp explained to Motorsport News.
“The main thing is European GT4 – it’s a big step and we want to make sure we can do a good job.
“It’s still a fantastic championship and we’re not ruling out doing it again in the future. I’m not going to be selling the cars and will still do driver training in them.”
HHC’s maiden drivers success came with Charlie Robertson in 2012, with Harry Woodhead following the next season. Jamie Caroline was next up in 2015, then Will Tregurtha a year later.
The departure of HHC means the two most successful teams in the championship’s recent history are no longer competing in the series, following the suspension of JHR Developments.
