Trennon Bettany showcased that he will be one to watch in the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship this year after producing an impressive performance on his debut at Donington Park this past weekend (August 1/2). Embarking on his maiden campaign in the one-make series after starring in the Ginetta Junior Scholarship late last year, the Richardson Racing driver finished all three races around the 1.9-mile circuit - making improvements on every occasion. Having been in lockdown at home in South Africa in recent months, limited testing opportunities meant Bettany's first time at Donington Park came in Friday's practice sessions. After clocking some valuable mileage, the 16 year old went on to enjoy a strong showing in qualifying the next day as he continued to improve on his own lap times, setting the 18th fastest time. Despite being hit with a post-race time penalty due to a false start and track limits infringement, the Azura Retreats-backed teenager ran as high as 16th at one stage in race one, underlining his wheel-to-wheel prowess, before taking the chequered flag in 19th. Race two would see the South African driver continue to see his form take an upward trajectory as he made further improvements, piloting his striking Ginetta G40 to 17th. In race three, Bettany found himself once again in the thick of the action as soon as the lights went out as he was turned into a spin on the main straight as the grid headed down to Redgate. Rejoining the track in last place, the Conditioned Environment-sponsored driver benefited from an early safety car period to begin fighting his way back through the pack, holding the fastest lap for a majority of the race as well before capping off the weekend in 14th. Trennon Bettany: “It has been a really good weekend and I’m happy to come away having finished every race; it’s good to get the first event in the books. “I didn’t really have many expectations in terms of results coming into the event, the main aim was to make sure that every time I went out onto the track we made progress, and we certainly did that. “It was great to be in the thick of the action too, the racing is always entertaining and I had an absolute blast getting stuck into the battles. I’m looking forward to getting back out there at Brands Hatch.” The 2020 Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship continues on August 8/9 at Brands Hatch, with the Grand Prix layout of the Kent venue playing host to the latest triple-header.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.