Trennon Bettany produced his best performance of the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship season to-date at Silverstone this past weekend (September 26/27), scoring a breakthrough top ten finish.
Having endured a luckless weekend at Thruxton a week prior as his top ten pace went unrewarded, the Richardson Racing driver arrived at the 'Home of British Motor Racing' with his sights set on bouncing back - and he ended up doing just that with a superb ninth place finish in race three. The 16-year-old found his feet around the Northamptonshire venue's National layout across Friday’s two practice sessions - showing encouraging speed in his Azura Retreat’s-backed Ginetta G40. Qualifying around the short, fast 1.64-mile layout would see the South African produce his best performance of the season to-date as he powered his way to 15th on the grid. In what proved to be a frenetic opening encounter, Bettany yo-yoed up and down the order as he found himself in the thick of the action and an unfortunate recipient of contact from others. Powering his way forward to run on the fringe of the top ten in the early stages, Bettany found himself spun out of contention and forced to fight back, which he duly did to 13th before it happened again - leaving him to valiantly recover to 16th at the chequered flag. Race two proved to be another chaotic affair, highlighted by two red flags. Keeping his head down, the Conditioned Environment-sponsored driver stayed out of trouble as two multi-car incidents took place to finish in 11th. Taking centre stage live on ITV2 for the final race of the weekend, Bettany showcased the constant improvements he is making in the tin top category as he powered his striking machine to a career-best ninth. Launching off the line from 11th, Bettany held position in the opening stages and was soon on the move, jumping up two more spots as the race progressed. That would be where he would remain to give him his best result in the series and cap off a memorable weekend. Trennon Bettany: “What a weekend - I’m over the moon to have taken my first top ten finish in the championship! We’ve had the pace all weekend and I’m so happy we could put everything together and deliver that result in race three. “On reflection we deserved more in race one as I had to fight back after being spun around twice so to come away with 16th was a good recovery. Race two was very much about keeping out of trouble as there was plenty of action. “I flat-spotted a tyre early on so it was about looking after things from there and I was able to bring it home in 11th. Race three was amazing, the pace in the car was brilliant and I was able to push on, make up a few spots and finish ninth. “We’ve been working hard all season and this is for my team, sponsors and family. Let’s carry this momentum into the next round.” Bettany will continue his Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship campaign on October 10/11 with two races at Croft Circuit.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.