Trennon Bettany brought his first season in car racing to a close with a spirited display in the Michelin Ginetta Junior Championship season finale at Brands Hatch (14/15 November).
The Richardson Racing driver has shown impressive speed and progression in the ultra-competitive one-make series during a rollercoaster campaign, but unfortunately wasn’t quite able to show just how far he has come through no fault of his own at Brands Hatch. The South African racer clocked plenty of miles and showed good pace during Friday’s practice sessions, however in challenging wet conditions in qualifying the following morning, a slide off circuit left him starting towards the rear of the field for the two races. In each of the two encounters, the 16 year old produced superb launches off the line and looked to make immediate progress in his Azura Retreats-backed Ginetta. Unfortunately on both occasions he was the innocent victim of contact in the early laps and saw his race end in the gravel trap. Whilst a frustrating end to the season, it takes nothing away from an impressive first year in car-racing. Eye-catching racecraft and raw pace has highlighted the Conditioned Environment-sponsored as a young talent to watch heading into 2021 and beyond. Trennon Bettany: “It wasn't the end to the season we wanted. I felt we had some great pace in some really tough conditions and I was confident of making good progress through the order in the races, but on both occasions there was nothing I could do to avoid contact. “Despite this weekend, overall I’m really happy with how we have performed this year. I’ve made great progress and felt I was improving in every race. We’ve had some good results along the way and learnt all the circuits, so we have laid the building blocks for next year. “Thank you to Richardson Racing and their driver coaches for their hard work in helping me improve as a driver this year. Thanks as well to my sponsors and my family for all their support across the season.”
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.