William Palmer, son of Brands Hatch boss Jonathan, is to follow in the successful footsteps of his father and brother by embarking on his own motorsport career.
15-year-old William, a student at Cranleigh School, is the son of former Formula One driver Jonathan and younger brother to current GP2 driver Jolyon. This year he’s hoping to continue his family’s motorsport pedigree when he contests his first full season of racing in the highly competitive Ginetta Junior Championship, having recently signed with front running team HHC Motorsport.
The Ginetta Junior Championship is the UK’s top junior series for drivers aged between 14 and 17 and uses identical 100bhp sports cars that can reach speeds of up to 120mph. Taking place over 20 rounds, it races alongside the popular British Touring Car Championship at top UK circuits up and down the country, attracting large crowds and live television coverage.
The West Sussex youngster only started racing last year having debuted in the junior series last August. He went on to compete in another three events during the autumn, securing a top ten result along the way.
Earlier this year, William got his pre-season preparations underway conducting three successful tests and is now looking forward to the start of the season, which begins on April 1 at his local track of Brands Hatch in Kent.
“I’m really excited to be doing my first full season of Ginetta Juniors with HHC Motorsport,” said William. “I competed in a few races last year and learnt a lot, and now I’m looking to build on that experience this season.”
Being a very competitive series, Will knows he’s going to have to work hard to achieve his goal of a top six finish, but is pleased to have the experience of his father and brother to call upon. “They’ve both been brilliant and really supportive and of course we always chat motorsport when together at home.”
Alongside his racing this year, William will also have to maintain his studies at Cranleigh School where he’s working towards his GCSEs, something he admits must not be compromised. “Getting good GCSE results is of course really important and I need to make sure my racing is not too much of a distraction or my parents and teachers won’t be too happy! Anyway I’m confident I can combine the two OK and now I just can’t wait for the season to start.”
William’s father Jonathan is also looking forward to seeing his son progress this season adding: “Ginetta Juniors is an excellent series; the cars look good, are safe, fast enough and reliable. It’s also very competitive, so Will was inevitably towards the back of the field last year. However, he is very determined and has already proved quicker than me in his race car! HHC Motorsport is a very nice, motivated team and I think top six results are realistic this season.”