Ethan Hammerton continues as Bobby Thompson forced out of season finale

Bobby Thompson will miss the BTCC season finale this weekend at Brands Hatch after failing to recover from the concussion he suffered in his accident at Croft last month.

The Trade Price Cars Racing driver had hoped to return to action for the final meeting of the campaign in a bid to lift the Jack Sears Trophy title, having missed the previous event of the year at Snetterton.

However, with the 24-year-old not yet fit enough to get back behind the wheel of his Audi S3, Ethan Hammerton will again compete this weekend having been drafted in to replace Thompson last time out.

“I’m gutted that I won’t be able to return to the car this weekend for the final round, particularly when Brands Hatch is my home circuit,” he said. “I feel okay in myself when I’m doing everyday things, but as soon I start to do anything else, I’m feeling tired and dizzy. The medical checks have confirmed what I already knew, and whilst it’s frustrating, the simple fact is that I’m just not ready and it’s the right call.

“Given how things had been going at Croft before the accident, and the fact we were leading the standings, it’s a real shame that we can’t try and go for the title but sadly there is nothing we can do about it. If there is one positive thing, then at least I’ve had to missed races behind closed doors, as it would have been a lot more difficult if I knew I would have had fans and sponsors there cheering me on.

“My focus now turns to next season and working towards putting a deal in place for 2021. My sponsors are excited about the future and I’m working hard on being ready to go when the new season comes around.”

Hammerton secured a career best finish of 19th at Snetterton having gone into the weekend without any prior running in the car, and said he was now keen to try and fight for points during the season finale.

“It’s a shame for Bobby that he isn’t able to race again this weekend, but I’m obviously thrilled that the team has asked me to continue in the car for Brands Hatch and I’m really looking forward to the season finale,” he said.

“Snetterton was always going to be a tricky weekend for me because I didn’t have the chance to do any testing and we also had less practice time that usual, so I was really in at the deep end. However, I felt I got used to the car quickly and was pleased with how I drove. We made good progress across the weekend and to get my best BTCC result so far on race day was a big positive.

“I’m grateful to Dan [Kirby] and the GKR TradePriceCars.com team for the opportunity to race at Brands Hatch and I hope we can build on the progress we made at Snetterton and hopefully push towards the points. It should be an exciting weekend with the title on the line and I’m pleased to be part of the grid for it as this is where I ultimately want to be going forwards.”