Interviewed by Tom Evans
First of all, who are you, what series do you race in and tell us something we might not know about you!
My name is Joe Warhurst, I race in the Ginetta Junior championship and I only started racing at 12.
Were you always interested in Motorsport from a young age? If so, how were you introduced to it?
I only began to be interested in formula one and Le Mans at the age of 9 as I saw an article in the week junior magazine, which I used to read a lot about kids my age in karting. But didn’t think about giving it a go myself until the age of 12.
Who was/were your idols growing up? (They don’t have to be Motorsport related)
My idol has always been fernando alonso as he may not have been the fastest driver in formula one, but his race craft is an inspiration to me having watched many of his races from the past.
Why number 95?
I chose number 95 as it is the number of lightning McQueen and I was obsessed with the movie cars when I was little. My first choice was 19 as it was my number in karting but it wasn’t available last year.
How did you start your Motorsport career?
I started my motorsport career at a teamsport karting track in Sheffield as it was cheap and they provided lessons for many kids my age before I moved into junior X30 at 13.
You’re currently racing in the Ginetta Junior Championship, with some solid results throughout the season. Do you think that the Ginetta series is a good foundation for any young Motorsport prospects?
I do think that Ginetta Juniors is a good foundation for young motorsport prospects as it is very mentally challenging due to the competitiveness – and it keeps getting harder each year. The car is also very challenging to drive and the championship has proven to give birth to many new talents in F1, WEC Wseries etc…
There are only 3 races left on the calendar, do you think you can improve your current place in the championship?
I would love to achieve top 5 rookie by the end of the season although given my tough round at Donnington, it would be very challenging with only three races left.
And finally, do you have plans for next year, and what are you hoping to achieve?
I would like to give Ginetta Juniors another go next year as a second year driver and try to win the championship overall.
Thank you very much for taking the time to be our very first interviewee of the year Joe!