Ethan Jeff-Hall, winner of the Ginetta Junior Championship and 2024 Ginetta Junior Rookie Championship, is certainly making a name for himself. The 16-year old driver, currently in the Motorsport UK Academy Enhanced DiSE programme, has recently signed with CRG Factory Racing Team in the OK Senior Category and won the FIA World Kart Championship Finals at PFI, Lincolnshire in just his 2nd race with the team.

Ethan shares how he got into karting and his all-important race-day routine…

What age did you start karting, and what made you decide to give it a go?

I first started karting when I was six years old, it was indoor karting, but I actually got into it initially when I went on holiday – I was under two, and there were some go-karts – and ever since then I have always wanted to be a racing driver.

Which famous drivers inspired you to choose karting over a different sport?

It’s always been something that I have wanted to do, and I haven’t felt pushed by anybody else, but my favourite F1 driver is Lewis Hamilton. I used to watch him throughout the years with my dad and he’s a magnificent driver.

What does a typical race day look like for you? Do you have a preferred breakfast?

I usually wake up at a similar time, even though races can be at different times, I’ll have some granola and yoghurt for breakfast and get showered and ready to head down to the awning. If it’s the first day of testing I will take my race gear down, say good morning to the team, check the data from the previous day and prepare for the first session.

What did it feel like becoming the 2024 Ginetta Junior Champion and Ginetta Junior Rookie Champion, can you tell me a bit about the conditions on race day and your experience?

It was a great championship. To win the Ginetta Junior Championship and the Ginetta Rookie Championship was just an amazing feeling. The whole season presented tricky conditions, some wet, some dry and a few conditions that were sort of in the middle – so that was tricky to manage.

The last race of the championship was a bit difficult for me, we struggled a bit with the car set up and we couldn’t quite find out where we needed to be. But nevertheless, we got the job done and it was an amazing feeling. At the start of the season, I had only done 15 test days during the whole season, so to go into the first race and qualify pole, it was always going to be a mega season.

Do you have any advice or tips for anyone considering getting into karting?

Always follow your dreams, if it’s something that you have been interested in then work as hard as you can, stay dedicated and look into every detail from the data. I think the main thing is to enjoy it, because when you enjoy it, the results will come along with it.