William Antrobus added his name to an illustrious list of GT champions in the Ginetta UK Championships with a sensational charge to the PRO title in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship this year.
After nine years in karting, Antrobus went all-in for his first season of car-racing this year with a dual programme in the GT Championship and Mazda MX-5 Supercup. Remarkably, he ended up challenging for the overall drivers’ title in both championships, scoring 15 race wins across the two.
The Warrington-based driver initially started his Ginetta journey with Orion SPR and impressively secured a victory on his debut weekend at Silverstone. A move to Elite Motorsport followed for Oulton Park onwards, and his rapid rate of success continued throughout.
“From my first test day in the Ginetta G56 GTP8, I was really comfortable in the car and my pace was strong. From there, I knew I had a chance of doing well and potentially making a name for myself in my first season,” said Antrobus.
“After winning on the first weekend, I felt like a title challenge would be possible. I liked everyone at Orion and they were really nice to me, but me and my Dad made the decision to move teams and it proved to be the correct decision. Elite have been a fantastic team to work with.”
If there’s one area that was particularly crucial to Antrobus’ success, it was qualifying. The 18-year-old topped the timesheets in six qualifying sessions this season, a new championship record, securing a total of 11 pole positions from 14 available in the process.
“The main thing to get right has been qualifying, it is so important in these cars,” he explained. “They are amazing to race, but like with all GT racing, at some circuits they are so hard to overtake in due to their size, so you’ve got to maximise qualifying.
“It was something I worked hard on, trying to unlock that one-lap pace, and I’ve ended up being really strong with it. That’s consistently put me in a great position for the races and has been crucial to me ultimately winning the championship.”
An epic three-way battle for the PRO title played out between William Antrobus, Harry Gamble and Cameron Pratt-Thompson. After a season full of twists and turns between the three, the title was ultimately decided in Antrobus’ favour on the final day of the season at Brands Hatch.
The talented teenager’s final total of 11 victories from the 17 races he contested gives him a winning rate of 64%, a new record for a single season in the GT Championship. He added a pair of second place finishes as well, alongside seven fastest laps.
“All three of us at the front have been really fast this season, and even Felix [Livesey], Louis [Darling] and Vladislav [Tomenchuk] at points in the PROs too,” he reflected.
“It’s been very competitive at the front, there’s been some weekends where Harry or Cameron were the fastest driver, but I managed to keep consistent. It’s been a tough battle, so to come away as champion with 11 wins is amazing. I couldn’t have asked for anything more this year.
“Looking ahead, I want to become a professional driver and hopefully the hard work this year will pay off in the future. Next season is really important, carrying the momentum from this success, but it’s early days and we don’t know what 2027 holds for us yet.”
