Will Tregurtha: "My first time racing in the dark will be Nürburgring 24 Hours"

Following titles in the Ginetta Junior Championship and British GT4 and a near-miss in GT4 European Series last year, Will Tregurtha is now trying his luck at the Nürburgring. The 19-year-old from England’s Milton Keynes has signed on for a season in the Eifel with Walkenhorst Motorsport and is already reveling in his new adventure.

Tregurtha began the year racing in the BMW M240i Racing Cup, checking off all the points needed for his Permit Nordschleife A to eventually race GT3s.

“You know what? I really enjoy it,” Tregurtha said. “I’ve always wanted to race in VLN and the Nürburgring 24 Hours, so for me it’s really cool.

“You turn up, you don’t know what the weather is going to be like, you’re racing 195 cars or whatever it was at the last race – I just really enjoy it, it’s just good fun. I’m back to doing longer races as well, which I like. We’re doing 4, 6, 24-hour races, it’s a bit more enjoyable, I like that side of it more.”

Sentiment wasn’t the only reason Tregurtha made the move to the Nürburgring. Putting all of his hard-earned money from driver coaching and the few loyal sponsors he has – Spine Optics Sunglasses and Enlighten Operational Excellence – into racing, it was a decision based on finance and long-term career prospects as well.

“The amount of driving that you get for the cost of it is so good compared to everywhere else,” Tregurtha enthusiastically explains. “But it’s probably the biggest opportunity to make a career out of motorsport in the world at the minute.

“First, I needed to get my Permit A so that in the future I can drive GT3 and GT4 in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, which is really important for me.

“And secondly, just to race here is awesome and is something that I’ve always wanted to do. I just enjoy it, I think it’s awesome – it’s really as simple as that. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today without enjoying it. It’s such a good opportunity and I’m really grateful, it’s awesome and so much fun.”

Before coming to the Nürburgring, Tregurtha had already established himself in the UK as an upcoming talent, quickly winning the Ginetta Junior Championship and following this up with the British GT4 title in 2017.

“I started off doing karting in about 2008 – just the club level stuff until I moved into Juniors and went and did British championships for a while.

“In 2015 I did Ginetta Juniors and won the championship in my second season which I was really happy with. My team-mate at HHC Motorsport — my team for the past few years who really gave me the best opportunity to make a career out of this — from 2017 and 2018, Stuart Middleton, and I, we went to British GT and managed to win the championship in our first year — against [Walkenhorst Motorsport team-mate and friend] David Pittard!

“Winning British GT, that is probably my favourite memory in motorsports. It was a big thing, to jump into British GT in your first year of GT and endurance racing and win it, I was just really happy – it was a hard year!

“We then went and did European GT4 the year after and came really close to winning it, but the car set fire in the last race at the Nürburgring. All we had to do was finish where we were, and we would’ve won the championship. But things don’t always go your way, do they? We came second – the top 3 teams were tied on points, which is pretty crazy.

“I also got to race at Bathurst last year, that was a bit of a dream because I’ve always wanted to race there and to get a proper race in a GT4 there was awesome, I absolute loved that!”

The upcoming Nürburgring 24 Hours sees Tregurtha enter his first 24-hour race. Because Walkenhorst Motorsport isn’t running the BMW M240i Racing Cup in the twice-around-the-clock, the Brit will make a one-off appearance in the BMW of Sorg Rennsport.

“I’m going to do the 24 Hours with Sorg and will be back with Walkenhorst for VLN4, 5 and 7 in the M4 GT4, hopefully. I’m really looking forward to being back in GT4.

“This will be my first 24-hour race – I’ve never done a ‘24’ – and the first time I’m going to be driving at night is in the 24 Hours, so it’s going to be a bit tricky. Having said that, the longest race I’ve done was Bathurst and that’s not too easy either!

“Firstly, I’d like to finish, anything after that is a bonus. But obviously, I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think we could win it. I’ll sound really arrogant and say that, yes, I want to win it, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

WIN A PIRELLI CAP SIGNED BY WILL TREGURTHA

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