Hucknall's Ruben Hage to race in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge in 2022

Hucknall's teenage racer Ruben Hage has finalised his plans for the 2022 season, signing a deal to race in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge.

Hage has spent the last two and a half seasons racing a Citroën Saxo in the Junior Saloon Car Championship (JSCC) which is for competitors aged between 14 and 17.

Last season saw Ruben claim his first circuit racing victory at Brands Hatch as well as multiple podiums on his way to fourth position in the overall standings.

Although he was eligible to do one more season in the championship, he has decided that now is the right time to move on and has signed for Total Control Racing in the GT5 Challenge.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, Hage said: "I've been looking at the next step which is now obviously GT5s, since June/July time last year, we've been talking to teams, turning up to meetings and seeing what it's all about and from what we saw it looks like a good championship.

"I'm really happy to be working with Total Control Racing and Lee Brookes. I went down to see them a few months ago, everything's really good, the cars etc. So hopefully we can hit the ground running and start making some headlines."

Asked about what attracted him to racing Ginettas, he said: "The main thing was the close racing, the nature of the GT5s.

"The cars are really appealing as well, they're basically just like small Aston Martins really, front engined, light, rear wheel drive, sequential box, slicks it's kind of the whole package.

"We did a test with Ginetta back in August, got in straight away, it was in the wet. I'd never driven the car on wet tyres or anything before so that was a totally new experience; got in with Max Coates and it kind of all just fell into place. As it dried up, we got some really good lap times in and that's when I decided this is what I want to do."

The Ginetta GT5 Challenge will have seven rounds on its calendar and each race weekend will see it support either the British Touring Car Championship or British GT, two of the biggest domestic car racing series in the UK.

"Obviously to have all the fans trackside is good but it's also really useful for current and new sponsors we're trying to get on board at the minute. With I think it's 20 million viewers a year on TV and all the thousands of viewers on Youtube and Facebook, it allows us to promote the brands that support us for their target market which is another main reason why we went with the championship, it's got European exposure which is a huge tick in the box really."

Asked about his targets for this season Hage added: "It's definitely going to be a big step up from Juniors and I think hitting the ground running's important as well, we kind of want to get straight in the mix, straight in the mid-pack and keep chipping away. Hopefully by the end of the season we can be fighting for the top five/podium positions."

For more information about Ruben's career visit his website here.