Hucknall racing driver Ruben Hage surprised local car enthusiasts last night (Wednesday 15 June), by taking his Ginetta G40 GT5 racing car along to The Griffins Head classic and sports car show last night.

The pub in Papplewick holds the meetings on the first and third Wednesday of the summer months from 4pm until 9pm.

17-year-old Ruben is competing in the Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge this year which supports two of the country's most prestigious domestic motorsport categories: the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and British GT. This means that the he races on some of the most famous and historic circuits in the UK.

On the eve of a test session at Croft in Darlington, Ruben found himself with an opportunity to showcase his car to local residents and along with his Dad Richard was able to chat to enthusiasts about the rigours of the championship.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, Ruben said of the evening: "Me and my Dad have been coming down here for years really, we brought the Nissan Micra down back when I used to do Autograss.

"It's the first time exhibiting a car again, great turnout probably the best we've ever seen so yeah it's great to obviously exhibit at these shows all the way around the country like the British Motor Show and things but it's great to have something so close to home that we can really connect the local town to really."

Ruben currently sits seventh in the championship in his debut year and has impressed with his early season pace, managing a best result of third at Donington Park live in front of the ITV4 television cameras in April.

When asked how he would assess his season so far, he said: "It's going a lot better than expected really. I said my aim coming into the season was some top tens in the first half and to be knocking on the door potentially of top fives near the end. The second round podium and then (being) consistently (in the) top five after that it's definitely exceeded expectations. There's still work to do and goals to achieve but obviously I'm really happy with how the season is going so far."

Last time out, Ruben raced at Thruxton in Hampshire, the fastest circuit in the country, for the very first time in his career managing seventh and fifth place finishes across the two races. Of the experience, he said: "If I can describe it in one word it'd be scary! Going round Church is quite notorious for big accidents so going round there for the first time was a little bit scary especially on the race weekend, (as) we went straight into qualifying with no practice.

The next round of the series will be at Croft, next weekend (25/26 June). Of his thoughts ahead of the meeting, he said: "It wasn't particularly one of my strong tracks in the Saxo but that was front wheel drive, Obviously (I'm in) rear wheel drive, completely different now so hopefully we can do well on this test day tomorrow and then set ourselves up nicely for the weekend."