WSR were honoured at the annual British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Awards in London this week as Team Principal Dick Bennetts and British Touring Car Champion Jake Hill both collected highly-prestigious prizes.
Dick, who created WSR in 1981 and has overseen countless successes in single-seater and touring car racing, was awarded the Colin Chapman Trophy, presented to an individual who has demonstrated great team spirit, and named in honour of the Lotus cars founder.
Jake, meanwhile, was the recipient of the BRDC Silver Star, which is awarded to the top-performing club member at the highest level of national racing, following his stunning run to the BTCC title with WSR in 2024.
His prize came less than 24 hours after readers of ‘industry bible’ Autosport voted Jake as the ‘National Racing Driver of the Year’, putting him on a list of winners on Wednesday night that included Lando Norris, Sebastien Ogier and Max Verstappen.
Dick’s award comes after a career of more than 50 years in motorsport that began in his native New Zealand and continued when he moved to the UK in 1972 to run great friend David Oxton’s Formula Ford 1600 car.
Major successes with legendary drivers such as Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg, Bobby Rahal, Eddie Cheever, Stefan Johansson and Brian Redman were the precursor to the establishment of WSR in January 1981 to race in the British Formula 3 Championship.
Winning its debut race set in motion a chain of five WSR titles in 15 years for Jonathan Palmer, Ayrton Senna, Mauricio Gugelmin, Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barrichello, plus Macau Grand Prix victories for Senna and Gugelmin.
Since 1996 the BTCC has been the team’s home with a record-equalling 132 race victories and 18 outright championship titles (including last year’s Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ crowns), but it has also won in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, run at the front in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and helped design the racetracks at Hampton Downs in New Zealand and the Dubai Autodrome, UAE.
Jake, meanwhile, joined WSR in 2022 having previously been a title-contender and regular race winner in both the Ginetta Junior and Ginetta GT Supercup before serving his BTCC apprenticeship with a succession of full-time and part-season programmes.
His 2024 season was one of extraordinary success as the Kent racer scored eight wins, 16 podium finishes, 26 top-10 results and only one non-finish from 30 starts.
Jake and Dick will continue to work together in 2025 as they target back-to-back BTCC title successes; the new season starting at Donington Park on April 26-27.
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “I’m truly humbled to receive this award. The BRDC is one of the world’s oldest motor racing clubs and the list of past winners of the Colin Chapman Trophy is truly extraordinary. To stand alongside Jake winning the Silver Star is something I’m not going to forget for a while. What makes me most proud is that this is an award for team spirit and that’s a reflection on every member of the team at WSR past and present. We pride ourselves on our ability to create a strong unit and help everyone achieve their absolute maximum. We work hard, learn from our mistakes and never stop aiming for the top and we’ll continue to do that in 2025.”
Jake Hill said: “It’s a great honour to receive this award from the BRDC, who do so much for motorsport in this country, not only preserving our biggest event, the British Grand Prix, but in helping young drivers realise their potential and helping to keep the UK firmly at the front of global motorsport. As a young driver I benefitted so much from being part of both the BRDC Rising Stars and Superstars programmes and here we are several years on able to come here having achieved my aim of becoming British Touring Car Champion and to pick up this award. With winning the Autosport National Driver of the Year prize as well it has been an incredible 24 hours. Thank you to the BRDC and Autosport readers and a huge congratulations to Dick on his award. We’ve won a lot together in the past three years and we’re aiming to continue that success in 2025.”
