Sibling rivalry will be rife in one Chislehurst household this weekend when teenager Ethan Hawkey and big sister Esmee both compete at Brands Hatch during this weekend’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship event.
Ethan is following in Esmee’s footsteps by climbing on board a Ginetta Junior racecar for his debut appearance at the event, which is headlined by the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, Britain’s biggest car racing series. Having impressed at the wheel of a Porsche Cayman in the GT Cup Championship, Esmee will compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB on the same bill.

Three years ago Esmee competed on the same grid as Billy Monger in the Ginetta Junior Championship, and now 15 year-old Ethan will step into one of the G20 race cars, designed for 14-17 year-old karting graduates. It’s going to be a very busy year for dad Dean, who competed in endurance events before becoming a father.

“Esmee’s always been racing cars,” Ethan said. “She’s got a lot more experience in it than me, so I always come to her for advice because she always gives me tips and it really helps. Dad’s always good to talk to, he always supports me and he’s always next to me when I’m racing.”

Ethan doesn’t have any designs on the title just yet, however; even in the racing-focussed Hawkey household, academic considerations still take priority: “I’m only doing four rounds this year, because the second round’s in the middle of May and that’s right where my GCSEs are, so I’ll do Brands Hatch and then the last three rounds. We don’t have any sponsors at the minute, so we’re looking for them and maybe we might be able to do a few more rounds in between.”Having watched Esmee’s progress in Ginettas, Ethan admits it will be a thrill lining up on the grid this weekend: “Seeing all the cars on TV is kind of strange, I’m thinking that I’m going to be on TV myself looking back on it having recorded it, so that’s something that I’m definitely looking forward to.”

The Hawkey household is dominated by motorsport. “We always have racing conversations over dinner,” 20 year-old Esmee admitted. “I think it’s great that we’re a family of racing drivers, I think Ethan’s going to do great, he’s a great driver and it runs through the family!”

Having moved on from the GT Cup Championship. trainee accountant Esmee is pleased with her own progression in sports cars, with which she has big ambitions. “We really enjoyed the car and had some race wins,” she said. “So when we were looking forward to what we wanted to do next, the Porsche pyramid looked like a great option for us. We knew that the touring car package is a great one to be on, having been in the Ginetta Junior series, so we looked at the next step and that was Carrera Cup. I’m looking forward to it. I think things are progressing exactly as we planned them to; I’ve always liked GT racing and this is the right step to looking at Le Mans and endurance racing.”

Both Esmee and Ethan will also be watching the headline BTCC races with added interest, as Ethan is being coached by Tunbridge Wells tin top ace Jake Hill. “Jake’s excellent,” Ethan said. “He’s one of the best driver coaches, and he’s looking really strong for the championship this year. We’re both looking out for each other and we’re friends outside of the circuit. It’s going to be quite hectic looking at data and watching Esmee and Jake. I’ve got to keep on top of it and keep my concentration.”

Dad Dean, who runs a successful corporate cleaning business, will also be busy. “I’m really proud of them but it does get a bit stressful,” he says.

Whilst he’ll be watching from the sidelines this weekend, Dean aims to join both of his children on track in the future: “I think the plan is in the future to do an endurance race, so the three of us together, I think that would be really cool. When I raced with Esmee in the Cayman a couple of years ago it surprised me how quick she was, so I think I’ll be the slowest driver in the team, but it’ll be good fun!”