Sophia Floersch will not be continuing in the Kick Start Energy Ginetta Junior Championship for the second half of the 2015 season.

Budgetary restraints have forced the German teenager to end her first season in the BTCC support series at the halfway mark, with her focus turning to a move into single-seaters next season.

Floersch was the star rookie in the Juniors over the first ten races with HHC Motorsport, taking four podium finishes to sit third in the championship standings.

Her breakthrough weekend came at Thruxton in May, with a sensational double victory around the high-speed circuit drawing plaudits far and wide.

Harry Soden of Infinity Sports Management, who look after Floersch, told TCF: “The championship has been fantastic for Sophia and taught her a lot. She is very grateful to HHC Motorsport and Ginetta, and is sad to be leaving.

“She has stopped due to funding. With her being German it’s been very difficult to get her sponsorship here in the UK. We feel that it would be best to save the money to start F4 testing in Germany ready for next season.”

On her official website, Floersch said: “It was always my goal to train as hard as possible this year for the Formula 4 2016 season.

“I think I was very successful and showcased my talent well in the Ginetta Junior Championship. It’s simply too bad that the series doesn’t get much attention in Germany. I had a lot of fun competing in the championship. The English fans are wonderful.”

Opinion

Simon Paice

“It’s a real shame for the Ginetta Junior Championship that Sophia Floersch’s time in the series has come to an end, as her performances over the first half of the season had made her one of the biggest names in the championship this year.

“Floersch’s double win at Thruxton was arguably the performance of the season so far across the TOCA package, bringing her praise from the likes of Jason Plato, Dario Franchitti and Gordon Shedden, and helped attract plenty of new fans to the series.

“Since then, there’s been a real buzz around Floersch’s performances and with six consecutive top four finishes she has put herself right into title contention – making her withdrawal from the series all the more disappointing.”