Frank Brian Wrathall Jnr. (born 4 October 1986 in Lancaster) is a British motor racing driver who has competed in the

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

. He won his first race on 21 October 2012 in the final race of the 2012 BTCC season. Having graduated from karting in 2007, Wrathall made his car racing debut in the Ginetta G20 Championship. Having spent a single season in the series, he then switched to the Ginetta G50 Cup for 2008, going on to win the title in 2010. He joined the British Touring Car Championship in 2011, driving for the family-run Dynojet Racing Team. Following a 21-month prison sentence for causing death by careless driving in 2014, Wrathall has not returned to the BTCC.

Career

Ginetta Racing

In 2007, Wrathall swapped from karts to racing Ginetta cars. He took part in the 2007 Ginetta G20 Championship, debuting at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection al ...

and finishing the season in 8th place, with two podium results. This won him Ginetta Rookie of the Year. He graduated to the G50 Cup for the 2008 season, finishing second in 2008 and 2009 seasons. This spurred Wrathall on during the 2010 Ginetta G50 Cup season, leading to him eventually being crowned champion, after five race wins and 19 podium finishes.

British Touring Car Championship

Wrathall moved up to the BTCC in 2011, racing for Dynojet in a

NGTC Next Generation Touring Car, also known as NGTC and by its Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) designation TCN-1, is an FIA and TOCA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification covers nationa ...

Toyota Avensis The is a mid-size/large family car built in Derbyshire, United Kingdom by the Japanese automaker Toyota from October 1997 to August 2018. It was the direct successor to the European Carina E and was available as a four-door saloon, five-door ...

. At

Knockhill Knockhill Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Fife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's national motorsport centre. The circuit is located in the countryside about north of Dunfermline. It is the only FIA appro ...

, Wrathall became the first driver to reach the overall podium in an NGTC car, with two third place finishes and a fourth from the three races. He took another third place in the opening race at Rockingham before improving on this to finish second in race two. Frank Wrathall (31796257)

Wrathall continued in the British Touring Car Championship in 2012, once again racing for Dynojet in the Toyota Avensis now sponsored by

Mac Tools Mac Tools (previously, Mechanics Tool and Forge Company) is an American company that distributes and markets professional tools and related equipment. It is headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, United States. The Mac Tools line consists of over 8, ...

. He took his first podium of the season in round 9 at Thruxton, finishing ahead of

Jason Plato Timothy Jason Plato (born 14 October 1967) is a British racing driver who last competed in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BTC Racing. He has twice been BTCC Champion, in 2001 for Vauxhall and 2010 for Silverline Chevrolet. He ...

to finish third. At the final round of the season at Brands Hatch, Wrathall took his first ever

BTCC The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

win in the final race, ahead of

Matt Neal Matthew Neal (born 20 December 1966) is a British motor racing driver. Neal is a triple BTCC Champion having won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Neal is also a record 6 time BTCC Independents Champion having won the ...

and newly crowned Champion

Gordon Shedden Gordon Shedden (born 15 February 1979) is a Scottish auto racing driver, currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship for the Halfords Racing with Cataclean team. He has previously won the series on three occasions; in 2012, 201 ...

Dynojet Race Team

Dynojet Race Team, is a family run team, founded by Frank Wrathall Snr. He built the team up to help develop his son Frank’s racing career. The team was regarded as one of the best teams in the Ginetta race series. The team is sponsored by Dynojet, who make parts for the automotive industry. In the 2010 Ginetta G50 Cup season, Dynojet won both the drivers and teams championships.

Prosecution

On 14 May 2012, Wrathall was at the wheel of a van involved in a collision with a cyclist on a roundabout. The police laid information against him, alleging that he caused death by dangerous driving as he had been using a mobile phone for 8 minutes prior to the collision, in which a 47-year-old cyclist was killed. Wrathall denied the charge. The first trial was judged a mistrial, and the judge ordered a media ban of the events. On 7 February 2014 he was jailed for 21 months after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving. He was also disqualified from driving for four years.

Racing record

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded just in first race) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point given all races)

References

External links

Frank Wrathall's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrathall, Frank 1986 births Living people British Touring Car Championship drivers Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Sportspeople from Lancaster, Lancashire Ginetta GT4 Supercup drivers