Although the 16-year-old’s rookie season in cars this year was noticeably hindered by a range of difficulties, Wooder’s raw pace was undeniable and he confirmed what might have been possible when he took top four results, and a brace of Rookie Cup wins, at Silverstone and Brands Hatch during the season run-in.

Then, in the standalone Winter Championship earlier this month, the multiple karting champion secured his maiden outright podium result on his way to a top four championship finish for the Wednesbury team.

Thrilled to have retained Wooder for 2016, especially with the deal completed so soon after the conclusion of the winter campaign, TCR team principal Lee Brookes is confident – all things being equal – the teenager will be a very real championship threat in his second season in Ginettas.

“It’s fantastic for us to have Dave staying part of the team for next year, he’s a very quick driver and definitely had the pace to win races this season – he was just very, very unlucky”, said Brookes, “I’ve got absolutely no doubt at all he can fight for the championship in 2016. The speed is there, he’s got good racecraft and, with a full year of experience under his belt, he’s going to be very strong.”

Wooder arrived in the popular British Touring Car Championship support category off the back of a glittering karting career, one which delivered Kartmasters Grand Prix and British Open Junior Rotax titles in 2014 as well as the Vice-Champion’s spot in Super 1 and at the World Finals in Valencia.

During his early years in karting, the Chatham racer also won the Formula 6 crown in 2009 and was Vice-Champion in the Super 1 Cadet Series and ABkC National Open the following year. In 2013 he also won the European International Open.

Very happy to have wrapped-up his TCR deal to remain in Ginetta Junior next season, a delighted Wooder commented: “We had a tough season this year with a lot of problems that were out of our control, so we’re all more determined than ever to hit the ground running in 2016 and mount a big challenge for the championship.

“Everyone at TCR did a fantastic job with the car this year, they worked so hard to try and get to the bottom of the power problems we had which did impact a lot of the season. The last few races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch, and then the Winter Championship too, proved what we know we are capable of. I’m focused on nothing other than race wins and the title next year.”

Taking the first class win of his debut season in cars during round 17 on Saturday afternoon, in fourth position overall, Wooder was just a fraction of a second away from claiming a memorable outright podium. In round 18 on Sunday, the youngster raced very impressively again and was in the fight for the overall podium.

Wooder also led the way for TCR in a hotly-contested qualifying session with the third fastest time, having lapped fastest of all in pre-event testing, with team mate Chapman lining-up eighth on the grid for round 17, Roberts 10th and Grady in 20th position.

All bar one of the drivers set their best times of the day in the second of the thirty minute sessions around the National circuit, with Total Control Racing’s Wooder coming out on top with a best effort of 1m 10.471s.

That proved to be over quarter of a second faster than the next best effort by Dan Zelos, with the same margin splitting the next seven cars, led by Cameron Roberts to cap off a strong day’s running for the TCR squad.

Four of the next five cars came from HHC Motorsport, with only Senna Proctor in sixth splitting Devlin DeFrancesco, Jamie Caroline, Patrik Matthiesen and Charlie Fagg.

Lapping second fastest in the first test session on Friday, 5th September, and then topping the times in session two, Wooder went on to lap in the top six during Saturday's final practice and although getting within 0.5 seconds of pole position in qualifying, he had to settle for the 10th fastest time.

Moving into the top eight at the start of race one, Wooder gained two more places on the second tour and then sliced his way through into the top five on lap three with some superb driving. With a three second gap to close to the next group, further progress looked unlikely and with a couple of laps to go he was edged back to sixth – equating to second in the Rookies.

Unfortunately for Wooder though, a propshaft failure on the opening lap of race one ended his challenge for the race win before it had even begun. The rookie was able to show his talent in race two though, producing a sensational drive through the field from 20th on the grid to ninth place. Notably, Wooder did so over the course of just five racing laps prior to the safety car being deployed and the contest ultimately ending under those conditions.

“We can’t believe the bad luck Dave had with the propshaft – absolutely gutted for him,” said TCR team principal Lee Brookes. “Up to that point, the weekend had gone fantastically well and Dave was in tremendous form. Topping testing, practice and qualifying tells its own story, he was the quickest driver out there this weekend and was just very, very unlucky.”

Caroline looked set for his first pole position ever in the championship, but a last gasp effort from Wooder, having previously seen his best time lost for a track limits infringement, gave him the top spot with a 1m 43.834s lap.

Sophia Floersch, the star of proceedings at Thruxton last time out, set the third fastest time in her HHC Motorsport G40 ahead of second year contenders Dan Zelos and Matt Chapman, the top five split by half a second.

The Chatham-based racer also finished as vice-champion in the Super 1 British series and at the World Finals in Valencia.

“I’ve loved my time in karting but the time is right to make the move into cars,” said Wooder, “Ginetta Junior is obviously a good championship, it’s tough and very competitive so it’s a great place to learn.

“It should be a great year and I really am looking forward to it, especially with such a great team behind me.”

The 15 year old joins second year driver Matt Chapman and fellow rookie Cameron Roberts at TCR for the forthcoming campaign.

“We’re over the moon to have Dave in the team alongside Matt and Cameron, it’s a fantastic young line-up,” added TCR boss Lee Brookes.

“The first year in any championship is always a big challenge, especially your first year in cars, but Dave has a fantastic record of success from karting so I’m sure he’ll be on the pace pretty quickly.”

Only completing a true eleventh hour deal to return to the Wednesbury squad during the build-up to the end-of-year race meeting, Wooder – who finished fourth in the main Ginetta Junior Championship with TCR – won the first two races on Saturday and went on to add two further podiums on Sunday.

“It’s been a good weekend for the team, we came so close to winning the championship with Dave [Wooder] but it wasn’t to be unfortunately”, said TCR’s Lee Brookes, “We didn’t know Dave would be racing until the last minute and he wasn’t in his regular car, the handling was all good but we just lacked a bit of power. He still took a couple of great wins though and raced very strongly securing the vice championship.

With the results from the opening race setting the grid for the second encounter, it was Wooder who started from pole position in his TCR-run G40 ahead of Priaulx.

Wooder suffered a slow getaway from the line, which allowed Priaulx to lead the field through Paddock Hill for the first time as Wooder slotted into second ahead of Charlie Fagg.

Priaulx’s advantage was short-lived however as Wooder was back ahead by the end of the lap, where he was met by the safety car following an off by Connor Grady.

After the restart despite Priaulx’s best efforts, Wooder was able to hold onto the advantage until the chequered flag.

The Total Control Racing ace lost a timesheet topping laptime at one stage for exceeding track limits, but hit back perfectly to set the pace with a 1m 48.371s effort.

Next the running of Round 24 took place shortly after a torrential rain shower, providing tricky conditions for the eighteen car grid.

As the field went through Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, contact send Dave Wooder spinning across track, with Jenson Dineen and Charlie Digby unfortunately collecting him.

The red flag was instantly produced to allow for the safe retrieval of the stricken cars and for the necessary repairs to be made to the barriers.

With the circuit curfew closing in however, the decision was made to postpone the race until tomorrow, unfortunately with the extensive damage caused to Dave’s car he was unable to compete in either contest bringing his weekend to a premature conclusion.

While much of the focus across the weekend was on the title battle in the series, Wooder quietly put together the biggest points haul on a single weekend by anyone in the championship this year.

Qualifying on the front row for the second time this season, Wooder made the perfect start to race one and would lead proceedings from the first corner to the chequered flag.

The 17 year old dropped back to fifth at one stage during a frenetic race two, but a superb fightback saw him get back into the lead, only to lose the win by a tenth of a second in a drag race to the flag.

Wooder did collect his third win of the campaign in the final encounter though, climbing into the lead from fourth on the reverse grid within two laps, before holding it for the remainder of the race.

“Dave’s done an incredible job,” said TCR team principal Lee Brookes. “We knew the pace was there and it should’ve been three wins – we nearly got there!

“Some of the moves were outstanding, he’s doing stuff I haven’t seen other drivers do, showing his true talent really.”

On course for an all-but guaranteed rostrum finish in round 14 as well, a bold late bid for the lead on the final lap was unsuccessful and, after running wide at the hairpin, he had to be satisfied with a top six finish.

“It’s not been a bad weekend really, we had great pace with Dave in the Juniors and while it’s good to get another podium we really could have been looking at two wins if things had worked out a bit differently”, said TCR team principal Lee Brookes, “Connor, Max and Jordan all raced well, it was pretty hectic out there in the races but all three did a good job.”

For the second race later in the afternoon the luckless Wooder had to start 21st and last on the grid due to his race one early demise. Determined to make up as much ground as possible, to limit the damage to his title bid, Wooder starred by scything his way through the order to finish inside the top 10 after a hugely impressive drive. Climbing through into ninth position, a gain of 12 places, his best lap of the race was just a couple of hundredths of a second shy of the fastest of the contest.

Wooder started Sunday’s race from ninth on the grid and brilliantly sliced his way through into the top four on lap one. After a Safety Car period, racing resumed on lap four and he grabbed third into the complex with a great pass before consolidating the place to the chequered flag.

Showcasing superb pace throughout the third weekend of the Ginetta Junior season, Wooder underlined his championship credentials for the Wednesbury squad to add the win to a podium finish secured in round five earlier in the day.

“We knew Dave had the pace to get the win in the Juniors and he did a fantastic job under a huge amount of pressure”, said TCR team principal Lee Brookes, “He recovered well after a bad qualifying and showed his pace in both races, it’s been a very good weekend for him.

Converting a strong qualifying performance into third place during round one on Saturday and an improved second position in Sunday’s televised contest, the Chatham-based youngster confirmed both his pace and title challenging credentials.