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My Racing Journey . . .
I'd always had an interest in cars from an early age, however it wasn't until I turned twelve that I really started to take an interest in the sport, watching Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button winning back to back world titles in 2008 & 2009.
This inspired me to embark on my own journey into motor racing. Halfway through the middle of 2009 my parents bought me my first kart on the basis that I race just once a month at the local circuit. This didn't last long… Within five years I had progressed from club level to the British National Championships (Super One), which at one stage, I had only ever dreamed of competing in.
I spent my first five years racing as a privateer with my Dad, neither of us had any prior experience, so everything we learnt during this period was self taught, both driving and kart set up. These were extremely fun years, but tough, we raced as frequently as possible between schooling, exams and family ill health.
Early karting years
Off the back of a very successful 2014, I attracted the attention of Jamie Patten (Ex British Champion) and Sean Girdler, joint owners of ONE Motorsport. They approached me, asking if I would be interested in helping develop, test and race their newly designed chassis. I naturally revelled in the challenge and spent the majority of 2015 tweaking the frame with the team, picking up wins and podiums to round the season off.
In September 2015 I flew out to America as part of an invitation from George & Alex Vorrilas of Apex Kart Sports based in North Reading, MA. We arrived late Thursday, built the frame up for the weekend and won on the Sunday.
All our hard work throughout the year had paid off! Given that the kart had never been seen before, nor had I ever raced in America, meant we generated a great deal of interest in the chassis following our success.
Leading on from our victory George Vorrilas of Apex suggested that the team compete in the Gearup F-Series in North America for 2016. Racing in a partnership with ONE and Apex Kart Sports, my soul focus was on winning the F-Series Championship and I spent several months living in the States to make that a reality.
What would be my next step?
Later karting years
In October 2016, I made the decision to move up into cars to further pursue my career in the sport.
After an extremely successful season in karts, I would round off 2016 by competing in the largest Formula Ford race in the world, the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. Nearing the end of November, I also had a great opportunity to test at Snetterton in a Radical SR3 as we looked at potential options for next season.
After much deliberation we set our sights on Formula Ford in 2017, competing in the British Nationals and the Castle Combe Club Championship with Kevin Mills Racing.
2017 was a very testing, but very successful first season for myself. Highlights such as a 2nd place finish in the British Nationals at Silverstone and a 9th place finish overall in the championship were well received in my debut year.
My car racing career push begins
2018 was an extremely successful year. Below are a summary of achievements and stats....
🔺Mazda Road To Indy Shootout Finalist 🔺 2nd in the British National Championship 🔺 1st in the Tourist Trophy National Championship🔺 2nd in the Triple Crown Trophy National championship 🔺 Four Times Champion of Brands, and Bert Ray Memorial Trophy Winner 🔺 Double Podium Finisher on Debut race in America and F2000🔺 2018 Motorsport Awards Nominee for ‘Star of the Future’ 🔺 10 Race Wins at Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Oulton Park & Castle Combe - 20%🔺 29 Podiums at Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Oulton Park, Castle Combe, Donington Park, Croft & Kirkistown - 59%🔺 14 Fastest Laps - 29% 🔺 10 Pole Positions - 20%🔺 39 Top 6 Finishes - 80% 🔺 43 Top 10 Finishes - 88% 🔺 5 DNF’s - 10% 🔺49 - Races In Total
After narrowly missing out on winning the $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Scholarship, I set my sights on trying to raise sponsorship and funds to secure a race seat in the USF2000 series. I managed to get most of the necessary foundations in place to be able to run the season, but I was still uncertain if I could gather enough funding for the whole year.
I spent many sleepless nights trying to get everything in place, which unfortunately began to take a toll on me. I got really sick and a result I needed to take some time out of the sport for the first half of the season.
However, when I finally got back in a race car I felt better than ever. I took part in the last few rounds of the FF1600 British Nationals, winning races at Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Kirkistown.
I rounded the short season out by finishing 4th in the Formula Ford Festival (out of 70 plus cars) and 6th in the Walter Hayes Trophy (out of 100 plus cars).
The year was a bit of a reality check for myself, I now knew by the end of the season that achieving my goals in the sport was going to be almost certainly unattainable without substantial funding.
I needed to focus my efforts on something else... Photography.
2019 - A short break and a reality check
2022 and onwards…
After nearly three years out of racing due to the pandemic, and focusing my efforts into my photographic career, I returned to racing for a few events.
Whilst just for fun these days, I am an extremely competitive individual, so the fierce competition is half the enjoyment for me anyway.
Despite being a little rusty I still managed to win on my return and also achieve a 2nd place finish (out of 120 cars) in the Walter Hayes Trophy!
WALTER HAYES TROPHY GRAND FINAL 2022
