Favourite Things
Race so far
One of my best races was on the Brands GP Circuit at the end of 2009. I had missed half the season and came back for the final meeting. I was Fastest in testing and took Pole for both races and in race one had a massive scrap with Jake Cook and Aaron Williamson. We swapped the lead loads of times and starting the last lap Aaron got by but I stayed with him and at Westfield managed to dummy him and got by with two wheels on the grass going into Sheene – a mega race and meant so much to Win on the Brands GP track, my home circuit.
In 2010 I had some fantastic days. Winning from lights to flag at Rockingham and in the rain at Brands GP, a perfect weekend at Croft – fastest in testing, two poles, two wins, two fastest laps with the lap record. But Donington was awesome. I was fastest in testing by a long way but a shower in qualifying meant only 5th and 8th on the grid. I won race one quite easily but race two from 8th meant some fierce overtaking and a crucial win.
In 2009, 2010 and 2011 I have Won the final race of the year each time which means a lot too.
Circuits
To be honest I don’t really dislike anywhere – I don’t think you can afford to because otherwise you’ll probably be slow before you get there! Thruxton’s pretty scary because it’s so bumpy and quick, but Oulton and Brands GP are probably my favourites. I tested at Portimao in Portugal recently which is a superb circuit. I’ve been to Le Mans to watch and have just GOT to race there one day, it looks SO cool.
Drivers
My Dad’s hero was Gilles Villeneuve and some of the footage I've seen of him has made me understand why – what a legend. Ayrton Senna is another one, and because I know them Jason Plato, Rob Huff and Richard Westbrook too. And Petter Solberg is mental! I’ve seen a documentary on Graham Hill and can see why he was so popular – the only one to Win Le Mans, Indy and the World Championship…and bloody funny too!
There was a mega documentary about James Hunt and Barry Sheene called ‘When Playboys Ruled the World’….absolute legends both on and off the track!
Cars
Road Cars – Audi TT-RS. Any version of the Skyline up to the GT-R; Porsche GT3RS; McLaren F1; and more sensibly the Clio Sport.
Racing Cars - Porsche 917, 935, 962; Audi R8; Senna’s Lotus 98T; Hunt’s McLaren M23; Ferrari 312PB
Films
I love comedies like ‘Talledega Nights’, ‘Dodgeball’, ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ and of course racing films like ‘Le Mans’ and ‘Days of Thunder’ plus classics like ‘Top Gun’ and just about any comedy going.
TV
Comedies like 'Modern Family', 'Gavin and Stacey’, 'The Simpsons' and 'The Inbetweeners'. Plus older stuff like ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and ‘Fawlty Towers’ ….love things like 'Ice Road Truckers', 'Pawn Stars' and just about any form of motorsport of course.
Music
Mainly grime and rap – people like Maverick Sabre, Dot Rotten, NDubz, Tinchy Strider, Black the Ripper, Tinie Tempah – also Eminem, some other stuff like Ed Sheeran, Bob Marley, Oasis, Jimi Hendrix, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters. Put it this way my iPhone has got a bit of just about everything on it!
Food & Drink
My mum makes a wicked Chicken Pasta, and our local Chinese does this really nice Sizzling Beef dish…but I’m easily pleased…a nice bit of Cheese on Toast will do! I drink loads and loads of juice…and having been sponsored by ‘Thunder Toffee Vodka’ I did try a bit but it blows your brains so I’ll leave it to my Dad I think!
Clothes
I’m happiest just in jog pants and a hoody. I really like Jack Wills stuff and Hollister. I love Adidas High-tops: I've got at least four pairs.
Things to Do
I got a 1/5th scale R/C car for my birthday which is so quick you can only just get it flat-out…good practice in case I race something with lots of grunt! Love my PS3 – especially driving games like TOCA and Need for Speed and of course Gran Tourismo 5 is the business. Also just watching DVDs and listening to music on my iPhone. I love my phone. I’d be lost without it!
And I’m training really hard at my local gym – Risebridge Health Club – I’ve really noticed how much stronger and fitter I am which is essential as I move into quicker cars.
People
Family-wise I’ve got a 9 year-old sister called Ellie, who’s lovely but can be pretty annoying like most little sisters….I’ve got ten cousins and I’m closest to my cousins Ben, Ollie and Will. From school, Jack, Mason and Joe are all good mates!
I’ve got loads of mates at TOCA meetings. Also at lots of teams – I used to work for Red Line Racing and know pretty much the whole Carerra Cup paddock, all the boys at Michelin and Ginetta of course, and all the ITV Sport crew through my Dad. I’m pretty lucky like that.
My whole family – both my nans, my granddad and my uncles, aunts and cousins are really supportive…but mainly my mum and dad have been great…they both go out of their way for me to race. It’s really tough…but my dad has worked really, really hard to find the sponsorship for me…and is kind of my manager, driver coach, the lot really.
And of course there’s my girlfriend Sarah. We’ve been together for over three years now. She’s my best mate too. It’s a bit of a pain that we live so far apart because she lives near York and I’m here in Kent. We’re both used to long drives up and down the A1 now!
Teams
I’ve only really driven for a few teams. I did do a few Cadet Kart races when I had just turned 8 for a team called Scholartech that was run by my Dad’s mate Mark Marchant, but that seems like a lifetime ago (2002).
More recently I started karting at Bayford Meadows in Mini-Max when I was 13 in 2007 and into 08. I did about ten races with DG Racing and David and Tamsin Germain were so good to me. I really enjoyed it and finished 4th in the Championship – guys like Jody Fannin and Tom Ingram were racing then too.
I had a Formula Renault test with Manor Competition at Brands before Xmas 2010 which went really well. It was a greasy, foggy day, with snow on the ground, and such a different car to what I’d been in before but it was mega – I got close to Alice Powell and Jordan King who raced for Manor in the Winterseries, but the team were superb. You can see why they’ve won so many championships.
For the first half of 2011 I drove with Optimum in the G50 and we had some great results including my first win in the series at Donington, so I’m very grateful to Ron and Shaun.
My first ever car race at the end of 2008 was with Tollbar – Mike, Mary, Mark, Kieren, Jim, and Rupert were fantastic – the cars have always been mega and they’ve really bent over backwards for me. I’ll always be grateful for what Mike and Mary have done for me. I went back to them for the second half of 2011 and scored three wins in G50s.
