Driver History...

Ever since I care to remember, I have always enjoyed watching and more recently competing in Motorsport. My 1st taste of Motorsport was at the age of 4 weeks, when I was taken to the British Motorcycle Grand Prix at Donnington. Later that year I was taken to the Lombard RAC Rally at the age of 4 months, which was my first experience of watching a rally.

My 1st hands on experience came in 2002 in the form of a gift from my sister Zoe of 5 arrive and drive sessions at the Daytona Manchester karting track. I was immediately hooked and I quickly progressed from being a novice to an advanced karter. This allowed me to compete in the 2002 Daytona Junior Championship. I also attended a kart training course with Protrain at Whitton Mill where I was taught various outdoor karting techniques.

I carried on with karting throughout 2003, gaining 5 podium finishes while competing in the Daytona Kart Championship at Manchester, finishing the year with my first race meeting victory. To see some of my karting photo's, visit my Karting Gallery.

In 2003 I had my 1st taste of Rally driving at the Ford Rally Academy. This was an introduction day where we drove the Ford RST rally car, a Ford Focus road car and a purpose made skid car. I attended several 1 day courses which included a 1 to 1 driving session with Nigel Whetton from whom I learnt a great deal about competitive driving.

In 2004 I signed up for the full rally course which was later cancelled, due to the company running it going bust. I persisted with the idea of learning rallying and I signed up for the Nicky Grist Junior Rally Academy which was to take place Summer 2005. Unfortunately the company running this has also gone bust. To see some of my rally photo's, visit my Rallying Gallery.

During 2005 I turned my attentions to learning circuit racing techniques. I attended four 1 to 1 sessions at the Silverstone Motorsport Academy driving a Lotus Elise and my instructors were Ray Allen, Tim Mullen and Rob Barff. To see some of my car racing photo's, visit my Car Racing Gallery. 2005 was my most successful year to date, as I won the Covkartsport Junior Karting Championship at my first attempt. This was a great result for me, as I won the Championship in the last race at the last race meeting.

In 2006, I finished 4th in the increasingly competitive Covkartsport Senior Light Championship. I started in September at Myerscough College on a National Diploma in Motorsport course which is great. I also had GCSE'S and Swimming exams to pass in 2006, which contributed in reducing my motorsport activities. I did attend a number of training sessions at the Rallyschool in Shropshire under the tutorage of John Goff which has brought my rally driving techniques on 10 fold.

As for 2007, I learnt a great deal more about rally driving techniques at the Rallyschool and also learnt more about what happens in the background to get a rally car to the start line. Karting was a big disappointment, as I was not permitted to compete in most of the Covkartsport Senior Light Championship due to disagreements with the organizers. I also passed my DSA driving test at the first attempt and I now drive my little Vauxhall Corsa.

In 2008 I passed my MSA National 'B' Stage Rally Competition Licence. I also finished 4th in my class, driving a Nissan Micra 1000, competing in the Formula 1000 Forest Rally Championship.

2009 saw me move up to the BTRDA Rally First Championship in which I drove a yellow 1.4 VW Lupo, and finished 1st in the BTRDA Rally First Class 1.4 Drivers Championship and 2nd in the overall BTRDA Rally First Overall Drivers Championship. I achieved this even though we had 5 tyre failures out of 7 rallies. My co-driver throughout the year was Joe Cruttenden.

2010 started well with my first class win on the Wyedean Forest Rally. After that thing went from bad to worse with a big off, at the Somerset Rally, which damaged the front of the VW Lupo. The Plains Rally was a non-starter due to technical problems on the way to the start line and during the Summer I broke my wrist while mountain biking which unfortunately ended my season of rallying for 2010.