MY MOTORSPORT MOMENT
“ I was nervous because when you go into a completely different race event, you don’ t know how the other people are going to drive – and then, just before we headed out to race, it tipped down with rain! It rained so hard, but it turned out the car’ s soft suspension was actually the perfect set up for those conditions. So, I just got my head down and drove until I was told to stop – and I ended up finishing in second place.
“ There’ s an onboard video of me on YouTube and when I go past the chequered flag you see me look up at the totem pole scoreboard, look back at the steering wheel and have a double take. I looked back up again and just started squealing and when I got into the pits, the team was jumping up and down like crazy! I was just pipped for the win by Sarah Franklin at the last corner, too.
“ That race gave me the confidence that I was good at it. When you’ re racing in a field with all level abilities, you’ ve just got to keep going to race weekends to improve and back then I didn’ t have the money to be able to do it consistently. Being able to jump into a brand-new car in a completely different formation and end up finishing second gave me a little spur to think,‘ yeah, I can do this.’
“ I kept the Alfa147 for about five years after that and it taught me a lot. I was racing in the Alfa Romeo Championship year after year but then I had a season where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The clutch broke, the auxiliary belt snapped, I had a problem with a caliper, and then at Brands Hatch later in the year, I had one of the worst accidents I’ ve ever had. I walked away from it, but I didn’ t go near a racetrack for a year or so.
“ Then I had a phone call from a friend inviting me to a track day at Brands Hatch to drive an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. It was a warm February day, and they let me take it out for the first stint. I came back in grinning like a Cheshire cat. I loved the car, and that’ s the one I am racing now. I’ ve got a couple of sponsors behind me, which is a massive help, and I’ m in the best position possible for me this year to have a stab at the championship – so let’ s see how it goes...”
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Revolution- March 2026