Q&A
How did you first get interested in motorsport?
It came from my dad originally. He’s been racing since his mid-20s and when I was a kid I used to go and watch him. He also owned a little kart track in Weybridge and I used to spend some time there messing about on the karts. When my brother Sam started racing and his career began to take off, I used to go everywhere with him. I think I watched something like 51 of his first 59 races and my passion for the sport really began to grow.
So what was your first car race?
When I was 16, and old enough to race a car, my interest in motorsport had really grown. My dad owned a 1982 Van Diemen, the same type as the one Ayrton Senna won the Formula Ford 2000 Championship in, and he let me race that. It just started as a bit of fun to see what I could do, but things went really well. I qualified sixth in my first ever race at Snetterton, and in my second race I qualified fifth and finished on the podium. I did about four races that year and then won the winter series at Brands Hatch. The following year I did the full season and finished second in the championship, missing out on winning it by one point.
You then had a year away from racing in 2005, why was that?
Purely for the fact the money went dry. It certainly was not because I didn’t want to. So I got a job as a formula Renault mechanic for Welch Motorsport, knowing I would one day be racing these cars, and wanted to get a head start against all the other drivers
Was it interesting to see the ‘other side’ of motorsport?
Yes and I learned so much. At that time I knew I wanted to work in motorsport and thought I would end being a mechanic or a driver. It was a great experience and by the end of my time there I could strip down a Formula Renault car and put it back together. It has also helped me a lot because now I have a complete understanding of how these cars work. If the handling isn’t how I like it then I know what to do in terms of set-up and what adjustments I can make to the suspension, roll bar, ride height etc. I loved every minute of my time there but it was also then that I realised I would rather be in the car than working on it!
So it was back to racing in 2006?
Yes, I realised that driving was what I wanted to do. I worked really hard to improve my fitness and I spent all my spare time preparing the Van Diemen. I ran the car myself all year, doing my own set-up etc, and got it running really well. I was on pole by over two seconds at Castle Combe and by over a second at the Walter Hayes Trophy. Unfortunately I missed out on the championship by one point again, and decided to move on to Formula Renault BARC.
How different have you found ‘modern’ racing to the historics?
Completely different! I think the main reason is that the cars are so different to drive. You used to have to drive the nuts off the Formula Ford car, sliding round corners and stuff. It was like a big go-kart really. It had a traditional H-pattern gearbox and a clutch like you’d find in a road car. The Formula Renault car is nothing like that and it was almost like learning to drive again. Even though I’ve had a couple of years racing cars I don’t think I have gained any real advantage over the guys I’m racing against who have come straight out of karts. Obviously it helped me in terms of knowing the circuits and general race craft, but in terms of driving those guys have had nothing to ‘un-learn’, nothing to adapt from, whereas I’ve had to change my driving style and thought processes completely.
What’s the next step for your career?
Well at the moment im driving for Lotus, id like to stay close to them, and hopefully continue our partnership towards Le Mans if they choose to enter a car. There have been talks of a LMP car being designed and built, so that would be a dream come true. To Drive for a factory team at Le Mans, but not just any factory team...a British factory team.
And in the long term what’s the ambition?
Le Mans 24 Hours outright win, ever since I saw my brother race in 2003 for Ferrari there, the place has become my dream. I want to be the driver on the top step of the podium holding the trophy in which so many other great drivers have held. Its the worlds fastest, toughest, and challenging "sprint" race. I couldnt believe it in 2010, Peugeot were still setting fastest laps at 3am in pitch black conditions....awesome.
Finally Ollie, who has been the biggest influence on your career?
My dad. If it wasn’t for him I would be nowhere. Everything is down to him because he is the one who first fired my interest in motorsport. My brother Sam has also been a big influence though. His career followed a similar path to the one I’m treading now and he has helped me a massive amount. He has always been there for me at my races and it’s great to have him around helping me out. Then there’s the mechanics that helped me out in my early days in Classic Formula Ford and Formula Renault. They taught me a lot and I couldn’t have done it without them.