MOTOR SPORT: CHESTER's Jamie Stanley has taken the first steps towards his dream of becoming a Formula One driver after competing in his first race at Silverstone.
The 22-year-old was earlier this year awarded the annual Three Sisters Racing School scholarship, paying for him to join the Medina Sport Team and race in the FF1600 class.
The rookie driver was immediately thrown in the deep end when he travelled to Northamptonshire to compete in the Walter Hayes Trophy on the weekend of November 6 and 7.
After some technical problems in qualifying, he did superbly to snatch a last-ditch eleventh place on the grid with a flying final lap, making him the highest-placed novice for the first race.
When the real action came around, he was able to improve on his position to finish a very respectable eighth, qualifying for the semi-finals.
Unfortunately for Jamie, torrential rain on the Sunday made conditions very difficult and, having never driven in the wet before, he was forced wide onto the gravel at the Brooklands turn while lying in seventeenth.
He said: 'It was disappointing for me not to finish the second race of the weekend.
'The spray was making visibility difficult but I was still confident I could have progressed further up the pack.
'But we put on a good show over the weekend and I have shown that I can run with the more experienced drivers so it bodes well for the future.'
Jamie admitted that his first taste of competitive racing was a little scary at first, but the life-long enthusiast is now hungrier than ever to succeed.
He said: 'I started out racing karts as a kid. When I was at St David's High School in Saltney, they used to take us karting for activity days and I just got hooked.
'I actually raced at Silverstone in a kart in 2000, so it was funny that five years later I was back in a proper race car!'
Jamie knows that only a select few ever reach the heights of Formula One, but he has worked hard to get where he is and is determined to go as far as he can.
He has competed for the Wigan-based Three Sisters scholarship for the past few years, and says keeping his feet on the ground is what saw him through this time.
He said: 'The school has a couple of Formula One and Formula Three cars, and every year before the final scholarship race they give you the chance to either try out one of them or go for more practice in the Formula Ford.
'Last year I jumped straight for the F1 and didn't get through, this year I stuck to the Ford and did, so I think that tells its own story!'
Jamie is now hoping to compete in the Absolute Media Trophy in Anglesey next month, and already has his sights on next year's North West Championships.
He is currently looking for businesses in the Chester district who might be interested in sponsoring him, and he can be contacted for further information on 07815109263.
