ROKiT's Deagen Fairclough wins Silverstone Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year

ROKiT British F4 champion scoops £200,000 and an Aston Martin F1 test drive at the Autosport Awards in London

KINGSWOOD BUSINESS PARK, WOLVERHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM, January 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- British Formula 4 champion Deagen Fairclough has been crowned the winner of the 2024 Silverstone Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. The 18-year-old Briton wins £200,000, a test in an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 car, full British Racing Drivers' Club membership, an Arai helmet and Jordan Bespoke helmet bag.

Fairclough beat fellow finalists Arvid Lindblad, Louis Sharp and Freddie Slater to become the 35th winner of the Award, which aims to find and boost rising British single-seater drivers.

He was announced as the winner at the prestigious Autosport Awards held at London’s Roundhouse on 29 January.

Fairclough said: “This means so, so much! Thank you to every single person, my mum, my dad, my friends, HiTech and, of course, ROKiT for their incredible support and sponsorship without which I wouldn't even be racing."

Fairclough earned his chance to step into racing with success in the inaugural ROKiT Racing Star 'sim-to-circuit' Esports competition and, after finishing third in the ROKiT British F4 in 2023, Fairclough utterly dominated the 2024 campaign, taking 14 victories with Hitech, smashing all previous records in the championship.

Fairclough joins an illustrious list of previous winners of the Award, which includes 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button, 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard, current F1 drivers Lando Norris and George Russell, triple Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, and 2014 World Endurance champion Anthony Davidson.

Jonathan Kendrick, Chairman of ROKiT said "This incredibly valuable and important award, won previously by so many outstanding young drivers, caps off the most remarkable year for Deagen and we at ROKiT feel particularly pleased and proud that our Racing Star initiative gave Deagen his opportunity to race in open-wheel cars, an opportunity he grasped with both hands by winning the ROKiT British F4 championship in record-breaking style. We're very grateful to Silverstone, Autosport and the British Racing Drivers Club for the recognition given to Deagen for his achievements with the Young Driver of the Year award."

The 2024 Award judging panel was led by ex-F1 driver and BRDC vice-president Derek Warwick. The other judges were four-time IndyCar champion Franchitti, Le Mans-winning engineer Leena Gade, three-time GP winner Johnny Herbert, GT team boss and 1997 Award winner Andrew Kirkaldy, double British Touring Car champion Jason Plato, three-time World Touring Car champion Andy Priaulx, IMSA champion and 2008 Award winner Alexander Sims, Aston Martin development driver and 1996 Award winner Darren Turner, commentator Ian Titchmarsh, McLaren and Lola designer Mark Williams, and Autosport’s chief editor Kevin Turner.

"ROKiT will continue to sponsor Deagen as he steps up to the GB3 championship this year and we will hold another ROKiT Racing Driver competition to, hopefully, unearth the next rising star as we did for Deagen, the remarkable story of which can be seen on ROKiT Flix." Added Kendrick.

More information at www.rokit.com and www.rokitflix.com

Bruce Renny
ROKiT Group
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