Teenage Angus motorsport sensation Sandy Mitchell has seen off the challenge of Britain’s best young drivers to land a dream team race seat alongside Olympic cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy.
Courier Country support helped carry the 17-year-old star across the line in first place in the battle for votes between the ten racers shortlisted to partner Hoy in a United Autosports Ligier JS P3 prototype sportscar in the final round of the Henderson Insurance LMP3 Cup championship at Leicestershire’s Donington Park next month.
Former British junior karting champion Mitchell, from Letham, near Forfar, currently races in the British GT championship in a £160,000 McLaren 570S GT4 capable of around 185 miles per hour.
The Black Bull Garage 59 driver may only have thrown away his L-plates to get on the roads for real a few weeks ago, but his driving talent has already powered him into the motorsport record books with race-winning and lap record performances at circuits in the UK and beyond, including Belgium’s iconic Spa Francorchamps.
Over 8000 votes were cast after the flood of applications from almost 120 of Britain’s best young drivers to bag the seat was whittled down to the high calibre shortlist of ten.
Chris Hoy had his first taste of the Ligier JS P3 at Snetterton in monsoon conditions last week and Sandy will test the 420bhp, five-litre V8 carbon-bodied machine in the week leading up to the big race.
It was very wet for Sir @chrishoy today at Snetterton – some good mileage covered though #BeUnited pic.twitter.com/0L0p1qI1z9
— United Autosports (@UnitedAutosport) August 9, 2017
Hoy has proved himself an accomplished racer since his 2013 retiral from the glittering two-wheeled track career which reaped a remarkable six Olympic golds, with a 2016 finish at the gruelling Le Mans 24 Hours race the highlight of his motorsport journey so far.
In a tweet to his new teammate, 41-year-old Hoy said: “Congratulations, looking forward to it.”
Dundee High School youngster Sandy said: “I am so pleased to win the Sports Insure Young Driver initiative, it is an incredible prize.
“To have this opportunity to drive the United Autosports LMP3 car alongside Sir Chris Hoy is truly special. I would like to thank every single person that voted for me, the support has been amazing.
“I can’t wait to race at Donington Park, I will be giving it 100% and more.”
United Autosports team owner and managing director, Richard Dean said: “It’s a great opportunity for a young driver to get behind the wheel of a prototype and I hope Sandy gets everything he can out of it.
“It has been a close competition with various leaders at one point or another, but I think Sandy will be an asset to the team as he is a proven race winner already this year.”
