The Road to Enlightenment

Having done a bit of Karting I started racing cars in 2006 when I was fourteen and competed in the SAXMAX Championship, I achieved two podium finishes and a Driver of the Day award at Brands Hatch despite driving a ten year old car which had covered 122,000 miles! Dad and I decided my first year would be a learning year and we wouldn't spend money on the car whilst I was learning to race.

Having gained valuable front wheel drive experience in the Saxo I then joined Palmer Sport Team to compete in the Autumn Trophy, a six race series for the 2 litre rear wheel drive T Cars. My final outing for 2006 was a Formula Ford Test at Silverstone with the front running Eau Rouge Motorsport team where I managed to record fastest time of the day.

In 2007 I competed in the second season of the SAXMAX championship, this time in a competitive car and achieved five podium finishes and the title of SAXMAX Champion 2007”.……  

For 2008 I signed for Thorney Motorsport in the inaugural series of the Dunlop Sports Maxx Championship. I raced in Class B in a Vauxhall Corsa Sri and won both my class and the overall Championship.

I also did a few races in the ADR3 sports prototype and got to race the works Norma in the V de V at Dijon which was great, but I guess the highlight of the year was when I drove the works Jaguar XKR8, a 670 bhp GT3 in an International race at Donington partnering BTCC star Adam Jones, that car was awesome!……

I started the 2009 season in the Thorney Motorsport Class A Vauxhall Astra but was extremely disappointed with their standard of preparation so very quickly switched to the ultra professional Triple Eight squad, that's the same team who prepared the works Vauxhalls in the British Touring Car Championship, they have won more trophies and more championships than I've had hot dinners! So I was very proud to be defending my Championship in one of their Astra VXR's.

Having achieved reasonable success at national level racing it was now necessary for me to move up into the international racing arena. I therefore spent 2010 competing in a variety of non-championship races to broaden my experience. I did a couple of SPEED and V de V races in prototypes and three races in a Carrera Cup car where I managed three pole position and three fastest laps, unfortunately we suffered a suspension failure in the last race otherwise I would have won all three races. I also spent a lot of time concentrating on getting a serious programme together for 2011, which paid dividends as I landed the job as lead driver for Lotus Sport for their assault on the British GT Championship.

Competing in the British GT Championship alongside some of the best sports car drivers in the world greatly increased my experience and considering it was a development year for the car we were reasonably happy with a third overall in the GT4 category. It's now onwards and upwards for 2012, so watch this space.

Profile

Full Name Leyton James Alain Clarke
Nickname Gonzo
Currently Racing A variety of Sports Prototype and GT cars
Date of Birth 20th September 1991
Lives Maidenhead
Driving Experience 2006 SAXMAX Championship - Finished 7th
2006 T-Car Autumn Trophy - Finished 6th
2007 SAXMAX Championship - Championship Winner
2008 Dunlop Sport Maxx - Championship Winner
2009 Dunlop Sport Maxx - Finished 2nd
2009International GT in Apex GT2 Jaguar
2009Works Norma in V de V
2010 Works Norma in V de V & SPEED Series
2010Porsche Carrera Cup Car in GT3 Cup
2011 Lead Driver in Works Lotus Evora in British GT
Favourite Car Peugeot 908 HDI
Favourite Music Hip hop and Dance
Favourite Food Chinese and Indian
Hobbies Racing, keeping fit, music, girls
Ambitions Race in the ALMS (American Le Mans Series), compete in a works DTM and become a professional racing driver.

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