Berkshire racing driver wins classic race
A young racing driver from Berkshire has won a classic motorsport event, the Le Mans 24-hour race.
21-year-old racing driver Phil Hanson from Sunningdale and his teammates Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Di Resta from United Autosports were victorious in the event which is usually watched by thousands but this year took place behind-closed-doors.
Each driver is in the car anywhere between just over an hour to three hours at a time for a race that is famed for its test of endurance.
Phil raced his first Le Mans when he was just 17 in 2017, and every consecutive year since. As one of the youngest drivers racing, this marked his fourth Le Mans.
Phil said:
“It sounds crazy and it hasn’t really sunk it yet. It feels like such a relief as I thought we had thrown it away in the last 30 minutes with everything kicking off with the safety car and the slow zones, so it’s rewarding to get it done and to win the championship as well.
“These are the two goals we set out to achieve at the start of the year and you are never 100% confident that you can achieve them as the grid is so competitive and anything can go wrong at Le Mans, especially in the style we did it in too – pitting right at the end and not knowing if we would make it out in the lead again or of the other car had to pit. It makes it even more of a rewarding feeling. I’m speechless.”