After his success at the Silverstone racetrack in the Caterham academy series, we caught up with Duncan about how he got into racing:
How did you get into racing?
I was into racing from a young age, having grown up watching formula 1. Growing up on a farm enabled me to start driving from a young age, this gave me the opportunity to learn different driving skills that I couldn’t learn on the road. My father competed in the same racing series in 2016 and by the end of his season, after watching his success and failure, I knew in time, I wanted to do it.
Where and when do you race?
I race in the Caterham academy series. It consists of 8 rounds all across the United Kingdom, including Silverstone, Donnington and Anglesey. As you can imagine, Silverstone was special to drive around, considering the history, but my favourite track was Donnington, due to its high speed nature. There are 8 races in the year but usually competitors will complete a couple of “testing days” before the race to practice the track.
What do you enjoy most about it?
The adrenaline of the speed and being so close to other race drivers is unmatched. But learning to be perfect and precise on a consistent level is where I have developed my driving the most, improving my lines and getting faster times over the course of a year is not only satisfying but also as rewarding.
Are there any risks/how dangerous is it?
There are risks and this season was especially bad for crashes. But everything is organised to minimise those risks – there are flags to tell drivers whether there has been an incident, dangerous driving is dealt with by points on your race license, and the cars are designed to withstand crashes. If Anything major happens the race is immediately stopped or slowed down.
What is your proudest racing achievement?
There are a few things I am especially proud of including breaking the track record for any driver in my type of car at Donnington Park by 1.4 seconds and at the end of the season I won the final race at Silverstone. However off track I was able to pick myself up after disappointment or gamesmanship and be resilient enough to get myself back on track, trying not to lose any confidence in my car or ability.
What would you say to anyone considering taking it up?
Racing is time consuming and exhausting, but it is also exhilarating and fun. I have never done anything that requires such resilience. In a race someone else’s mistake can be the end of your race and it is so disappointing, but when it comes together there is nothing better. It Is also helpful to be mechanically minded, something I had to learn the hard way.
