Southside driver finds his feet

MOTORSPORT Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year, Aron Smith, is finally starting to find his feet in his first season in the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).

The young driver from Rathfarnham began karting at the age of 14 but it is this year that he is starting to make his mark on the international stage.

In 2011, Smith finished runner-up in the Renault Clio Cup Championship in the UK and he was also crowned Graduate Champion for that season.

Smith then had the opportunity to race in the BTCC at Knockhill, where he finished tenth and gained his first ever BTCC point. Following this success and winning the Motorsport Ireland Young Driver Award Smith was afforded the opportunity to race in a full BTCC season in 2012 with Redstone Racing.

In winning the annual Motorsport Ireland award, Smith was rewarded with financial support from the Irish Sports Council and Dunlop. The support of e50,000 allowed Smith to achieve his dream of competing in a season in the Dunlop British Touring Championship but also to continue his studies at University in Dublin.

The structural engineering student made his season debut in his Redstone Racing Ford Focus at Brands Hatch in April and despite some early setbacks managed an 8th place finish in the final race of the weekend.

The 22-year-old had another two top ten finishes at Donington on the second race of the weekend.

The young Dubliner then suffered a couple of bad events before earlier this month finally showing the kind of class that had secured him the title of Ireland’s best young racing driver last year. Racing at the Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk, Smith secured a 6th place finish his best of the season in the BTCC.

Recently Smith exceeded this performance again and added some consistency to his weekend of racing. Having failed to put in three good races across a weekend, Smith did just that when the BTCC visited Knockhill. The young driver got off to an excellent start as he battled for a podium position but was eventually pipped to third but still registered his best result of the season.

He topped this off with two more top ten finishes in 6th and 8th to complete his best weekend yet in the Ford Focus. This leaves Smith in 12th in the driver standings with three events left this season. However, if he continues this form the Southsider may see himself seal a top ten finish in his debut season in the Championship.

For more information on Aron Smith, log on to www.AronSmith.com and for information on the Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year supported by Dunlop and the Irish Sports Council, log on to www.MotorsportIreland.com