Buckingham-based teenager taking next step on his motor racing journey

Matthew ready to go out on trackMatthew ready to go out on track
Matthew ready to go out on track
Matthew Swatton, 14, has been racing go-karts competitively at local indoor and outdoor tracks for the last 3 years.

This year, he's hoping to take the next step into racing cars by participating in the Junior Saloon Car Championship (JSCC), racing Citroen Saxos at many of the UK's top tracks, including Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Croft and Thruxton.

The Bicester & Buckingham based teenager, has entered the JSCC Scholarship, with a top prize that allows a fully funded season of racing, courtesy of the race team, OREX Competition. The prize is worth in excess of £35,000, with the competition being held at Pembrey circuit in South Wales later this month. Driving ability, fitness, teamwork, media presence & personality will all play a part in deciding the winner and Matthew has been working hard to develop each aspect of his driver profile accordingly.

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Following his GCSEs next year, Matthew hopes to attend the National College for Motorsport in Silverstone. "Being involved in motorsport is my dream", he said, "I would love to be a professional driver but I do understand that I need a decent education behind me for whatever direction my journey takes within the sport."

On the podium at Daytona Milton KeynesOn the podium at Daytona Milton Keynes
On the podium at Daytona Milton Keynes

Matthew's father, Jon, commented, "Motorsport at any level is expensive and winning the scholarship would massively help to stretch the race budget to allow Matthew to race for more than just a single season. If we factor in the potential for inevitable damage, repairs, travel and accommodation at race weekends, the true cost of participating can be in excess of £50,000 per season! We are working hard on securing sponsors to partner with Matthew and although we've had some success, further support would allow Matthew to continue pursuing his dream.

Matthew added, "I'm already super lucky to have this opportunity and I can't thank my family and my current sponsors enough for all that they're doing to support me. It's a big step up from racing go-karts but I'm ready for the challenge and have been putting in the hard work with both the theory and the practical elements. I'm pleased with how I performed in my initial Saxo test sessions and I'm buzzing for the scholarship!"

You can follow Matthew's racing journey via his website - www.swattonracing.com on Instagram (swattonracing), Facebook (Matthew Swatton Racing) and Youtube (MatthewSwattonRacing). If you would like to support his journey through sponsorship, then please reach out via the contact page on his website or via the social media direct messages.

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