HOGGARD SNATCHES YOUNG DRIVER OF THE YEAR PRIZE
Multiple race winner gets a huge career leg-up for 2020
British Formula 3 Championship racer Johnathan Hoggard scooped the biggest prize of his fledgling career by taking the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award on Sunday night.
He beat three other finalists to be named as the victor at the Autosport Awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London .
Hoggard, the 31st winner of the award, said: “I’m over the moon! I’m lost for words. I’ve been waiting for over a month for this and it’s been agonising.”
The Lincolnshire racer says lifting the accolade, which comes along with a prize drive in a Red Bull Formula 1 car and a £200,000 cash jackpot and other awards, will boost his future.
“We were waiting until [the award announcement] to finalise our plans,” he said.
“You never know what opportunities can open up.”
BRDC British Formula 3 runner-up Johnathan Hoggard was announced as the 2019 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year at the Autosport Awards last Sunday.
The 19-year-old beat Japanese Formula 3 race winner Enaam Ahmed, W Series champion Jamie Chadwick and BRDC British F3 frontrunner Ayrton Simmons after fitness and simulator tests at Red Bull, and two days of running at Silverstone in Motorsport Vision Formula 2, Ligier
LMP3 and Aston Martin
Vantage GT3 machinery.
Hoggard will receive £200,000, an Aston Martin Red Bull Racing F1 test, a run in an Aston Martin Vantage GTE World Endurance Championship challenger, full membership to the British Racing Drivers’ Club and an Arai helmet.
The award was first given out in 1989, and former winners include David Coulthard,
Dario Franchitti, Jenson
Button, George Russell and Lando Norris. Mclaren F1 driver Norris was also present at the awards and collected the British Competition Driver of the Year honours.
Tough test
Hoggard finished as runner-up in the 2019 British F3 Championship behind winner Clement Novalak.
The Lincolnshire driver took seven wins throughout the duration of the 24-race season, and was only 23 points from the championship summit in his Fortec Motorsports machine.
He took more wins, more pole positions and set more fastest laps than any other driver in the category during 2019.
The former British Junior Karting champion began his racing career in British Formula 4 with Fortec Motorsports. He only contested the second half of the campaign but scored a podium finish at Silverstone on his way to 16th in the standings.
In 2018, he remained with the Fortec Motorsports team and contested the full F4 season. He was an eight-time race winner on his way to third in the standings behind Kiern Jewiss and Simmons.
He collected his Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award on stage at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Sunday night.
He explained: “Coming out of the test days I was happy with how I drove, but I didn’t know if it’d be enough.
“Driving without the lap times is like having one of your senses taken away. To hear my name being called was amazing. I did quite well in the Ligier and Aston Martin, using the limited time we had, and got close to the reference drivers.”
Judges impressed
During the assessment sessions at Silverstone, Hoggard impressed the judges with his raw pace in all of the different race cars that were used.
He was the stand-out performer, even when the track became slippery due to the conditions.
Hoggard explained: “It was quite tough knowing how well I was going. In BRDC British F3 I was relatively quicker [than the others] in the wet and I just drove to the grip levels I had.”
The award judging panel was led by ex-formula 1 driver and British Racing Drivers’ Club vice-president Derek Warwick and comprised of double BTCC champion Jason Plato, successful Mclaren and Lola designer Mark Williams, Le Mans-winning engineer Leena Gade, factory Aston Martin driver and 1996 Award winner Darren Turner, GT team boss and 1997 Award winner Andrew Kirkaldy,
BMW Formula E driver and 2008 Award winner Alexander Sims, experienced commentator Ian Titchmarsh and Autosport magazine editor Kevin Turner.
Judge Darren Turner said:
“The person that did the best was the person who asked the most questions beforehand. Johnathan showed very, very strong consistency.
“The ambient temperature was quite cold for the Aston Martin runs. The tyres came out of the oven and then dropped away and then plateaued, so the best lap was generally at the beginning of the run. He understood that and managed it. Once the tyres plateaued, he didn’t overdrive it.”
Hoggard also excelled in the pursuit test which was held in the Msv-operated F2 machines.
Future perfect
Hoggard is assessing his options moving forward and his campaign for 2020 should be revealed soon.
He explained that winning the award could change the trajectory of his plans for the following season.
“We were waiting until tonight to finalise our plans,” he said. “You never know what opportunities can open up. It’s weird winning the award – I’ve seen it on TV and in the magazine and many winners have gone on to F1, so I don’t know what could happen next.”
He is already set to contest the Daytona 24 Hours in January thanks to winning the 2019 Sunoco Whelen Challenge.