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Five minutes with...
Nicolas
Hamilton
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Interview and images courtesy of Monster Energy
I
t’s been over a year since Nicolas
Hamilton has turned the wheel of a race car
for his British Touring Car debut, and it’s fair
to say the scene has missed him, as much
as he has wanted to be racking up laps. You see,
despite the famous surname, there are absolutely
no free rides for this 25 year old; and only after
more than twelve months of hustle, training and
hard work, can he return to where he wants to be
the most.
Rewind the clock to 2015 and Nic made
motorsport history as the first ever disabled
athlete to compete in the legendary British Touring
Car Championship. Armed with a full race team
and support crew, Nic’s arrival caused a huge stir
in the BTCC paddock. Unfortunately the season
didn’t quite go to plan though – technical and
budget issues, hampered progress on track and
drained his race funds faster than his 300bhp car
could eat new tyres. By the end of the season it
was clear to Nic that something had to change.
Juggling his work developing race-simulator
games and a packed public speaking schedule,
Nic has now single handedly pulled together a
deal that will see him drop the clutch on a full 18-
race campaign in the Renault Clio Cup. Not bad
for someone that wasn’t able to walk eight years
ago. While loading up to hit the road for Oulton
Park – host venue for round one of the 2017 Clio
Cup – we grabbed 10 minutes of his time, to get
the inside line on the latest chapter of this truly
remarkable racing story.
Hi Nic – it’s great to see you. Almost go time
now – what’s in store?
A full season of Clio Cup this year, and I’m mega
excited to confirm my participation in the series,
and properly get going with it now. I’m really proud
to have done it all myself too. I drove Touring Cars
in 2015, then took a year out because I wanted
to work towards getting the budget [for the Clio
season] – it’s not easy nowadays to get the money
that you need for racing. It’s a reality now with the
help of Monster Energy and all my other sponsors.
The first race is this weekend – so not long! u
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