TEENAGER Alex Sedgwick may not yet be old enough to drive a car in home country, but after signing up for UK-based Preptech racing team, he is gearing up for the adventure of a life-time.
The 16-year-old will be the youngest rider on the grid when he lines up for the 11th Hankook 24H Dubai endurance race later this month.
The Southam racer will be competing in the FIA International Endurance Series which consists of four 24-hour and three 12-hour races held around the world.
It will take Sedgwick on a journey which starts in Dubai on January 15 before travelling to Italy (Mugello), UK (Silverstone), Holland (Zandvoort), France (Paul Ricard), Spain (Barcelona) and the Czech Republic (Brno).
“Racing in my first 24-hour race along side professional drivers and factory teams is amazing and a wonderful start to 2016,” said Sedgwick.
“My dream is one day to race in the Le Mans 24-Hour race and this is a great start to hopefully realising my dream.
“I have already contested a 24-hour kart race so have some idea of what will be ahead of me.
“The Dubai race is unique in that over half the race will be in the dark, a new challenge for me.
“I will be racing a Clio Cup Car again so I have some knowledge of the car from racing in the UK Renault Clio Cup last year.”
The series attracts drivers from all around the world and includes factory teams and professional drivers.
A total of 100 cars will line-up at the start, nearly twice the number contesting the legendary Le Mans 24 Hour race, and nearly 500 drivers will contest the race. Each team must have a minimum of two drivers and a maximum of five.
Sedgwick will race alongside Preptech’s other drivers, Andy Mollison, Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke and Australian Cody Hill, in the team’s 240 bhp Renault Clio Cup car specially modified for endurance racing.
Each driver can only drive for a maximum of two hours in one go so they will each drive for a total of six hours over the 24-hour race.
“We have been communicating with Alex during 2015 regarding some 2016 events, but to have him join us in Dubai is fantastic for him and also for us as a team,” said Preptech UK’s owner and team manager Oliver Barnard.
“Dubai is one of, if not the toughest of all the 24-hour events around the world, and we are aware that this is only our second event but confidence is high.
“Alex will slot in perfectly with our existing young and fast driver line up. We are proud to have such a great team, all working for success, hopefully luck helps us out a little too.”
Sedgwick began racing at the age of eight and has already spent half of his life in motorsport.
The teenager will fly out to Dubai prior ro the race in order to take part in a private test at the circuit to familiarise himself with the car.
He added: “It is an honour to be offered the chance to join Preptech UK for the Dubai 24 Hours.
“I’ve been looking into endurance racing for a while now and, although I’ll be throwing myself in at the deep end, the team have shown they are capable of running competitively. I can’t wait.”
The opening race in Dubai will begin on January 15 and finish the following day. To keep track of Sedgwick’s progress follow him on Twitter (@alexsedgwick9) or visit www.alexsedgwickracing.com.
