The sight of Deagen Fairclough standing on the top step of a British Formula 4 podium clutching a trophy has been one of the defining images of this season. After all, it’s one that has been seen 14 times during an unprecedented campaign of domination during which he has broken multiple records.
Even with the title already wrapped up, it was a sign of Fairclough’s character that he still registered another two wins at Brands Hatch last weekend, again demonstrating his wet-weather prowess, to add further gloss to his performance and take those new records just a little bit more out of reach for the next generation.
Yes, it has not been the strongest of line-ups for British F4 but, if you discount the reversed-grid races – where Fairclough was often starting outside the top 10 and regular safety cars limited his potential to progress – he won 14 of the other 20 races. Regardless of the quality of the opposition, that is some achievement.
Yet, despite the frequency of those successes, it could so easily have been different drivers instead enjoying those victories. Quite simply, Fairclough would not be on the British F4 grid were it not for ROKiT and the Racing Star competition it held in 2022.
The contest pitted sim racers against each other in a series of rounds as they battled for what is a very rare ticket in motorsport: a fully funded season of real-life racing. At the time, Fairclough was competing in Fiesta Junior, but his family’s working-class roots meant there was little prospect of him ever progressing onto the staggeringly expensive single-seater ladder. That was until he was chosen as ROKiT’s Racing Star.
“He doesn’t come from a rich family,” says ROKiT chairman Jonathan Kendrick. “They brought him up properly – he’s respectful, he’s a lovely kid and he’s not arrogant, he’s humble. We just fell in love with him. We put him in a single-seater and it was an instant, ‘Wow, this kid’s quick!’ He’s just blossomed from there.”
Fairclough’s maiden single-seater campaign was certainly eye-catching. He delivered some breathtaking performances but also got caught up in a few incidents before partnering his undoubted speed with better decision-making in the second half of the season to end up third in the standings.
With a switch to the Hitech squad and retaining ROKiT’s support, he was unsurprisingly one of the favourites for this year’s title. But Fairclough has not forgotten how fortunate he is to be on the grid.
“I’m so, so grateful to all of them for setting up that competition – I wouldn’t be here without them,” he states. “If I look back two years ago, I would have never expected myself to be at this point because motorsport financially is really hard.
"He’s got a great personality and is very appreciative of everything he’s got. I think he can go all the way and we want to support him as much as we can to get him there" Jonathan Kendrick
“When we were karting, we couldn’t even afford wets when it rained – that’s probably helped me this year! It [winning ROKiT Racing Star] has changed my life. I was very fortunate and I put so much hard work into making sure I won that competition.”
That effort has certainly been rewarded, particularly as Kendrick is keen to support his young star in climbing further up the ladder.
“He’s the perfect representative for ROKiT,” declares Kendrick, who has been involved in motorsport for 50 years and started out working for Goodyear. “He’s got a great personality and is very appreciative of everything he’s got. I think he can go all the way and we want to support him as much as we can to get him there.”
That’s a journey Kendrick is now keen to embark upon with more stars of the future. A second competition will be held next year, which will have a global reach and offer an incredible five prize drives (the series has yet to be determined, and will vary slightly depending upon each winner’s individual circumstances).
Investing in the original Racing Star initiative was a huge gamble for Kendrick – there was certainly no guarantee that success would follow. But, having seen what is possible with Fairclough, he is determined to now help others.
“There’s got to be the next Ayrton Senna or Lewis Hamilton somewhere out there,” says Kendrick of his ambition to “democratise” motorsport. “So we invented ROKiT Racing Star with my friend Bob Fernley to try to give a kid a chance, who would have never, ever had a chance. Now we are launching it again, ROKiT Racing Star version 2.0.”
More details of the new ‘Racing Drivers’ competition will be revealed over the coming weeks ahead of its launch next spring. Fairclough has certainly set a very high bar for those who follow in his footsteps, but he’s also demonstrated what is possible if given the right opportunity.
Any initiative that helps such underfunded drivers get a chance to realise their ambitions has to be commended, so it’s good news for the sport as a whole that the original Racing Star contest was not a one-off. And, as for Fairclough, his attention will soon switch to another potentially career-defining shootout as he takes his place in the Silverstone Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award final later this month full of confidence after such a remarkable campaign.
