Offaly teenager Alex Dunne has been confirmed as the British Formula 4 champion ahead of the final race day at Brands Hatch.
The 16-year-old has built up an unassailable 102 point lead over his nearest challenger, Ollie Gray, after eleven wins and six further podium finishes on the circuit this season.
Dunne is being tipped for a big future in motor racing, having already been picked by the Italian automobile federation to join its annual Ferrari Driver Academy scouting camp.
READ MORE: Meet Irish teen Alex Dunne who wants to be Formula One's next big star
The Clonbullogue teenager said: "What an honour it is to be announced as the 2022 ROKiT British F4 Champion.
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"It's been a really incredible year this year with Hitech GP, breaking the record for most wins in a single season. We got some really good results across the board as a team as well.
"Coming into this year, we definitely knew it was going to be possible, but I’m really happy with what we’ve achieved.
"We’ve worked so hard to get to this point, so I’d like to say a huge thank you to everybody at Hitech, and to British F4 and Motorsport UK as well, they’ve been really accommodating to me and I’ve really enjoyed the championship."
The youngster, whose idol is Ayrton Senna and who is now used to reaching speeds of up to 240kmh, previously told the Irish Mirror: “I’ve been racing since I was nine.
“My dad [Noel] was a racing driver for many years and ever since a young age, four or five, I would always go racing and watching my dad.
“He kind of introduced me to it and that’s how I started.
“The goal we’re working towards is definitely Formula One, we’ve achieved quite a lot, especially from where we’ve came from.
“So far it’s went very well and we’ve definitely exceeded our expectations.”
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