A teenager at a leading independent school in Yorkshire is set to be a future racing champion.
Bradford Grammar School (BGS) pupil, Lorcan Hanafin, aged 15 from Guiseley, has had a meteoric rise in motorsport, having only started racing cars last year.
Now racing in the Ginetta Junior Championships 2017-18, Lorcan has achieved resounding success in a number of categories and has found the transition from karting an exciting one, winning top 10 finishes and fastest laps.
He said: “When I was five my dad bought me a go kart. I was driving around the house until I was eight and then he took me to a major kart track. I joined a scheme where we brought our own kart, entered into a team, and I raced there until I was 13. After this, I relished jumping into cars. It was all new, exciting and much more efficient.”
Lorcan has been racing in the Ginetta Junior Championships since June this year. At the start, he and his team completed four test days and went straight into a championship round.
Said Lorcan: “It was a really steep but fantastic learning curve for us all. Since then I feel like I’ve gone from strength to strength.”
To qualify for the finals, Lorcan and his two-man team, Douglas Motorsport, had to work intensely together to get the best possible time overall during their races. During one round, he took the third place rookie podium and finished top 10 in two races.
Without the support of his sponsors MIS Motorsport, MCS and Reviv Leeds and Bradford Grammar School, Lorcan says he would not have gotten this far. He is also keen to take advantage of the sport support in school to hone his racing skills.
“I want to get into endurance racing which requires a lot of stamina and core strength, both vital for racing. You complete two-hour stints of a 24-hour race, with one car between your teammates to get the best possible results. So I’m looking to build on these using the BGS Performance Gym and tailored coaching from sport staff for strength and conditioning.
“When I’m racing I’m out there for 40 minutes at a time. It’s very intense and lots of pressure which I thrive in. The car gets extremely hot as it’s made out of fibreglass and I sit next to the gearbox so the heat expands into the air – you need the stamina to keep on going, as well as the mental drive.”
BGS, which counts Olympic medallists and Team GB members among its prestigious alumni, is undergoing a £4m investment in its sports facilities. It has also brought in several new sports names as part of the redevelopment, with a wealth of experience, from ex professionals and internationals to national league and age group international athletes who have represented Team GB.
Director for Sport, Oliver Rogers said: “We believe that if you lay the right foundations for sport, it creates stronger athletes. It’s why it’s important for our pupils to focus on developing key skills which are transferable such as using the Performance Gym and experiencing a range of different sports. The right foundations provide solid grounding for longer sporting careers. We’re very proud of Lorcan and we look forward to watching his motorsport career prosper.”
“I want to get into endurance racing which requires a lot of stamina and core strength, both vital for racing.
You complete two-hour stints of a 24-hour race, with one car between your teammates to get the best possible results. So I’m looking to build on these using the BGS Performance Gym and tailored coaching from sport staff for strength and conditioning.”
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