Noah Young

Chesterfield's latest up and coming Motorsport hopeful

Words: Paul Chapman Images: Noah Young Racing

Noah Young has just turned 15, and competes in the Ginetta Junior Championship, the same race series as Harry Bartle that we’ve featured recently and coincidentally lives around the corner from Harry, in Somersall.

Dad, Ash, dropped me an email a while ago to see if I wanted to chat about his new racing career. Of course, I’m always keen to spread the word about local achievements but this felt a little de ja vu’ish!

I caught up with Ash, Noah’s dad whilst Noah was across the road at Brookfield Community School studying.

“Noah had always wanted to have a go at karting but thought he was too old and had missed the boat,” explains Ash. “We got in touch with Ginetta to see if they had trial days and were able to line him up with a drive, there was no plan to race, just a chance to have a go.”

The drive went well, Noah clearly had talent, and loved it. He performed well and went on to try for a scholarship place but couldn’t secure a spot. “We had a family chat and decided we’d see if we could put Noah in a car and give him two years to see how he performs,” says Ash.

Ash runs a successful Sheffield marketing agency, Evoluted, and during lockdown established CarMats.co.uk, based in Sheepbridge they set up their own eCommerce site and the business has gone from strength to strength, growing massively in just a few years - selling car mats!

“We teamed up with Performance One Motorsport and were pleased to see Noah on the grid at Donington in April,” smiles Ash. Testing started in November and it was a steep learning curve for all involved, Noah had never done anything like this and to roll up to the starting grid was, I’m sure, equally amazing and scary for Noah and his family.

Noah embraced the challenge. In Race 1, he kept his cool in a packed field to finish 16th, gaining valuable experience and settling into life in the fast lane.

But it was Race 2 where Noah really turned heads. Starting from 23rd on the grid, he delivered a sensational drive through the field to secure a top 10 finish - a standout result for a complete newcomer. His performance also earned him first place in the Ginetta Junior Freshman Class, which is awarded to drivers entering the championship with no previous racing experience.

Unfortunately, contact from another car forced an early retirement in the final race of the weekend, but Noah's debut had already made a serious statement.

After the first round at Donington, Jack Robert, Performance One Motorsport’s Team Principal was full of praise: "Noah’s performance this weekend was nothing short of outstanding.

"To come into such a competitive field with zero prior race experience and deliver the kind of results he did, it shows just how much potential he has. He’s calm, focused, and eager to learn. We’re really excited about what’s to come." This is fantastic feedback from a seasoned pro and shows a promising future for Noah.

When I met with Ash it was just after the second race of the series at Silverstone. “Based on the first outing we had high hopes for Noah. Qualifying was going well and he was destined for a top 10 start but electrical problems with the car meant he didn’t qualify, an exposed wire blowing a fuse leading to a start from the back of the grid.”

"From the three races he went from 24th to 22nd place, in the second he finished 13th and in the third he was taken off the circuit by another driver and finished 18th. There’s a lot of contact in this sport."

With almost 30 cars starting on the grid it's a good performance, there have only been two rounds with six remaining. "Looking at the future rounds we're looking forward to Zandvoort which is also an F1 circuit the most but the next round is this weekend in Oulton and then Snetterton at the start of July," says Ash.

I asked what Noah does away from school? "Apart from playing squash he spends a lot of time on the driving simulator, all the tracks are on there so he can learn the layout before racing. He also races online on iRacing, which allows him to race real time against other drivers," says Ash.

Ash was keen to express his thanks to Brookfield for the support they’ve given Noah, allowing days away from school to get to tracks.

So, we’re just two race weekends into the 16 events Noah will be attending in his two-year plan. We’ll be checking in to see how he’s going, and I still can’t believe we have two such talented young drivers, living in our community, a stone’s throw away from each other.

If you want to follow Noah’s journey on and off the track? Catch all the action behind the scenes by following him on the socials below and if you missed Harry's story you can read it at S40 Local as below.

IG: @noahyoungracing

chesterfieldlocal.com/post/hario-karts

I wish both Noah and Harry all the best in the series and will ensure I keep up to date on progress.