RACE ace Ben Creanor has set his sights on accelerating back into a prestigious continental motorsport series after a “life-changing” year.

The 17-year-old, from Dunfermline, became one of the youngest drivers to take a seat on the grid in Euro NASCAR, a stock car racing series that featured former F1 world champion, Jacques Villeneuve.

Having applied for its 2019 driver recruitment programme after a successful background in virtual racing, Ben was accepted onto the series and was recruited by the Mishumotors team to compete for them.

After a season that saw him race in front of thousands of fans at circuits across Europe, including Hockenheim, in Germany, and Brands Hatch, he finished 16th – out of 41 competitors – in the final drivers’ standings in the ‘Elite Two’ class.

Since his last race in October, Ben has left Dunfermline High School to concentrate fully on his fledgling motorsport career, has picked up work at Knockhill Racing Circuit, and has had interest from several teams for the resumption of NASCAR.

With the latter on hold, he has resumed e-racing, while an online series of Euro NASCAR, which is set to mirror the track version and feature all teams and drivers, has been announced.

Although he doesn’t expect to be back out on track until next year, Ben is already looking forward to what the future holds, and told Press Sport: “Last year ended well.

“My best result came in the penultimate round, and I got a bonus point for the most overtakes, in the pouring rain, in Belgium.

“To go into something like that, straight in at the deep end, has definitely been a learning curve but it has been fun and life-changing.

“It was a risk but it was a gamble worth taking.

“I was very close to a first podium at Hockenheim but a combination of things went wrong and I was unable to race on the Saturday, unfortunately.

“I’m definitely intrigued to go back and give it another shot. I feel that I have unfinished business in NASCAR, and that I have a lot to prove.

“I’ll definitely go back in my career. I owe a lot to the organisers; they took a risk putting me in one of their cars in the first place, and it was a lot of fun.”

Although missing the smell of burning rubber, Ben is more than happy to show his skills online in the meantime – and hopes it can inspire others as a route into a racing career.

“It’s brilliant for me as it’s where I came from initially,” he added.

“It allows me to make a statement, show more of what I can do, and prove that my route into motorsports cannot be disregarded.

“I stand alone in drivers who have come through an e-sports background. It’s a different approach and I want to prove it is a credible approach to take.”

 

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