Photo credit to; Ginetta
Photo credit to; Chesterfield Local
Noah Young is set to make BTCC history as the youngest ever driver to take the track at 16 years and 11 months old, however many BTCC fans don’t know much about the Chesterfield boy who has come out of seemingly nowhere and burst onto the British motorsport scene! Young is due to race in 2027 & 2028 with championship contenders Team Vertu, who struggled this season amid Ash Sutton and NAPA’s domination, culminating in Ash Sutton’s historic 5th title being won a round early, while race 30 saw Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton, – who held the record at 17 years old before Young arrived to the BTCC paddock – sent to the hospital after an opening lap crash, although this trip was for precautionary check ups, and both drivers were okay.
MSVR’s article about Young’s signing with Team Vertu stated that his rookie year will be treated as a learning year, before the young talent heads into the 2028 season flat out, looking to move up the standings. Young has seen success in Ginetta categories previously, receiving seven freshman class wins in 52 race starts, but never getting an overall podium, apart from a winter series podium in the winter of 2025 / 2026. Young originates from sim racing, particularly on iRacing, where he holds a iRating of around 6,000, putting him in the top 1% of drivers on the platform. Sim racing is proving to be a strong pathway into motorsport in the modern day, with a notable example of a sim racer who made it into real life car racing being the formidable Jann Mardenborough, who would go on to podium at Le Man in 2013, on his first attempt at the world renown motor race, which was eventually made into the “Gran Turismo” movie that released into theatres in 2023, showcasing Jann’s incredible story and the reality that sim racing is in fact a pathway into real life motorsport!
Young’s announcement as a BTCC driver comes only two years after his family have him a shot in the Ginetta’s after a trail in the car went surprisingly well and Young showed everybody around him that he had true pace behind the wheel of a race car. Young raced for two seasons with the ‘Performance One Motorsport’ team showcasing pace along the way, achieving a best overall championship finish of 12th, while his best race finish was just shy of the podium in 4th. A highlight of Young’s time in Ginetta’s was only his second race in the championship at Donington Park, where Young went from 23rd to 10th in a single race, showing extreme pace while still have almost no race experience behind the wheel!
Noah Young will debut in the BTCC on the 10-11th of April at his local track in the form of Donington Park’s national layout, the same track Young’s career began only two short years ago!