2012 News & Reports

Autoclub Speedway, Fontana April 17 2012

2012-04-21T21:02:00.001+01:00

Video blog following my test at Fontana: http://youtu.be/Tbz9VpM6R9A

Long Beach Race April 15th 2012

2012-04-16T12:38:00.006+01:00

Alex finished his debut race weekend in Long Beach in 14th place and with the first Championship points on the board. In the run up to the weekend Alex had known he was taking on a daunting task to make his first appearance in the Indy Lights series at possibly the most demanding venue of the Championship.
Driving for Brooks Associate Racing, the one practice session on Friday was cut short by heavy rain. This lost the team valuable set up time - not having raced at the circuit previously there was no historical data to work from so the loss of time and the wet conditions were a real setback. As the weekend wore on it was to prove even more challenging than Alex had first thought!
Saturday and the challenges mounted with the loss of practice due to mechanical failure. This meant Alex would go into qualifying with only two full laps of the circuit under his belt. "Just going to have to see what I can pull out of the bag!" was his undeterred response.
Alex's pace during qualifying was impressive, at one point running as high as 6th. However, a problem put him out of the second part of qualifying. With the rest of the field putting their best lap times in at the end of the session Alex had to watch his place tumble to 14th. "I was pleased with my performance in qualifying given no prior running" said Alex "top 10 was clearly possible and this gives me real encouragement for the race."
Sunday morning and in the pre-race warm up Alex found some good speed, moving him up the field and putting him in confident mood for the race. Starting from the back of the grid he was running strongly and overtaking confidently but a small error on the bumpy circuit halted his progress and ended his race just over half way through.
Alex summed up: "There are a lot of positives to take out of this weekend. As a rookie team we all worked really well and we have all learned and gained valuable experience. Its all about building for the future".
This was an impressive first outing for the rookie, with just one small error. There is no doubt he will be improving and progressing throughout the season.
From Long Beach the team head to Fontana for a 1 day test at the oval track to start preparation for the Freedom 100 in Indianapolis, the next event on the schedule May 25.

Video Blog post Long Beach race 15th April

2012-04-15T22:00:00.000+01:00

Post race thoughts: http://youtu.be/P9Sz55ds9ds

Alex races to US for his debut in Indy Lights at Long Beach

2012-04-11T20:57:00.005+01:00

Alex returns to action with a deal to race in the Indy Lights Championship at the highly prestigious Long Beach street race in California on the 15th of April. He returns to action with Brooks Associates Racing - the team he tested with at the official training days at Barber, Alabama with great success.
”I am really looking forward to the opportunity I have got with John and his team. We have gelled really well in testing and I feel we can put on a good show at Long Beach. For me it will be my Indy Lights debut. With the minimal testing we have had I am just going to focus on keeping my head down and working hard with the team to improve each time out on track and build for the future.” said Alex.

Alex's deal results from a lot of hard work by his family and management team after testing at Barber showed how much potential he has, despite having far less track time compared to his rivals. Alex’s management team will continue working hard to secure his full time return to the cockpit and are seeking partners to ensure this becomes a reality. “We are looking for new business partners to safeguard the drive and provide continuity of support for the remainder of 2012 and beyond to ensure Alex can go on and develop the talent he has clearly demonstrated” said his manager.

But for now the only thing on Alex's mind is the joy of being able to race at Long Beach.

Alex to appear in TV series

2012-04-05T15:09:00.002+01:00

Welsh language television channel S4C will be running a series of interviews with Alex over the course of the 2012 racing season. The 5 minute clips will follow Alex in a fly on the wall style as he trains, races and works to source sponsorship. Alex filmed the first instalment today and it will be aired as part of 'Y Lle' to be broadcast at 6pm on Thursday 11th of April.

Video Blog at Barber and St Petersburg

2012-03-29T19:33:00.000+01:00

Video Blog St Pete part 2: http://youtu.be/XmKD0XoIMuo

My first Indy Lights video blog from Barber & St Petersburg: http://youtu.be/KwhPstOiRrs

Strong prospects sees Alex secure U.S return

2012-03-10T14:53:00.007Z

After much hard work Alex has secured a return to the U.S racing scene in a deal with Brookes Associates Racing to participate in the upcoming IndyLights official pre-season test in Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama.

After a very successful test with John and his team at the end of February, Alex heads out hoping his future is secured to compete in the first rounds of the championship.

"I am really looking forward to getting back out there" said Alex. "We don't as yet have all the necessary funding in place to be confirmed for the first races but I am hopeful that can be secured in time" he said.

Alex is looking to once more demonstrate his ability despite having far less testing time over the winter compared to his rivals.

"It is going to be tough but I just need to be realistic about what is achievable. I know if I keep my head down and work hard with John and his team we can have a good test and progress to gather some impressive results come the first race weekend at St.Pete." he reflected

Alex will travel out next week for the series test at Barber on the 19th and 20th of March which is the last chance the teams and drivers have to prepare for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the 25th of March.

"We are still not guaranteed to be on the start-line come the 25th but I am going to focus on what I can control and put in a good performance at Barber.... I hope we can make it however as racing around the streets of St.Pete would be an amazing experience - and it has kept me motivated and down the gym for a while!"

Blog: Jet setting and testing!

2012-02-23T18:20:00.000Z

The past 2 weeks have certainly been hectic for me and my body clock is still not 100% sure what time it is! First of all I headed to Arizona for 2 days of IndyLights testing. It was great to get back into a race car and the 2 days spent at the Firebird test track near Phoenix was a great experience. John Brookes and his team did a great job for me and I learned a lot over the 2 days. The IndyLights car is a big powerful brute and takes some time to adapt to, but is very rewarding at the same time.

I then returned home for 4 days before crossing the Atlantic once more, this time heading for Indianapolis. Picking up the hire car in a snow covered car park at -7C was a shock to the system particularly after being spoilt with great sunshine and warm temperatures in Arizona! I was in Indy for the state of IndyCar address, medicals for my license and some personal meetings to try and secure my place on the IndyLights grid.

The trip was very fruitful with all my medicals passed my 2012 license is sorted! We also met with John Brookes again and we both made it very clear that we wanted to work together for the 2012 season, and I now have a very interesting and exciting opportunity to drive for him this year-all funds permitting!

I am now back in the U.K trying desperately to put together the funding needed to secure my place and make it back out to the states for more testing early in March- which would be crucial to kick off the season well.

While it is not easy to find the funding, we are working very hard and I am hopeful something exciting will happen soon.

Until then it's head down time, training and working hard on the computer and phone trying to make it all happen!

Alex continues to shine - latest testing

2012-02-08T20:29:00.004Z

Alex showed again why he is in demand for the 2012 season with another impressive round of testing, this time over 2 days at the Firebird Raceway near Phoenix, Arizona.

He flew out to test with the Brookes Associates Racing team as he assesses all of his options for the upcoming season. Quickly getting back up to speed with the powerful Indy Lights car, Alex was able to put in some quick laps and move onto helping the team develop and set up the car.

‘I am very pleased with the progress made in this test - it was vital for me to come out here, meet with the team and to show these guys my potential, as well as understand more about the Indy Lights car. ’ said Alex

‘John runs a very professional outfit and I very much hope we can continue to work together for the season. It was also great to meet with the Race 2 Energy team’ he concluded.

‘Alex put in a very good performance- he has a very high potential and I think he will shock some people this year.’ was the ringing endorsement from team owner John Brookes at the end of the 2 days.

Alex will now travel to Indianapolis for the Indy Car seminars and driver medicals over the 13^th and 14^th of February and then return home to continue to search for the financial backing needed to turn the massive potential into reality for 2012.

‘I am really pleased with how the testing went, but I really now need the backers to come on board so I can get back out to the U.S and continue to test before the season begins in late March.’ said Alex.

Alex to kick off 2012 in Arizona!

2012-01-26T15:23:00.004Z

Alex is heading out to Firebird Raceway in Arizona for 2 days of Indy Lights testing with the ambitious Brookes Associates Racing team on the 3rd and 4th of February. The deal for the test comes after a winter of hard work from both Alex and his management team.
'I am very much looking forward to this test. I met with John Brookes at the start of the year and he impressed me greatly with his team plans and approach. The test will be good for me to get some more mileage under my belt and continue to adapt myself to the specific needs of the Indy Lights cars.' he said
Alex has yet to finalize a full budget for the 2012 campaign but heads out to the U.S once more very much looking towards the future.
'I am going out there to show what I can achieve this year and to hopefully help gather the exposure and demonstrate to potential sponsors and partners what is possible for 2012 and beyond!'
For a full report on the test and Alex's blog check back soon.

December blog: Ups and downs of a racing driver in the winter

2011-12-07T13:45:00.000Z

As November passes and December and Christmas time approaches it can be pretty tough to keep motivated, fit and healthy. Mince pies dark nights and less than ideal weather conditions make it a challenge to be prepared for the 2012 racing season, but preparing is exactly what I have been doing.
Whilst searching very hard to secure some partners for the 2012 campaign, I have also been putting in the hours at the gym, out on the trails and the road bike as well as hard work with my sports psychologist to make sure I am in top condition.

Living in North Wales can bring some big benefits and although at this time of the year it is pretty cold to say the least, having the Snowdonia mountains as a playground is a massive plus point! As a keen member of my local cycling club I have been making the most of the surroundings with some good hard training rides and loving every minute of it- despite getting caught in a hail storm on my last 60miler!
Spending time in the outdoors always benefits me and boosts my motivation and when the weather gets too bad to bring my much loved Bianchi road bike out I hit the mountainous trails for a long run or drag the mountain bike out for a blast, and when that is not possible I get my head down and hit the gym.

So that is pretty much my life over the winter months- working hard on sponsor fronts and improving myself as a person- oh and counting down the days until the temperature rises and I'm back in a race car!!