Andrews car adorned with the Reality Creations logo
In his first year he won every championship he entered, driving against much more experienced and better funded drivers. He continued this form into the following seasons, picking up many National race wins.
The step up from racing karts to cars was blighted by a considerable lack of funds. He didn’t let this deter him. Andrew beat around 70 other experienced racing drivers in the Silverstone Motorsport Academy Scholarship to claim his prize of a funded year in the BRDC single seater championship. Andrew scored more podium finishes and more points than any of his much more experienced competitors, but due to a ‘drop score’ rule, he had to settle for a runner up position in the championship. He then rounded the year off in fitting style by finishing 3rd overall in the UK Formula Ford Winter series.
Last week Andrew took part in an assessment on a transaction to racing in the USA in 2006 with the TeamUKUSA.com project. Testing with top single seater outfit JDC, Andrew sampled a Star Mazda at the Kershaw track in South Carolina.
Afterwards, Andrew said: "The car was great, plenty of grip, power and aero, we struggled in the morning with intermittent rain so it was difficult to learn the track but mid afternoon it was dry and we managed 60 dry laps and we set a good time. We had no time to go for as the team had no Mazda data to go on, but compared to the other teams testing we were well on the pace. I'm looking forward to the 1st race at Sebring with ALMS, the huge crowds and publicity are important for my career this season. Top 3 is my goal to build points for the Championship, we haven't got a full budget but we are all working together in this, but with the Canadian F1 GP and Champ Car support it gives us a good starting point"
To read more about Andrew, head over to his new website at http://www.andrewbentley.com