Young Scot snapped up by Arden 06 | 01 | 2015
SCOTLAND'S LATEST YOUNG motorsport talent, 14-year-old Sandy Mitchell, has been snapped up by Arden — one of the top racing teams in the UK — to lead its assault on the inaugural MSA Formula.
Mitchell (pictured), from Letham in Angus, was recently named as the Scottish Motor Racing Club (SMRC) Rising Star, and dominated the 2014 British Super One Junior Max Karting Championship.
And the young Scot is in revered company, with former Formula One World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, plus Scots F1 racers David Coulthard and Paul di Resta being past Super One series champs.
Mitchell scored numerous pole positions and fastest laps on his way to winning the title and finished the season by taking a win and second place in the heats to roll into the final with a 19point lead over his closest rival.
Now, as part of the Arden Junior Racing Team, the Scots youngster steps up to the new single-seater MSA Formula — which will run as part of the British Touring Car Championship support package — and is the only Scottish driver to be selected by the Arden backed Young Racing Driver Academy.
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And Mitchell — who has been spending time on the team's simulator this week at its base in Banbury — is also the youngest driver signed by Arden to date, and is set to be the youngest British driver on the grid.
Mitchell will also fall under the knowledgable eyes of current Red Bull Racing F1 team principal, Christian Horner. The Englishman created Arden International in partnership with his brother, Garry (correct, Garry) in 1997. It is now a multiple formula racing team.
MSA Formula is one of the most exciting developments in British junior single-seater motor racing for almost 50 years. The arrival of the FIA F4 concept allows 15-year-olds to compete in single seaters in the UK for the first time.
“Driving with Arden in this amazing new MSA Formula Championship will really be something special," Mitchell said. "The new MSA Formula car looks fantastic and I am now fully focused on the transition from karting to single seaters.”
And Mitchell's integration into the topflight team was welcomed by team principal Garry Horner.
“We are very pleased to have Sandy as our first signing for the 2015 season," he said. "We have an established relationship with the Mitchell family since last year when Sandy joined the Young Racing Driver Academy.
"He is the first driver from the Academy to progress into a single seater championship, demonstrating the importance of the program.”
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Jim McGill