Whanganui superstock driver Trent James heading to Brisca Formula 1 World Finals

Trent James. Photo / Tyler Hill Photography

Whanganui Superstock driver Trent James is only 18, but he has already achieved a career highlight.

The talented Whanganui driver is off to the UK as one of the invited overseas competitors for the Brisca Formula 1 World Finals.

James told a gathering of supporters on Saturday night that one of his goals for the 2023-24 season had been to secure an invitation to the world finals.

And by placing second in the World 240 Superstocks at Rotorua in January, he earned his invitation.

James is already building a solid record, after just two full seasons in the Superstock class.

He earned direct qualification to the World 240 finals by winning the second-tier championship at the 2022-23 event.

He put an exclamation mark on the 2023-24 season by winning the Manawatu Superstock Championship at Arena Manawatu in his last outing of the season.

James is straight into action this weekend when he will race on the shale track at Odsal Stadium in Bradford in the north of England.

He will feel at home at Odsal, which is also the home of the Bradford Bulls Super League team. Like Arena Manawatu, the dirt track runs around the outside of a rugby field.

After Bradford, the team transitions to a tarmac car, very different in design to the cars designed to race on shale.

Venue for the Brisca Formula 1 World Finals, Skegness Raceway is a quarter-mile sealed oval, with wide corners and short straights, and is regarded as the premier sealed track in the UK.

Trent James. Photo / Tyler Hill Photography

The town of Skegness is on the east coast of England, a seaside resort on the North Sea. Its population of about 21,000 will swell over the weekend of September 13-15 as drivers and race fans descend on the area.

Heading the list of British drivers is Tom Harris, who has won three of the last four world finals.

Other drivers well-known to New Zealand fans include Frankie Wainman jnr, 2022 World Champion Charlie Sworder, Mat Newson and Craig Finnikin.

The overseas drivers, including Stratford’s Tyler Walker and Rotorua’s Caleb Ashton, will get an opportunity to test on Skegness on the Friday night before the world finals.

The following day they will compete in the World Masters at Skegness, where Mitch Vickery became the first Kiwi to podium at a Brisca championship last year.

The James family has received great support from the local racing and business community, including some outstanding help from three-time 1NZ Asher Rees who has been instrumental in helping James get competitive cars for his world finals bid.

Rees told Saturday night’s gathering that he fully expects James to follow him and become a New Zealand champion in the Superstock class, and anyone who has seen him race understands his enormous potential.