Congratulations to 18 year-old Gary Thompson from Donabate, Co Dublin, who has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for May. Gary finished fourth in both the third and fourth rounds of the Japanese Formula 3 National Championship at Motegi, despite having to learn a circuit that was new to him. He is the only non-Japanese driver taking part in the series!
Gary will contest the remaining twelve rounds of the F3 championship, which finishes at Autopolis in October. He would like eventually to reach the level of Formula 1, but in the meantime has his sights realistically set on becoming a professional racing driver in lower categories.
Gary, who is sponsored by Aviation Display, Cebu Pacific Air and Achievement by KCMG, began racing karts at the age of 9, in 2002, and finished third in the British Super 1 JICA Championship in 2007. Last year, he was runner up in the Formula BMW Pacific Championship and won the Rookie Cup in that series.
Having been selected as the second Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2010 season, Gary is now a contender once again for the prestigious €50,000 Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award. This award is presented annually and is sponsored by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.