Oliver Turvey Biography Born: 1st April 1987 Lives: Penrith   Oliver Turvey's supporters and racing teams have long been adamant that he was among the very finest emerging talents in British motor racing - and now he has the accolades to prove it. At the end of a stellar season in which he surged to second in the Formula BMW UK Championship despite missing a third of the races, Turvey was named as the latest recipient of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award. Previous winners of this legendary prize include David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Gary Paffett and Anthony Davidson, and every driver who has previously claimed the honour has gone on to a career in international motorsport. As one of the six finalists for the award (which all young British drivers in the junior categories were eligible for), Turvey took part in a day of strenuous skills evaluation in Mercedes DTM, Porsche Cup and World Series by Renault machinery before being interviewed at the McLaren Technology Centre. The judging panel included former world champion Damon Hill, ex-Formula One racers Martin Brundle and Jonathan Palmer, and a gallery of experts and F1 personnel - and it was Oliver whose speed, skill and intelligence wowed them the best. Winning the Autosport Award, with its £50,000 prize and a McLaren F1 test, was by far the biggest moment of Oliver's racing career to date, but it was far from his only success. His driving ability was apparent from his early days in karting. He started racing in Cadet karts at eight years old, winning five out of his six novice races. In Juniors, Oliver was picked up by respected talent-spotter Martin Hines' Zip Young Guns organisation and made the most of this opportunity by winning the National Super One Junior Yamaha class in 2000 and then his second National Super One Championship in Junior Rotax in 2002. Turvey made his car racing debut in the Zip Formula the following year, taking fourth in the championship despite not contesting all the races. He then began a three-year stint in Formula BMW - the longevity of his sojourn not intentional, but the consequence of the financial shortfall that was becoming increasingly evident as his career progressed through the ever-more-expensive single seater racing ranks. Despite his comparatively meagre budget, Oliver was a frontrunner throughout the inaugural Formula BMW season and took victory at Rockingham. This success earned him an invitation to contest the final round of the Asian Formula Three Championship at Batangas in the Philippines, where he took his older Promotion Class car to victory and fourth overall. Oliver returned to Formula BMW UK for a partial - and predominantly luckless - season in 2005. He took six podium finishes in the races he contested, but also missed out on potentially better results due to misfortunes which could often be traced back to the limitations imposed by his shoestring budget. 2006 started depressingly for Turvey. Without the money to race, he sat out the opening months of the racing season - although this did allow him to focus on his Engineering studies at Cambridge University. Then a deal was put together for him to contest the final two-thirds of the Formula BMW season with Team Loctite. Money was tighter than ever - restricting his testing mileage, and resources such as fresh tyres - yet the determined Turvey overcame these disadvantages in masterful fashion. He took a stunning victory in his comeback race, and then added another four triumphs in the following months. Turvey would ultimately appear on the podium in 10 of the 14 rounds that he contested and earned a remarkable second in the championship despite missing the first six races. The Autosport Award nomination and victory duly, and deservedly, followed. A week later Autosport magazine's end of year driver rankings heralded Turvey as the number one performer in British national motorsport, a result that few would argue with given his achievements in 2006. Oliver was also placed in Autosport's top 10 teens in the World. An intelligent, mature and extremely dedicated professional - as well as a spine-tingling racer - Turvey is aiming to graduate to Formula Three next season. Now that he is finally receiving the recognition that his ability has always merited, he has every chance of emulating the achievements of his illustrious predecessors on the McLaren Autosport Award roll of honour. Motorsport CV 2009 Renault World Series - Carlin Motorsport 2008 British International Formula 3 Championship - Vice Champion. More podiums than any other driver with 13 Podiums in total: 4 wins, 4 seconds and 5 thirds Awarded the Dunhill Future Champion Award at Goodwood Festival of Speed Winner of the Daily Mirror Best British Driver in F3 Award Awarded a Sports "Cambridge Blue" for extrodinary achivements in Motorsport. The first ever Blue for Motorsport Successfully completed his Engineering degree from Cambridge University Nominated as a BRDC (British Racing Driver Club) Super Star driver Winner of the Cumbria Sports Personality of the Year Winner of the BRDC Spencer Charrington Trophy Winner of the BRDC John Cooper Trophy Winner of the Autosport National Driver of the Year Award 4th & 7th in the Macua Grand Prix. Top British Driver 2007 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (8th in Championship, 2 podiums) Formula Renault 2.0 Italy (9th in Championship, 1 pole position, 2 podiums) Guest drive in Brands Hatch round of Porsche Carrera Cup (4th and 6th) 2006 Winner - McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award Vice Champion - Formula BMW UK Championship Team Loctite - 14 out of 20 races - 5 wins, 7 pole positions, 10 podiums, scored points in every race " Formula BMW World Final - 6th - Top British Driver " One off British F3 race - 3rd National Class " One off Britsports race - Fastest Lap 2005 Formula BMW UK Championship Team SWR - Lead Driver 16 out of 20 races - 6 podiums, 1 pole position 2004 1st Asian F3 Promotions Class - Invitational Race| Formula BMW UK Championship Team SWR - Lead Driver - 1 win 2003 Formula Renault Winter Series - Team Lead Driver Zip Formula Ford - 4th - Top Rookie Driver Vice Champion Zip Formula Jordan Ford Cup - Top Rookie 2002 1st - British Kart Champion - Junior Rotax Zip Young Gun Team - Lead Driver 2001 British Junior TKM - 6th Zip Young Gun Team Leader Only driver using a Zip Kart 2000 1st - British Kart Champion - Junior Yamaha Selected for Zip Young Guns Team 1999 British Cadet Kart Championship - 5th English National Kart Team - Internations Winners Supported by manufacturer Biz Karts Only driver using there karts in national kart championships. 1996-98 Began Kart Racing - Age 8 5 Novice Wins