Ovie Iroro, the youngest Nigerian driver set to drive for Nigeria Racing Eagle; speaks on his life and racing so far

My Journey in racing so far

Going motor racing is probably one of the most exciting and breath-taking experiences anyone can undertake, but it is also arguably the most difficult sport to become a true professional.

If I had told anyone that I wanted to be a racing driver, they would have probably written it off as a really far-fetched dream because motorsport is virtually non-existent in Nigeria and by this time last year, I could hardly imagine that I would be given the opportunity to represent my country on the world stage.

I have always been interested in motorsport and driving fast since I was young and I learnt how to drive as soon as I was tall enough to do so. I only took it seriously when I won my first ever Go-kart race, it was against friends but they had all done it before and I sensed I had it in me.

In December 2010 I took part in a Go-karting competition in Lagos Nigeria and I went on to win it, beating more than a hundred people from the qualifying stages down to the final race. That was the first time I had ever made any money on my own or won any high profile competition so I felt really good and I knew I had to take racing much further.




My first real chance came when I moved to the UK to further my education. I did lots of research online and I got advice from a few people and got pointed in the right direction of what championship I should take part in and how I could potentially raise the money to do it. So I proposed the idea to my parents and they were in support of it. We then had to face the near impossible challenge of trying to find sponsorship to fund my racing, but my mum and I worked hard over Christmas and we managed to get commitment from some Nigerian companies.

Once that was out of the way I was able to secure a contract to drive in the Formula Renault championship in the UK for this year, which is one of the first steps a young driver takes towards reaching Formula 1. This would make me the first Nigerian to ever compete in a Renault championship.

When I got to learn about Nigerian Racing Eagle, I was really pleased to know that there were Nigerians interested in motorsport and that they are dedicated enough to build a team that would compete on the international stage. I felt that I had to be a part of it because I realised I could make a positive contribution as a driver to the growth of the team.

This year I will be racing in Formula Renault in the UK and then in the World GT3 championship and the Blancpain Endurance Series with Nigerian Racing Eagle, in which races take place on famous racetracks all over the world. My ultimate aim is to race in Formula 1 someday and I’m happy to have this opportunity.

I hope this story can inspire other young drivers to step up and be involved in motorsport. You may be a while away from racing internationally but there is a lot of time to learn and the opportunities certainly exist. Racing has now become more accessible in Nigeria because NRE is interested in training young drivers from Nigeria.

I feel that Nigerian Racing Eagle is a step in the right direction for both Nigeria and Africa. NRE would be the first ever completely African racing team to compete internationally, made up of Nigerian drivers and engineers. Many Nigerians would be able to draw inspiration from our team and be in full support of us and all our present and future achievements.






To find out more about Racing Eagle, opportunities, events and more; join us here:
http://www.facebook.com/nigeriaracingeagle

Audio broadcast link:
http://www.spreaker.com/page#!/user/ukhoneyb/5th_march_2012_news_update


Photos from the last Nigeria Racing event:
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=f7e2dc8765b8eb3e&id=F7E2DC8765B8EB3E%21107
Photographs by Chris Waite (Chrisw8 Photography) & Akin Photography


About Team Nigeria GT Series Team Nigeria (Racing Eagle)

GT Series Team Nigeria GT Series is an history in the making as it will be the first Nigeria and Africa Motorsport Team to represent the presence of entire black race at the world stage of Motorsport. Team Nigeria will be competing in International GT3 series, a Grand Touring Series with Audi R8 LMS competing with other prestigious sport cars including McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Ford GT, Porsche and BMW Team Nigeria GT Series will fly the flag of Nigeria, promoting Nigeria and Africa’s image to the world and also gives Nigeria a positive international image, as Nigeria will join the league of elite nations, who use motorsport to showcase and promote their nation. Team Nigeria will use drivers whose nationality is Nigerian and has signed up with United Autosport, a UK based racing team as Official Technical Partner for the team

Vivacity PR
for Nigeria Racing Eagle