James Roe Jr secures 2019 Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award nomination
James Roe Jr, from Sallins in County Kildare, has been selected as the fifth nominee for the 2019 Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award, for his performances in the month of August.
Roe (21) has been carving out a career in the United States in the past number of seasons and has been focusing on the F3 Americas Championship Powered By Honda this year, where he picked up a win in Road America on his way to claiming fifth place in the championship. Roe’s results also helped his Global Racing Group team win the Team Championship.
Roe started competing in Junior Rallycross and Ginetta Junior Ireland in 2014 and in that same season, made the switch to single seaters, becoming the youngest person ever to race an open wheel race car in Ireland at 16 years old and one day.
Since then, Roe has gone on to establish himself in British Formula Ford and, in 2018, he set his sights on America where he took part in the Pro F2000 Championship and finished runner up in the series while also being named top rookie and vice champion.
His maiden American F3 win means Roe has now won a race in every series he has competed in. Roe has been a Sexton Trophy finalist every year for the past four years as well as a member of the Team Ireland programme.
His recent move stateside to focus on his own career and development has turned into a full-time job and when possible, he tries get some work in at the race track. The move to America has also impacted on Roe’s career ambitions. As with all young drivers, making a sustainable living from racing is the goal but his ambition is to become the first Irish man to win the Indy 500.
With the 2019 season finished, Roe plans to spend the off season preparing for the 2020 season by working closely with current and future partners, physical fitness and working closely with his race team planning for the year ahead. Roe’s current partners include CJJ Motorsport, Topcon, Vortex Companies and Bennett Law Offices.
Having been selected as a nominee for the 2019 season, Roe is once again a contender for the prestigious Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award and the historic Sexton Trophy. This award is presented annually and is supported by Sport Ireland and Motorsport Ireland.
