The 18-year-old of Pasture Avenue will again be competing at British and national level during 2008 which will mean travelling as far afield as County Down in Ireland in the British Autograss Series (BAS), while the National Championships are set to be held at Stroud in Gloucester.
Ian has been racing Autograss for some six years, and currently competes for the Scunthorpe and District MC, previous to that he raced karts, and prepares his vehicle himself with help from dad Peter. Autograss is a non-contact motorsport that takes place on an oval (approximately 400 metre) track using a natural soil surface. Ian said: "Due to the close nature of the racing, thrills and spills are never far away.
"There are several differing classes of car, from near standard minis or small hatchbacks through to spaceframed single seaters with monster V8 or twin motorbike power.
"Up to eight cars start on a straight line grid and race over short four to eight lap races. This results in the major meetings, most of which are staged over two days, offering upwards of 200 races.
"All classes normally race through qualifying heats and finals."
Ian, a former Vermuyden School pupil who is now in his first year studying physical geography at the University of Hull, races in Class One which is a limited modification class comprising of mainly 1000cc Mini's.
New for the 2006 season was the introduction of Fiats and Citroens into the class.
His vehicle is currently undergoing a full re-build in time for the new season which starts at the end of March.
In last season's BAS there were five rounds to compete in: Round 1 – Stroud, Gloucester; Round 2 – Pembroke, West Wales; Round 3 – York, North Yorkshire; Round 4 – Penhow, Wales; Round 5 – Invicta Kent, Romney Marsh.
In Class One there were 45 competitors with Ian finishingd the season fourth overall winning the Invicta Kent BAS round.
In the 2007 national championships, hosted by the Dales League in August, there were 50 competitors.
There were three qualifying heats for the ten car final and Ian qualified for the final and finished second overall.