A Former Colfe’s student has taken time out of his busy schedule in the motor racing world to meet with aspiring and talented kart driver in year 9, Luke Ide. 22 year old Richard Bradley has been pursuing a successful career in professional Motor racing since leaving Colfe’s in 2009 and is currently living in Hong Kong, driving in Japan’s equivalent of Formula 1; the Super Formula. Richard said “Motor racing is very popular in Japan and it has been a fantastic honour to be supported by Toyota. There are many different types of racing and this is single seat driving, with a top speed of over 200 miles per hour attracting around 70,000 spectators to each race. Some of the best in the world are taking part in this series; I’ve been driving against ex-formula one drivers which has certainly made this the best year of my racing life so far. I am not always able to come back to the UK so this was really special; I’m grateful for Colfe’s for organising this and the chance to meet my former teachers like Mr Drury. It was great to meet Luke as well and pass on any advice I can; that’s what Colfeians do for each other.”
Richard told Luke about how he had got to where he was, “I was lucky and have always been talented at racing. While I was at school I won just about every race I could win; I was British Cup Champion twice and was in the world championships qualifying top 6. In 2009 I led the European Championships which was a fantastic experience, and at that point I decided to try my hand at professional racing. It is tough and competitive and you are really only as good as your last race because that’s how you get the support from companies like Toyota. Japan has been a fantastic experience for the last three years, but I want to try and win a World Championships and am now looking into the World Endurance Championships (another type of racing). It’s about always challenging yourself and taking it to the next level.”
13 year Luke who hopes to move on to an international championship this year, said he was very pleased to have met Richard, “I’m so grateful to Colfe’s for organising this and to Richard for giving me some really good advice. He told me that I’ve got to work harder and be fitter than anyone else and that way I can beat others even if they are driving better cars. He also told me how important my education is. It has really helped and was very inspiring.”