Interview With…….Patrick Booth

Those who know Patrick will know that off track he’s a kind and generous man, evidenced by him bringing his C1 car for us to use at Goodwood on a charity trackday. But on track he’s a fair but competitive racer who rarely makes mistakes and seems to find time without being out of control. He’s proof you don’t need to have been born in a kart to have fun and be competitive.

Question 1 - Who are you and what do you race? - Patrick Booth, I race an Audi TT Cup Car

Question 2 - What got you into motorsport? - I've enjoyed watching motorsport since the days of Niki Lauda and James Hunt. I started doing trackdays in 2014 just for fun but they became boring, until I started to focus on how to drive the track as perfectly as possible. After that I knew I needed to race against other people to challenge myself.

Question 3 - What is your dream car, track and era combination and why? - Many to choose from but I would have to go for the early 1970s Porsche 911 at Le Mans. A challenging track and race, in a light, simple and quick GT car of the time. 

Question 4 - You have raced everything from 68 BHP City Cars to mighty TT Cup cars, what's been your favorite race and what do you wish you could forget?! - My favourite race was the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium, in the C1 Endurance car. It's a beautiful circuit to drive, even in the pitch black, rain and fog at night, and an amazing race for the whole 4G team. The race to forget would be Cadwell where we did a non-championship race 'just for fun' in a newly built MG ZR. Qualified pole and leading the race I just caught the wet grass and ended up in the barriers, which wrote the new car off.

Question 5 - What do you wish someone had told you before you started racing? - Probably to start sooner. It gets harder to pick up new skills as you get older and I have to work hard at driving quickly.

Question 6 - What's your favourite Rocked-IT product and why? - The Rocked-IT Kit Bag. It makes much more sense to have the helmet, HANS and every item of racewear in a single purpose made bag so everything is easily organised and you don't forget anything.

Question 7 - Motorsport looks like an individual sport but it requires a team behind you. Who deserves a special mention? - The 4G Team run by Alex Montgomery. I've always raced with 4G and you couldn't ask for more, it's a great team spirit and nothing will stop Ali getting a car out for a race after a problem.