Date of birth: 1979-08-08
Place of birth: Hillsborough, Northern Ireland
Residence: Tokyo, Japan
From my first moment I remember it's been about motorsport.
I started racing from the age of 7 at my local Karting circuits following in my father's footsteps. It didn't take too long before I also was bringing home the trophies and we were competing for space around the lounge room!
After winning all the Irish Championships over the years I thought I would like a new challenge so my father and I thought it would be fun to try Formula Ford in Ireland. The first year was a bumpy ride but I managed to claim a few lap records (which stood for 13 years) and a few headlines.
Obviously I had the racing bug and things moved quickly with podiums and wins but many harder times lay ahead as many drivers know too well.
In 2001 and I had established myself on the motorsport radar and had been offered the chance to drive for Porsche GB. At 20 years old it was a dream drive!
However my aspiration had always to be Formula 1 world Champion. I had been following Michael Schumacher throughout his F1 career and this guy was ruthless and ultimately dedicated to do whatever it took to succeed. I liked his way of thinking.
Around this time I had been speaking to a few people and they had mentioned that Japan was a good way to get your name in the frame with F1 teams. Many other F1 drivers, including both Schumacher and of course Eddie Irvine had chosen this route and all been extremely successful.
At the end of the season in Japan they hold what they call audition tests. The most up and coming drivers are invited and the guy who is the fastest, but equally important, has good driver feedback to the engineer. (Japan is well known for its R&D)
This is where my break came (Jan 2001). I got put in the deep end with a 550 BHP car with huge down force and given a handful of laps to prove I was the man for the job. I knew this was the break I needed and I put it all on the line...
At the end of the test I was quickest but that still wasn't enough. After some debriefs and meeting I finally got the drive that would keep me in Japan for the next 9 odd years.
In 2004 I became the all Japan Champion (Formula Nippon and SuperGT), which only 3 other people have managed to do including Ralf Schumacher and Pedro Da la Rosa.
By 2008 I had won races with all 3 manufactures (Honda, Nissan and Toyota) in Japan.
I have achieved a lot in Japan and its been such a fantastic experience
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