SPEAKER_01 0:00

Nick, really good to see you here. It's the uh the media day before the start of the season. And and quite a sort of uh a latish announcement uh for you about joining the grid.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Yeah, I mean um yeah, I like to do things last minute. Um it was a it was a it was a last minute deal, didn't know whether I was gonna um pull through and be on the grid. Um but it's great to be here and yeah, I can't wait to to start this new chapter.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Joining Team Virtu.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Uh in arguably one of the best cars on the grid. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Finally. Um yeah, I'm really excited. I mean, I I always wanted to, you know, be in good equipment. Um I would say throughout my career in the BTCC, I haven't I've been in you know difficult and less ideal um pieces of equipment. And uh yeah, I said to to myself, if I'm gonna do it again, if I'm gonna be back on the grid for 2026, I'm gonna do it properly. I want to be in a car that um I know is capable of doing well. Um and just to see whether I can actually drive or I can't, because I don't really know. You know, I I do the best I can with what I've got with my my disability and I do well with it. Um, but yeah, you know, the the results speak for themselves, and I haven't um you know got the best of results and on paper I'm not the strongest of of drivers. Um, but for me it was uh if I get this opportunity, I'm gonna do it for me and and see what I can do.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Uh you've had some seat time and you've had some testing time. How's that gone? Really well. Um I found I hear you've shaved quite a bit of time off one circuit.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

There's a lot of people talking about it. Yeah, everyone seems to know. I tried to keep it under under under my cap, but um yeah, found a found a lot of time, um, especially over race runs, um, which was which was great uh last week. I've just got to work on um putting the car on the limit through qualifying and obviously maximizing um new tires. Uh, but that just comes in experience and only done one day in the car so far, um, but it's gone really well. So uh yeah, can't wait for tomorrow. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Which then sort of begs the question uh what can you achieve this season? Uh new car, seemingly a sort of new approach as well from you, you know, jumping in the car with it with a different.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

I think I have a lot more uh motivation this year. Um, you know, now I I've I've felt the car, been in the car myself, and I know that um, you know, accelerate team virtue with um droper tools are are such a strong outfit. Um, you know, I'm gonna do the best I can and I've I've really worked on uh my disability this this season or or over winter to try and overcome it even more, become more physically fit and able. Um and yeah, I don't really haven't put myself under any pressure. You know, I'm doing this for me. This is an opportunity that I don't think would ever come. Um whether it's gonna last more than one year, I don't know. So I want to maximize it whilst I'm here. Um and you know, getting in the car for the first time last week, it was like, wow, this is this is what a touring car really should feel like. Um, and I I I feel like I've never had that. So um I don't know what I'm gonna achieve, but I'm I'm really excited and gonna do the best I can, and I'm not here to to mess about um this year. I want to get the best of out of myself as as much as I can um and see what we can do.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Working with uh a new team in a new car means seat fitting and and working on pedal uh you know setup for for you. That's presumably been a learning curve for them as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Yeah, it's been really stressful because you know, unfortunately, I can't just jump in to any car and start pressing the pedals and drive it like everyone else can. Um obviously I've got my modifications and all those different bits that we have to um think outside of the box to fit me in. Um, and then you might feel or I might feel great, you know, sitting in the car stationary and static, but when you start moving for the first time and driving for the first time, then you're like, oh, there's a lot of work to do, or I need to move the pedals, or I need to move, you know, parts of my seat. So that's a real stressful part. And um, you know, the the the guys and girls at at um you know accelerate motorsport, they when they signed me, they knew that they were gonna um be in for for the long haul in terms of trying to make sure that everything fits in the right places. Um, and yeah, we we we got to run last week and I felt uncomfortable to start with, um, you know, because it's natural to to be in the car for the first time and not everything to to to fit around my disability. Um, but but uh by the end of the day we were we were strong.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

How important is it or how important does it continue to be for you to have somebody with a disability in a top-level championship like this?

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Um well to be honest, Steve, I I I started out motorsport and I didn't really think about doing it for for disability or to try and represent disability. Um I did it because I wanted to be a racing driver, always wanted to race, never thought I could because of my disability, and you know, I've ended up here. Um I've ended up being this, not necessarily a role model, but someone that people look up to with a disability. Um I don't see myself as any different or higher up than the the next person. Um but if if I was to answer your question, I think it's really important to have representation of disability in in sport, um, especially in the British touring car championship and motorsport in general. Um because it's such a competitive uh championship uh and very physical. And and I think it's important that disabled individuals get a positive representation. Uh not everybody can be a a racing driver and drive cars physically. And I don't think a lot of people realise how tough it is to to drive a touring car with terrible palsy, um, and how well I do to get as close as I do get. Um you know, but I'm now trying to just by being here and existing, hopefully, you know, opening doors for other disabled individuals to to join the sport, whether that's within the hospitality team or you know, being a part of the team that not necessarily driving. Um, but yeah, I think it's really, really important for any industry.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

I think uh yeah, I might I might say I think you are a role model. I mean, you look at social media, the comments you've got a huge following on social media quite rightly, and a lot of the younger people uh are looking at what you're doing and and and it's making it's changing attitudes, Nick, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yeah, I I I think that's what I I try and do. Um, you know, when I first started with my disability, I I hated it. I didn't want to be a disabled person, I hated having um a disability. Um, and as I've got older and I've I've I've grown more wiser, I I've started to use my disadvantage, which is my disability, and make it an advantage. Um, and that's why I I go out and and try and raise all my funds and sponsorship myself and and say, you know, I'm a I'm a disabled racing driver and I'm proud of it. And and now I'm in a a place where I'm I'm proud of my disability. I I wouldn't want to be um any different, and and I think having that positivity and that power to try and share um a my my personal journey but also my personal thoughts and feelings around disability is important because at the end of the day we want to inspire um the new generation kids of today, also parents um of of disabled individuals, because it's it's hard when you get a diagnosis as a parent all of a sudden your your your son or your daughter's been diagnosed with a disability you don't know anything about, and hopefully now you can you can look at me and say, Well, um Nick Hamilton turned out all right and he had the same diagnosis of he's never gonna be able to walk, and there you go, try and live the best life possible.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

So that's what we're trying to do. Um now a big talking point for everybody is the new qualifying um format, which I'm pleased to say Tom Chilton explained to me in very simple terms this morning, uh, which is good to hear. Uh are you looking forward to that?

SPEAKER_00 8:03

It's gonna shake things up, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, I'm just here for the ride, to be honest. Um, I'm gonna try and do the best I can on a on a one lap. Um obviously it's it's gonna be tough because we only get one um you know free practice session, but I think it will you know shake things up, and especially the the um qualifying race. Um it's gonna be really exciting. Um, you're gonna get people that are taking a lot of risk and a lot of people that aren't taking risk. Um and I think what you might see um is people that aren't usually there on raw pace um will be qualifying higher up for a Sunday because the the the Saturday race has has um been a bit of a dog fight. So I think it's a I I think it's a great idea um and I'm really looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Kick off uh Donington Park as we as we have done for a while, where uh somebody said to me, You can experience uh four seasons in the space of a couple of hours, can't you?

SPEAKER_00 9:00

So uh you like Donington? Yeah, I love Donington. Obviously, Donington was my uh my best result last uh well in 2023, you know, P6, and that was a that was a a very terrible, wet, windy, rainy type of day. Um so yeah, I'm excited to to to get in the car and and and and be there. Um obviously I've got a brand new car this year, so I'm just excited to to be at any circuit really in this thing um and see what I can do with it. Are podiums in reach within reach for you this season? Uh I would like to think so. You know, at the end of the day, I want to bring back home a trophy. I I feel like with all my hard work mentally, physically, and all the work that I've done throughout the years, I feel like I deserve to bring home a trophy at some point, whether that's a Jack Sears trophy for for a race weekend or or a my life goal would would be to stand on a podium of a British tour and car race. So um I don't want it gifted to me. I want to work and graft hard for it, but I feel like I deserve it and I'm gonna try my absolute utmost to get the opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

If you make a space on your mantelpiece at home. Oh, it's already been made. Right, then that's that's an omen that says you're gonna go home with this season. Nick, really good uh to see you back this season in the championship with a new team, which is gonna be exciting uh as well. Now, as you know, um at this time of the year, before we finish these interviews, I'd like to have a little bit of fun with a couple of uh uh humorous sort of questions. Okay. Um there are three, you need to choose two. They're from the highway code. Oh god. Okay, so choose my age. Choose one, two, or three. Two. What shape is a stop sign? It's uh a hexagon. You get all the points there. Well done. It is indeed a hexagon. Uh hexagon now, one or three. Three. Uh if you've had to stop in an emergency area on a UK road or motorway, uh, before you rejoin the carriageway, what must you do? Switch on your hazards, your headlights, use the emergency phone, or wave your arm slowly out of the window.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Hazard, hazards, headlights, hazards.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

The answer is you must use the emergency phone. Um before you leave. Yes. So because you stop. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

What if you don't need to use it?

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Uh well, no, before you rejoin the carriageway, the highway code says you must use it in case they need to close a lane for you to re enter the carriageway safely. Not bad. Okay. We'll give you the hexagon one. I did alright.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

I did all I did alright on the hexagon one. And I got the shape. The shape was good.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

You did get the shape. You did. You did get the shape. Nick, really good to see you. Have a great time. Thank you. Take care.