Record-breaking F4 champ who won his grid place in sim contest

“Having had me at such a young age, my parents didn’t have that money to go racing,” he says.

“We couldn’t afford what most people [with racing aspirations] do, series like SuperOne, but were able to win a couple of local club championships – one at Camberley and the other at Forest Edge. Not many drivers were in them, but we gave it a good shot!”

Without the money to progress in karting, Fairclough found himself at the wheel of a Citroen Saxo in the 2020 Junior Saloon Car Championship via a scholarship programme. Impressing in that, he then moved up to the Ford Fiesta Junior series, where he was also competitive – until the ROKiT competition changed everything.

With few prospects in karting, Fairclough’s father had sold the cheap Bambino starter-kart his son used at club level to fund a basic sim set-up in their garage instead. When the ROKit competition came along, it was the perfect tool with which to practice.

Based around a knockout format, the youngster had to win a series of races to get through to the ROKiT grand final, the prize being a fully-funded 2023 British F4 seat.

“It’s like a dream come true – [I was] taking so many days off school to be quick and get through each round of the championship, to get through to the final big event. It was such an opportunity.”

Fairclough duly won. But would he be able to hack the physical step up from Saxos and Fiestas to a high downforce single-seater?

He could, and then some. Aside from an early testing shunt – which he admits left him “in tears” – Fairclough was immediately competitive, winning three races and finishing third in the 2023 championship.

How was he able to adapt so quick to real-world single-seaters? “I just have no fear – a lot of people says I’m crazy!” he laughs.

“When I was driving Fiestas, I wasn’t training like a maniac like I am now. Now I’m always preparing for the next step up [in racing categories.]”

After spending his first season with JHR, Fairclough was moved over to heavyweight junior team Hitech, with more backing from ROKiT. Kendrick says it was a no-brainer to keep funding Fairclough.

“Bluntly, if he’d finished last, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he admits.

“But he’s so good, we always thought if we do get a real diamond, we’re not going to let him finish here, we’re going to continue on. Oliver [Oakes, Hitech boss and now Alpine team principal too] said he’d win this year’s championship.

“Would he dominate as much [as he as done]? Maybe we wouldn’t have thought that, because he’s won every record you can think of!”

ROKiT, which advertises itself as a company which specialises in a range of products such as phones, e-scooters and alcoholic beverages – to name but a few – has previously seen high-profile sponsorship deals end early.

The company has been involved in a legal battle with Williams after its title sponsorship deal ended prematurely due to alleged late payments in 2020, and a deal with the AJ Foyt team ended also due to missing payments in 2022.

However, ROKiT does still sponsor the BMW World Superbike outfit and the British F4 championship itself, as well as other motor sport teams too.

Kendrick now says he wants to back Fairclough all the way to F1. Does he feel confident he has the means to do so?

“I think we can, but it’s got to be done carefully,” he says.

“Can we do it all ourselves? No, we need some help and some partners, but the next stage [GB3 or similar] we can do yes, and then it gets into the big money, and we’ll just see where it goes from there.”

Kendrick believes his scheme demonstrates that something is clearly wrong with the way professional motor sport is set up.

“It’s not very democratic, is it? It’s about how much money drivers have got. We’re understand it’s an expensive game, but we’re trying to democratise it. We can give kids that haven’t got any money, but might just be brilliant like Deagen, a chance to race.”

Fairclough has turned himself into the ideal poster boy for Kendrick’s scheme, which the latter says has plans to evolve into a multi-driver programme in the future.

“His family are lovely, working-class people, which is where I come from – I grew up in a council house,” says Kendrick.

“He comes across humble and very respectful and very appreciative. Not everyone in motor sport is like that.”

Things will get harder for Fairclough from here. As he acknowledges, aged 18, he’s older than some of his competitors, a balance which will be gradually redressed as he progresses up the ladder.

The young driver stands out from his peers on the grid for other reasons too – not that it bothers him.

“I think I get that look on my shoulders a little bit, because obviously anyone would be gutted that they’re paying for thousands of pounds for their children to race and they’re not winning,” he observes.

“I take it with a pinch of salt. Really, it doesn’t affect me, I just go about my day and do the best I can.

“They can moan and sulk for all they want. I can’t really do much about it. This position I’ve been put in, I’m trying to make the most of that situation, and trying to pay it back.

“I saw a stat which said you’re more likely to win the lottery twice than get to F1 – but I’m still adamant we can do it.”