Matt Parry has been named as the 2013 winner of the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
Parry, winner of the 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Championship this season, fought off stiff competition from fellow rising single-seater stars Chris Middlehurst, Charlie Robertson, Jake Hughes, Jack Aitken and Seb Morris to become the 25th winner in the awards history.
Parry therefore secures a prize fund including £100,000, full membership of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, an Arai GP-6 RC carbon helmet and a test in a McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car.
“It’s fantastic. Absolutely amazing – I don’t know what to say,” said Parry, who is targeting Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup with Fortec Motorsport next season.
“I feel I did the best I could [in the shootout] and obviously the last couple of months I’ve been thinking about what I can do better, and I just thought I couldn’t have. It’s massive.”
Parry joins a list of award winners including Dario Franchitti (1992), Jenson Button (1998), Paul Di Resta (2004) and Jake Dennis (2012) after impressing the judging panel the most during two shootout days held at Silverstone in November.
The 19-year-old took to the Northampton circuit in Formula Two, Mercedes DTM and McLaren GT3 machinery, before being interviewed by the judging panel that included BRDC President Derek Warwick, former BTCC champion Jason Plato and circuit commentator Ian Titchmarsh.
Caterham-backed Parry recently clinched the European Formula Renault NEC title thanks to five wins and four podium finishes with Fortec, beating fellow rival for the award, Aitken, in doing so.
The winner of the 2013 shootout was announced during the annual Autosport Awards from Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
