From sim racer to winning the coveted ROKiT British F4 Championship title at world famous Silverstone, record-breaking Deagen Fairclough is the latest e-sports graduate to make a super-successful switch from virtual to real world racing. 

Now in his second F4 season, Fairclough has dominated in 2024 not only becoming the first driver to seal the title before the season finale but also winning an unprecedented number of races. His latest two victories at Silverstone took his tally to 12 wins with three races still remaining on the calendar, thus eclipsing the previous record of 11 set by Alex Dunne in 2022.   

Fairclough, who had previously competed in Junior Fiestas, was given the opportunity to contest the British F4 Championship by winning the innovative ROKiT Rising Star e-sports competition – an initiative which was launched in 2022 with the aim of finding a young sim racer to drive in a fully-funded F4 entry. 

“Without ROKiT I wouldn’t be in British F4 or standing here today,” admitted the newly crowned champion. “I’m over the moon. I’m so, so grateful to everyone here for the support all season and really happy to win this championship a round early. 

“This means so much to my family,” added the 18-year-old exciting prospect. “I’ve been racing since I was five years old – just me, my Mum and my Dad. We were scraping every penny together to go and have some fun and pursue my career. Without them, I don’t know where I’d be…. We’ve come a long way as a family, with a lot of difficulties. Everyone knows how hard racing is financially and the simulator racing competition came along at the right time.” 

With the pressure now off his shoulders, Fairclough islooking forward to the season’s final three races on the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 5/6 October. Thereafter he will be seeking to emulate previous British F4 title winners such as Lando Norris, Zane Maloney, Luke Browning and last year’s champ Louis Sharp all of whom are making names for themselves further up the motor sport ladder.  

Topically, this year’s British F4 Esports Championship kicks off this week on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit with a number of Formula 1-affiliated teams joining the packed 2024 grid. Click here to find out more.