750 Motor Club was delighted to announce Joel Oswick last weekend as the winner of the 2022 John Miles Young Driver Award, in honour of the late vehicle dynamics guru and former F1 racer. The John Miles Award continues to offer a helping financial hand to nurture promising up and coming talent within the Club, and the winner receives a £1000 cash prize - from the total donated by family, friends, Club members and former colleagues of Miles - which is matched by the 750 Motor Club with £1000 credit against entry fees for the driver’s subsequent season.
Applications for the 2022 season remained high, resulting in a shortlist for the prize and a winning margin that was finer than ever before. The nominated judging panel remained true to Miles' original ethos when selecting the winner; taking into account technical ingenuity, development and prowess as much as racecraft and the season results themselves.
Racing in his first proper season alongside Dan Ausano as part of the German Autowerks squad, the former karting star and full-time mechanic was instrumental in working with the team to develop their BMW E36 328i both on and off-track into a race-winning car. The result was the Class C Club Enduro Championship title for the pairing, and taking the battle for the overall title to the closing minutes of the Oulton Park season finale.
The John Miles Young Driver Award winner was announced at the 750MC's 2022 Annual Awards night at Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday 4th February 2023; the cheque being presented to a delighted Oswick who was in attendance to collect his 1st Class C and 2nd Overall 2022 Club Enduro trophies.
Applications Open for 2023
The John Miles Young Driver Prize will return at the next 750MC Annual Awards Night, following judging that will take place across the 2023 season.
In order to qualify for this year’s award, the driver must be aged 30 or under on 1st March 2023, be competing at a minimum of five 750 Motor Club race meetings this season, and have no more than three years of circuit racing experience as of 1st March 2023. Interested drivers looking to put themselves forward for consideration should enter via email with a racing ‘CV’ and photo of their current racecar to
giles@750mc.co.uk
John Miles & The 750 Motor Club
Prior to his move towards a long and successful career in road testing and automotive development for both road and race cars at Lotus, Aston Martin, and Multimatic, John’s achievements as a driver were of considerable repute. Having graduated from Formula 3 and GT racing at Team Lotus, he went on to compete in the European Touring Car Championship as well as international sportscar racing, winning the 1971 RAC British Sports Car Championship along the way. This was in addition to his F1 period; starting a total of 15 Grand Prix with a best finish of 5th place in the 1970 South African GP.
John’s fondness for the 750 Motor Club was a constant throughout his life. From his early competition history and Austin Seven developments, he remained active throughout retirement until his sad passing in 2018; not only with his presence at various race events throughout the season but also generously donating time to vehicle dynamics education with lectures and mentoring.
In accordance with family wishes at both the funeral and online, in excess of £3000 was generously donated by family, friends, Club members and former colleagues of Miles as part of a fund-raising appeal to continue the award with 750MC.