NEWS

Super Trofeo Stories: Alex Denning

Motorsport in Ireland has always faced something of an uphill battle when fighting for the attention of a sport crazed nation. Up against popular sports such as Gaelic football, hurling, rugby and soccer, it’s almost an impossible task.

There’s always an exception to the rule, of course. It may only have three racetracks and produced just Grand Prix drivers, but Ireland is developing something special with a fresh crop of up-and-coming talents from the Emerald Isle.

Recently crowned Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Pro champion Alex Denning is one such example.

Hailing from Rathfarnham in south Dublin, Denning bathed in the world of cars and racing. With both of his parents, grandfathers, aunts and uncles also immersed in motorsport, it was perhaps only inevitable that young Alex would follow in the family tradition.

“Even outside of the sport, my parents work in the motor trade,” Denning says. “My mother owns a car dealership, and my dad owns a car repair shop.

“They both raced, actually against each other as well, both of my grandfathers also raced, so it was kind of obvious that I would get into racing myself.

“So, growing up it was all about cars and then when I got the age of about eight years old, my parents thought: ‘we need to give him something with wheels and an engine on it’ otherwise I was going to drive them all crazy!”

After sampling a go-kart for the first time when he was eight years old, Denning quickly got into racing, moving up through the ranks over the next decade before electing to take the leap into cars at the age of 19.

Success came quickly for Denning, finishing second in the Fiesta ST championship in 2018 before winning the title the following year. By this time, the prospect of a career in motorsport became a possibility, but important decisions still had to be made.

“I took a year out of racing during Covid, and then in 2021 and 2022 I raced in the Mini Challenge in the UK,” explains Denning.

“It was my final year of college and kind of the time where I was debating whether to really make the leap forwards and make something out of it. And I decided that, if I do well, then I would give a go and if I don’t, then it’s just a year out of my life.

“So, we went for it, won seven races overall and finished second in the championship which helped me to win the Motorsport Ireland [Young Driver of the Year] award which was a €50,000 reward to fund my programme in 2023. I decided to go the GT route, in the GT4 European Series, spent two years there and then discovered Super Trofeo.”

After an up-and-down couple of seasons in GT4 European, Denning then got a phone call from none other than David Kennedy, managing director of the famous SJM Theodore Racing team based in Macau.

Kennedy, a three-time class winner in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and former owner of the Ireland A1GP consortium in the mid-2000s, has long championed Irish drivers and assisted their rise up the career ladder both at home and further afield.

Keen to make the step up and push himself to the next level, Denning jumped at the chance to sample Lamborghini machinery with an esteemed outfit.

“At the end of my second year in GT4 European Series, I got a call from David from Theodore Racing, and he asked me if I was free to do a test with VSR at Misano.

“I was the quickest in that test by 0.8s, and after that I got offered a drive in Super Trofeo Asia with David’s team.”

Joining second-year driver Charles Leong Hon Chio at the team, Denning knew he had to hit the ground running at the opening round of the Super Trofeo Asia season in Australia. They won both races to take the early championship lead.

From then, it has been a near-perfect season: victories in Shanghai, Fuji and Inje gave them a healthy advantage in the points standings entering the penultimate round of the year in Malaysia.

Pole position and a sixth victory of the season in race one and a second place in race two was more than enough to give Leong and Denning the coveted title, with a round to spare.

It’s been the sort of season that Denning could perhaps have only dreamed of, leading the championship and being selected as one of three drivers from the Asian series – alongside team-mate Leong and Leipert Motorsport’s Ethan Brown – as a Super Trofeo Junior Driver.

“We’ve ticked every box so far this season, the team have done an amazing job,” Denning says. “To be associated with such an esteemed team as SJM Theodore Racing is a big honour; Charles hasn’t made any mistakes, we’ve been super consistent.

“And being part of the Young Driver programme, it’s a big thing for me to be associated with a manufacturer too. I want to wrap up the title, but I really want to get on the [Young Driver] shootout and prove my speed on that so that I can give myself the best opportunity for next season.

“This season has been a big step up in terms of what I’ve been driving. The professionalism of GT4 European Series, being on the support bill of GT World Challenge is really high so that has helped me adapt to Super Trofeo Asia.

“But the car is significantly more advanced, so it is a lot more difficult to tame. Anyone can get the car and drive it but for me, the tyre saving element to the series is a huge one to get used to. It’s been a bit of a challenge but as a racing driver, if you can’t adapt to it within five laps, you shouldn’t be doing it!”

It’s clear that both Denning and Leong have formed an incredibly strong partnership aboard the #32 SJM Theodore Racing Huracán this season. With the title now in the bag, they will hope to take carry form with them back to Europe as they take on the very best in November’s Lamborghini World Finals at Misano.