Meet the County Durham racing driver who dreams of making a career from motorsport

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A County Durham racing driver, whose dream is to make a career from motorsport, is competing on his home track this weekend.

Max Edmundson, 20, is racing in the VERTU Mini Challenge Championship at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire.

Max has been racing cars for more than ten years and told The Northern Echo how he first got into the sport.

He said: "I started go karting when I was seven with my dad and brother, as a hobby. It started to get more serious after five or six years when we got to the top levels of go karting.

"We had to stop karting because of Covid. My brother decided to give it up, but I didn't, and I decided to continue to cars."

Max decided to enter the Milltek Sport Civic Championship, racing cars based on the Honda Civic Type R. Max said the Civic Cup is low-power and they race modified road cars. He competed for three years, winning the Championship in 2023 and 2024.

Max Edmundson who is racing in the VERTU Mini Challenge Championship this weekend (Image: SARAH CALEDCOTT) The 20-year-old became the youngest winner of the Championship in 2023 but said the 2024 win is one of his greatest achievements to date.

Max said: "I beat drivers who had previously won World and European Championship's. Even though I had won the championship the year before, I wouldn't say I was expected to beat them, as they have so much more knowledge than me."

But Max's elite mentality ensured he was able to beat his competitors and win the championship for the second time.

"If you're going into a race expecting to lose, then you are going to lose. You need to go into races with the mentality that you are going to win, and that is what I did. I believed I was going to win, and I did," he said.

This year, Max has entered the VERTU Mini Challenge Championship. He said the races are different to the Civic Cup as the Mini is a "full-blown race car" and has more power and grip. This weekend, he is racing at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire.

He said: "After a challenging first weekend at Donnington Park, inhibited by engine issues, I have had some great successes.

Max in his racing gear and helmet (Image: SARAH CALEDCOTT) "I finished my second Mini weekend at Snetterton with three podium finishes and my third weekend at Oulton Park with my first Mini win."

This weekend marks the fourth round of the championship, which started in April and finishes in October.

He admitted his dream is to make a career from motorsport, and that dream is one step closer, as he has recently signed for Restart Racing as a development driver.

He said: "I live and breathe the sport; I go to sleep thinking about it. Everything in my life is motorsport.

"Being able to make a career from it and be able to support my family from it is the dream."

But Max admitted he is hoping to attract more sponsors to help support him throughout the season.

He told the Echo: "It is quite expensive to enter these competitions and that is the hardest part about motorsport, trying to find the sponsors and the funding to be able to go out racing."

Max is competing at Croft Circuit this weekend, with qualifying taking place on Friday and races taking place on Saturday and Sunday.