Aaron Riddell, a 2nd Year pupil at Beeslack high school, comes from a family with a strong racing background with his Granddad having a past of racing F2’s.
His father, Colin a local business owner (RS Motors, Penicuik), was heavily involved in the stock cars being a mechanic firstly for Jim Wallace (World champ F2), then for their Cousin Alistair King (F2 world champ) and latterly with Lawrence Inglis, Chas Bain & Gary Black with the hotrods.
Aaron began go-karting at a young age in Falkirk, which led to it being a regular occurrence every Sunday, where he won numerous races. Then his father and mother bought him a professional go-kart, but Aaron had a change of mind and wanted to race the mini stock cars.
You have to be aged 11 and up to race the stock cars, so Aaron’s mother Susan told us:
I always said 11 was too young for him & if he was still keen when he was 12 we would look in to it.
His parents kept their word and did more than just look into it, Aaron has always been around cars and has had a passion for racing and driving , which is not abnormal for a boy of his age. He went to the racing when he was a youngster, so his father, sourced not just one but three mini stock cars, one a bare shell and two of which were fixed, and built to race spec. These were then painted to look good on and off the track so when he was racing he wouldn’t be missed.
Aaron commenced racing last year at the start of the 2012 season aged 12 years. In one season he became 4th in the overall Crimond track championship and was also 5th in the overall Scottish points championship and now has about 20 trophies.
An achievement to be proud of is that he has been a blue roof for a substantial amount of time, a significant achievement as when you start racing it’s a white roof and you need to work your way through the roof colours which leads to a higher overall starting position on the Track.
For 2013 Aaron’s hope would be to win everything & all the big titles but for his Family they would simply like him to travel & use different tracks.
His father Colin told us:
Aaron has come along way in a short space of time and, I am very proud of his achievements, I just keep at him and make sure he knows that he has all our support and to keep his head down and race like he is Champion.
At the Moment the new 2013 Car is being prepped for this years racing and is almost ready. However they are still looking for sponsors for the car. If anyone would like to sponsor them and get a sign on the cars then you are advised to contact Colin on 07910 472592.
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