Driver
The Driver
Nicolas was born on 28 March 1992 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, and was diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. As a toddler, doctors initially believed he would never walk independently. During his childhood, Nicolas faced major physical challenges with balance, coordination and mobility, and from the age of 11 until 17 he regularly relied on a wheelchair for mobility. Despite this, he refused to let disability define his future and became determined to carve out his own identity in motorsport.
Inspired by watching his older half-brother, Lewis, race worldwide during his karting years, Nicolas developed a passion for motorsport from an early age. While many doubted whether someone with cerebral palsy could ever race professionally, Nicolas committed himself to years of physical rehabilitation, strength work and mental resilience in order to pursue a career behind the wheel. By the age of 17, he had progressed to walking unaided and was determined to compete against able-bodied drivers at the highest level possible.
In 2015, Nicolas made global motorsport history when he became the first disabled driver ever to compete in the British Touring Car Championship. Driving an Audi S3 for AmD Tuning, his debut at Croft marked a landmark moment for diversity and inclusion in motorsport. Nicolas described himself as “a Paralympian racing in the Olympics,” highlighting the scale of the challenge of competing directly against fully able-bodied drivers in Britain’s premier touring car series.
In 2020, Nicolas joined Team HARD in the BTCC driving a Volkswagen CC. During the season he achieved another historic milestone by scoring his first-ever BTCC championship points at Brands Hatch, becoming the first disabled driver in championship history to score points in the series.
The 2023 season became the strongest of his career to that point. At the opening round at Donington Park, Nicolas achieved a career-best sixth-place finish in Race 2, a result he described as the “best race of my life.” The performance demonstrated his growing pace and race craft against some of the best touring car drivers in the UK, further raising the bar for disability in competitive sport.
The biggest breakthrough of Nicolas’ racing career came in 2026 when he signed for reigning BTCC champions Team VERTU, driving the championship-winning Hyundai i30 Fastback N alongside multiple BTCC champions and race winners including Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton. The move marked the first time in his career that Nicolas had access to proven front-running machinery.
During the 2026 season, Nicolas achieved one of the most emotional moments in BTCC history by securing his first-ever BTCC podium and winning the Jack Sears Trophy at Snetterton. The achievement represented the culmination of more than 15 years of relentless perseverance, overcoming both physical adversity and barriers within motorsport. The moment was celebrated widely across the motorsport world, with many describing it as one of the most inspirational podiums the championship had ever seen. Nicolas also won the fan-voted Goodyear Wingfoot Award, recognising him as the fans’ standout driver of the weekend.
SkyF1 Interview
In October 2024 SkyF1 approached Nicolas, as they wanted to cover his incredible and inspirational story of overcoming his disability, which lead him to be a racing driver in the pinnacle of British motorsport. A very beautiful and honest account of his journey, interviewed by Natalie Pinkham.
