NOT many people are afforded the privilege of racing at the home of British Motor Racing.
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That’s unless your name is Max Verstappen, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton or Daniel Ricciardo to name but a few.
It’s the experience awaiting 21-year-old Michael Prior next month.
While Prior hails from Armidale, he has plied his trade on the outdoor go-kart tracks of Port Macquarie over recent years.
There’s still a lot of work to be done to get onto the track at Silverstone, but it’s an experience he’s looking forward to trying to achieve.
“When we get over there it usually involves driving a bunch of different Nissan sports cars in a variety of challenges,” he said.
“It could be overtaking, it could be a rally stage, and then they do a few fitness tests like a Tough Mudder or a couple of endurance courses.”
If he’s successful and finishes towards the top of the field, he will then get to race around the Silverstone circuit and fulfill a dream.
Prior admitted he always wanted to drive a motor vehicle, even at the age of 11 when he needed to get around the farm.
“When I was a kid I was at home driving around the farm in an old Nissan and then I just did that for five or six years,” he said.
“When I left school I bought a go-kart and did a bunch of go-karting with wasn’t fantastic but wasn’t bad either then found this (sprint cars) and decided to give it a go.”
He admitted to taking up go-karts at a young age because it was the cheapest form of motor racing anyone could do.
“You never fail to find competition; you could go every weekend or you could go once every month, it’s up to you,” he said.
“Mainly the cost and ease of access is the main thing that interested me because you don’t have to have a trailer, you can take it in one car and you can practice whenever you want.”
When Prior heads to England it will be a chance for him to return home.
“My mum lives over there as well as her family so I get to go and see her,” he said.
“I haven’t seen her in a long time and I’ve never been to Silverstone, but I’ve been around London and can’t wait.
“I feel a bit more at home when I’m over there because I’ve been there before.”
He will fly the flag for Port Macquarie when he departs for England on October 17.
“My motorsport background is firmly in Port Macquarie and I owe a lot to this place,” he said.
“I’m happy to pay back however I can.
“Hopefully I can go over there and bring a piece of history back as well and represent Port Macquarie overseas.
“It’s definitely a second home.”