Why motorsport's 'intruders' are starting to make a mark

Driver coaches have long suffered from the perception that they offer little of value, but that's beginning to change. James Newbold spoke to some of racing's most respected coaches to find out why

James Newbold Jan 27, 2019, 12:33 PM

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Listening to Warren Hughes speak passionately about his role within McLaren GT's young-driver programme, it's easy to see why he is one of the most respected coaches around.

A veteran of 76 British F3 starts between 1992 and '99 before making a successful transition into the British Touring Car Championship with West Surrey Racing's MGs and then into sportscar racing, 51-year-old Hughes has been coaching drivers for the past 15 years, with McLaren youngster Lewis Proctor and F3 race winner Nikita Troitsky - now four years into their relationship - benefiting from his experience in 2018.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.