At only 18 years of age, Filipino-British racing driver Daryl DeLeon landed himself a spot in the UK’s premier motorsport series with Team HARD during the 2023 season of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship. Let’s take a look at his path to becoming one of the newer faces on the grid.
DeLeon made his car racing debut in the Radical SR1 Cup in the penultimate round of the 2021, and won two of the three races in the final round of the season. He then competed in the 2021 Radical Intercontinental Cup at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal.
Competing full-time in the 2022 season with Valour Racing, he won the championship. Later in the year, he contested the inaugural Radical Cup World Finals at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Nevada, United States, which he won overall.
He also raced for Valour Racing in the fourth round of the 2022 GB4 Championship, finishing third in his debut race.
In 2023, DeLeon moved up to the SR3 category of the Radical Cup UK, alongside his British Endurance Championship commitments.
DeLeon won the 2023 Team HARD Scholarship, enabling him to compete in the 2023 British Endurance Championship with Team HARD, driving an Audi S3 touring car alongside Maurice Henry. Prior to the second round, DeLeon switched to a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.
As part of the Team HARD Scholarship, DeLeon became a development driver for their BTCC team for the 2023 season. On 4 July, he drove for the team in the official Goodyear Tyre Test. Following the departure of Jade Edwards from Team HARD after the fifth round of 2023, it was announced that DeLeon would take her place.
Despite only joining the Kwik Fit British Touring Car season halfway through, the Cupra Leon driver put in some impressive performances, most notably his 12th place in the final round of the season finale at Brands Hatch. DeLeon finished 25th in the Drivers' Championship with 6 points.
