Cornish racing star competes in one of the world's most prestigious races

A Cornish driver has fulfilled a racing ambition of competing in the iconic Le Mans 24-hour race. The endurance race on the Circuit de la Sarthe near the city of Le Mans, about 115 miles from Paris, is considered to be one of the most prestigious races in the motorsport world.

The race is so competitive you have to be invited to take part. That's exactly what happened to Alex Quinn from Camelford in North Cornwall, who not only took part for the first time ever last week (June 15) but landed himself a second-place finish.

The 23-year-old was invited to join American driver PJ Hyett and professional racing driver Louis Deletraz from Switzerland as part of the AO by TF race team. The trio entered the LMP2 ProAm class in the number 14 Oreca 07 race car named ‘Spike’ which quickly became a fan favourite with its unique and stand out livery of a dragon.

Read next: RSPCA rehoming centre at breaking point after being 'inundated with puppies'

Read next: Woman who broke her spine as a toddler becomes mouth-painting artist

A total of 63 cars in three classes took part in the race in front of some 300,000 spectators. As part of the gruelling race the drivers relay each other in up to two-hour driving stints over the 24 hours of the race.

Alex said that while the race started under dry conditions, the weather soon changed with dark clouds descending on the circuit and long periods of the night session endured torrential rain. He said that as daylight broke the condition became drier and racing got underway at full speed again, with some of the cars travelling at 200mph on some of the stretches of the 8.4-mile track.

The circuit has 38 corners and features a combination of both public roads and dedicated sections of a race track, including the Mulsanne straight which is considered to be one of the longest straights in motor racing history.

Back at the family farm in Camelford, Alex said he and his teammates were all pleased to finish in one piece, without any incident or damage to the car.

He said: "Le Mans has been an amazing experience for me and I am so grateful to the team for giving me this opportunity. It was my first time at Le Mans and we're on the podium.

"The AO by TF team did an amazing job all week with preparation and set up. The car, Spike, was amazing and we kept the car clean the whole race with no damage. I am very grateful to PJ and Louis and so proud to share the podium moment with them."

Alex is already looking to the future, adding: "Getting on the podium was the first step, and the next one is to win."