Alex Dunne, from Clonbulloge, Co. Offaly, has been named as the winner of the Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of The Year Award.

The sixteen-year-old beat off stiff competition from fellow finalists Jack Byrne, Max Hart and Jordan Kelly to become the youngest ever winner of the famous Sexton Trophy.

Alex started his racing career in karting at aged nine and this season made the step up to single seaters racing where he drove in the Spanish and ADAC (German) F4 Championships.

His speed was evident straight away securing pole position and a podium finish on his opening race of the season at Spa Francorchamps.

On his ADAC F4 debut at Hockenheim in September, Alex took two debut second place finishes and then claimed two pole positions on his return to the track a few weeks later.

An impressive four rookie wins from six starts, as well as being the only rookie to have started from pole position and secured a fastest lap, have marked Dunne out as a serious F4 prospect.

For 2022, Dunne aims to build on his F4 progression by taking on the F4 United Arab Emirates Championship.

Alex Dunne, Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of The Year said:  “I’m delighted and honoured to win this award. We worked hard, and despite all the challenges that Covid-19 brought regards travel, we had a great year and I couldn't have wished for a better end to my debut season out of karting. We gained huge experience this year and I can't wait to build on that in 2022. The funding will be a big help to my budget but I am also to delighted to receive other forms of support from both Motorsport Ireland and Sport Ireland. I hope to repay their faith in me with more strong performances as I aim to progress up through the FIA Formulas."

Alex's season was supported by Harris Group, Maxus, VTL, Reynolds Logistics, Artisan Marble, PDS Associates and Xpress Health.

Motorsport Ireland President John Naylor said: “The depth of talent among our young drivers is continuously growing and, alongside our partners in Sport Ireland, Motorsport Ireland is committed to supporting and developing drivers and providing them with every opportunity to succeed at the highest level. Alex is an exciting talent and I have no doubt he will represent Ireland with distinction as he progresses on his journey.”

The Young Driver of The Year award is supported by Motorsport Ireland and Sport Ireland. As part of the award, the winner will receive support to the value of €50,000 for the 2022 season. Alex, as the award winner, will also be included in the Motorsport Ireland Race Academy which is supported via the Team Ireland Foundation for the next two seasons while the other finalists will be included for one season.