Jake Byrne from Blackwood, near Naas, has been selected as the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Month for April.

The 20 year-old Kildare driver completely dominated the Formula Ford class at Kirkistown on April 25, starting both races from pole position, comfortably winning each time, and also setting a pair of fastest laps.

Combined with his third place at the opening Kirkistown meeting, this leaves him heading the points table in the Northern Ireland Formula Ford Championship. He is also a strong contender for the National British series, where he set a new class lap record for the Silverstone International circuit at Easter weekend.

Jake has already been champion in the Ginetta Junior class, where he won the title in 2012, and in Global GT Lights the following year. He plans to complete his campaign for the Northern Ireland series, and also contest the Motorsport Ireland National Irish Championship, and hopes to add at least one Formula Ford title to his growing collection by the end of the year.

The Kildareman has begun the final year of his studies in Mechanical Engineering in Trinity College, Dublin. His sponsors are Punchestown Racecourse, Challenger Lighting, gearboxman.com, Grrana Energy, ABR Sports, and Sophos.

Having been selected as the first Dunlop Driver of the Month for the 2015 season, Jake is now a contender for the prestigious Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year Award and the historic Sexton Trophy. This award is presented annually and is supported by Dunlop, the Irish Sports Council and Motorsport Ireland.