RISING motorsport star Luke Browning has secured one of the biggest accolades of his racing career to date.

The Kingsley 20-year-old has been named as the winner of the 2022 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

Browning saw off stiff competition from Oliver Bearman, Louis Foster and Jamie Chadwick to become the latest winner of the prestigious gong.

The former St Nicholas RC High School student joins an impressive list of victors that includes the likes of David Coulthard, Dario Franchitti, Jenson Button, Lando Norris and George Russell.

As winner of the award, he receives £200,000, full British Racing Drivers’ Club membership, an Arai helmet and a test in an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 car.

The GB3 champion impressed judges – including ex-F1 racer Derek Warwick, IndyCar legend Franchitti and Le Mans GT winner Darren Turner – in a series of different tests both on and off track.

After fitness and simulator sessions, Browning drove MotorSport Vision Formula 2, Beechdean Motorsport-run Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and United Autosports Ligier LMP3 machinery on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit before being named as winner during the annual Autosport Awards in London.

Recently retired multiple F1 champion Sebastian Vettel presented the award.

“It’s an incredible feeling to win the award,” said Browning.

“When I look back to David Coulthard as the inaugural winner and see the list of names that have followed him, it feels very special to now see my name up there alongside them.

“Words can’t really describe how grateful I am for the opportunity that I now have in front of me and this is the most amazing way to finish what has been a fantastic year for me on track.

“I have to give a huge thank you to everyone at Hitech GP for the success in track in GB3 this season, but this award goes far beyond that and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who has helped me to get to this stage in my career.

“There are far too many for me to mention by name, but to each and every person who has helped me through the years, I’m so, so grateful – and I hope that this award can now be the springboard to even more success in the future.”

Browning is seen as one of the rising stars of the British motorsport scene, having marked himself out as one to watch in an impressive career to date.

Debuting in car racing in 2016 in an impressive switch from kart racing, he was a front-runner in Junior Saloons and the Ginetta Junior Championship before moving into single-seaters in 2019.

A race winner in his debut season, Browning stormed to the title in 2020 before a year in Europe saw him take a top-three finish in the German ADAC F4 series.

Returning to the UK for 2022, he grabbed a second career title in the GB3 Championship.