We often hear of people transitioning to professional racing thanks to video games. The GT Academy initiative is perhaps the most obvious example, but it’s hardly the only one. Slightly Mad Studios, the studio behind Project CARS, has released a documentary focusing on the inspiring story of Nicolas Hamilton’s career progression.
The brother to 3-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, 24-year old Nic was born two months premature, with cerebral palsy. This didn’t stop him from wanting to follow his big brother, a desire that lead him to simulation games. After getting seriously hooked – even becoming UK champion in an online competition in 2009 – Nic started a working relationship with SMS, as well as began his real-world racing career.
Finding himself faster than his instructors at the Jonathan Palmer driving school, Nic graduated to the tough world of the Clio Cup in 2011. After that, Hamilton graduated to piloting a Seat Leon in the European Touring Car Cup, before running as a guest driver in the hotly-contested BTCC in 2015.
Nic’s story of overcoming countless hurdles via determination and passion is a truly inspiring one. It resonates not just with gamers, but with everybody. Take a few minutes out of your day and watch the full video above.
Excellent work on this inspiring story. Very nicely filmed too. Well done Nic and well done SMS.
#blessed
What a great story. Nic’s feedback notes or journal was released sometime around the launch of the Project Cars and I read quite a bit of it. Easy to see he took the job of giving feedback on the physics very, very seriously. There are a few others like him that started with sim racing and moved into real racing like the GT Academy champs, but none that I’m aware of that are directly involved in game development. The fact that he has signed on for Project Cars 2 bodes well for the future of the franchise.
Inspiring. God bless him, and may he go even further in continuing the pursuit of his passions.