A YOUNG racing driver has paid his respects to some of his biggest inspirations.

Danbury race ace Scott Huntley laid a ‘winner’s wreath’ of laurels on the grave of F1 driver Alan Stacey, to mark the 60th anniversary of his death.

Stacey, 26, was born in Broomfield, Chelmsford, but was killed at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in the Belgian Grand Prix, along with Chris Bristol, 22, in June 1960.

Scott, 18, also laid a wreath at St Mary the Virgin Church in Shenfield last week for Colchester-born Piers Courage, who died 50 years ago on June 21, 1970, at the F1 Grand Prix at Zanvvort.

Scott said: “Our thoughts go to Alan’s relatives who still farm in Essex and the widow of Piers Courage, Lady Sarah Aspinall, and his two sons, Jason and Amos, on these sad anniversaries.”

In 2015, to mark the 45th anniversary of his death, Scott ran his Junior EasyKart in Piers’ colours.

Today, Scott still carries the ‘memorial wreaths’ on the front and back of his kart face suit, in the name of Piers and Bruce McLaren, the founder of today’s McLaren Formula 1 team who was killed just three weeks after Piers.

Piers was born in Colchester and brought up in Shenfield as one of Essex’s first Formula 1 drivers.

Scott, a student at Loughborough College, was selected for the ‘Class of 2019’ on the Motorsport UK Academy AASE programme, as one of the most promising young driver in the UK.

Scott has also been praised by Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo after he won a kart race at Whilton Mill, by a record breaking margin in 2018.

Last year, in his first year of kart racing, Scott was named 2019 Rookie Vice Champion.