About Trevor Koen
Trevor Koen
TK Racing
Durban, KZN
South Africa
The name Trevor Koen may not be familiar to you now, but chances are all that will change in the future. This 20 year old South African is one of the leading young rally car drivers in the southern hemisphere and he is keen to follow in the footsteps of his more illustrious British counterparts. You know the ones; Mansell, Coulthard, Hill Sr and Jr, the late James Hunt and, of course, the current Boy Wonder Lewis Hamilton.
So who is Trevor Koen? And how did he get into the world of racing cars at breakneck speed? Let's find out all we can from the Boy Racer himself then shall we?
"I've been into competitive racing since I was 12 or 13 and, like practically every other motor car racer, I started off with go-karting around the tracks here in SA. My parents- my dad's in shipping- thought it was just a passing fad and that I'd grow out of it, but the opposite has been true; I got more and more into it the better and older I got."
There are a number of sports all over the world in which success is a direct correlation of how much money you are able to get out of your pocket, or, to be more exact, how much you're able to persuade your mum and dad to part with. Tennis, golf and sailing spring ro mind, and to this brief list you can also add motor-racing. Lewis Hamilton would not have had the success he's enjoyed if his father hadn't dug deep into his pockets when Lewis was barely 6 years old, and the timely intervention of McLaren head honcho Ron Dennis, who fully sponsored Lewis before his 10th birthday, was more than a contributing factor. In fact, there's no way Lewis could have made it otherwise, as Trevor recognises only too well.
"If I had a fraction of the financial backing that Lewis had, I'd be lot further in my development as a professional racing driver- most people would."
However, there a a couple of major factors that count against Trevor in his quest to become South Africa's first global motor star. And they are factors that he has absolutely no control over. The first is the weak South African currency, the Rand.
Trevor laughs at the mere mention of the word. "Yeah, the rand is so weak right now that it scares off international investors left, right and centre. I think, if I'm not mistaken, that it's something like 16 rands to the pound, so that's really off-putting to investors. I think a lot of them reckon their money could be put to better use elsewhere," laughs Trevor. But the other obstacle Trevor is up against is the legacy of apartheid. Local money, i.e money from across the nation, is being diverted to black and coloured men and women attempting to make it in sport. Basically, this means that white people applying for financial assistance from local or national authorities are immediately disqualified because of the colour of their skin. This state of affairs illustrates one inescapable fact- sport and politics are joined at the hips, no matter how much we try to deny it.
"What can I say?" says Trevor with a shrug of his shoulders. "That's the way the world is and there's no point complaining about it, otherwise life will just pass you by." Despite this financial drawback, Trevor remains focused on his mission - to become a Formula 1 driver, and even though sponsorship has been slow in coming forward he has not given up on his ambition. This is his third full year competing, and so far things are going well. In his rookie season he made the top three in every single race he did. But last year was a bitter sweet one for him.
"What happened was in the final race it went down to the wire between me and the guy who had been leading the championship all year. Going into that race I was a point behind him. I won the last race but there was some technical mix-up by several of the racing teams which led to the whole race being declared null and void. All the points were scrubbed and I lost the title by the one point I was behind by at the start."
Trevor aims to be at the Singapore F1 Grand Prix with his parents and he is also planning on coming to London in the summer, which is also his mother's home city.
"I'm half British, half South African and obviously I won't neglect one or the other because I'm proud of my heritage and proud of who I am."
TREVOR KOEN Q&A
Name: Trevor KoenD.O.B: 4th June 1987How tall are you? 186 cm (6 foot 1 inch)Sport: KartingHow did you get started in your sport?: Like most in this sport, I took up karting and just progressed from thereWhat immediate ambitions do you have in your sport?: I want to compete on a level playing field, which means have the financial backing to enable me to do so. Once that happens, anything is possible reallyWhere do you live? Durban, South AfricaAre you a full time driver? No, I'm at universityWhich one? Vega UniversityVega? Named after the singer? Which singer?Er- Suzanne Vega? The famous American singer. I've not heard of her. It's a bit before my time I think!What are you studying there? Multi media designIn English, please! Alright then - web design!Do you have any brothers or sisters? Yeah - one younger brotherWhat about any pets? Yes, we have four dogs.Four? Ha ha - yes - four! Two labradors and two Boston Terriers.Do you follow any sports here in Britain? Well, one of my uncles lives not far from Chelsea's football ground at Stamford Bridge, so I generally tend to look out for their results now and then. But obviously, I pay a keen interest to Formula 1, and in particular Lewis Hamilton. I'm following his career quite closely.So how do you relax? I don't!Ok. What's your favourite film? Oh, I'm not too sure. I'd have to say something like Hot Rod, a racing car film. There hasn't been a Formula 1 film for as long as I can remember actually, so I guess there's probably a market there.Favourite colour? GreenAnd your favorite TV programme? If I have time, I'd have to say Scrubs. It's really funny- do you get the show in England?Unfortunately, yes we do! Awful show! Ha ha ha! Well I guess it takes an acquired kind of humour to appreciate the show.You're right about that! If you were stranded on a desert island, what two items would you want with you? Hmm - that's a hard one! Can I take one of my cars?On a desert island? Where would you drive to? No, you can't Ha ha ha, OK, I'd have to say....my TV and my bed!Spoken like a true student! Thank you!What do you do in your spare time? As I said earlier, I don't have any- during the week I'm at Uni and then at the weekend I'm always at the race track and working on my cars.Last question - Do you have a full driving licence? Ha ha ha ha ha
March 16
Today was the day of the Melbourne Australian Grand Prix so I decide to give Trevor a ring to get his uptake on what happened Down Under during the early hours of the morning GMT and life as a racer in general.
‘I’ve just come back from racing myself here in Durban, in something known as the Durban Derby. Basically, it’s a series of races that take place here in the city, like a mini grand prix. It was the second race of the season today - the first was in February and I actually won that race and I came second today. It could have gone better, but having said that I’m pleased with the outcome. In my rookie season, I made the rostrum after every single race so I’ve set pretty high standards for myself, which is good. In sport you have to always challenge yourself and continually raise your own levels of perfection, and that way you’ll have something higher to aim at every time.’
In the brief time I’ve been speaking to Trevor he does come across as an older head on a set of very young shoulders, and it’s been said that the true champions, not just in sport but in everything, are the ones who are mature beyond their age. This is a trait that is inbuilt into every sporting great, as well as the ability to remain cool under extreme pressure. And from speaking to Trevor, he has these two things in abundance.
‘I’m getting ready for the next stage of the Durban Derby next month, where I hope to build on my second place today. After that, I’m looking to start raising my profile both here in SA and there in Britain. I think that you guys there have your finger on the pulse when it comes to sport, in particular motor sport, and it’s important that I head over there this summer.
Trevor has a point, because Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosely, the most powerful men in Formula 1, are both British, and so is Ron Dennis, the head of Williams and the mentor of the biggest racing sensation to hit Formula 1 for decades- Lewis Hamilton, the first ever black racer in the sport. So what did Trevor think about the Australian Grand Prix anyway/
‘I haven’t watched it yet, so please don’t tell me who won!’ he begs. I inform him that it was like a Demolition Derby out there. Oh, and the black guy won it.
He does laugh anyway.
Trevor Koen is a Durban based racing driver, currently in karting in the max challenge class...
Trevor had a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs in 2007 after winning the championship and then having it taken away from him through a technicality...
Trevor was lucky enough to secure a partial sponsorship from Simply fish...But unfortunately as the year ends, so does his sponsorship. Trevor is now looking for additional sponsorship, not only to continue karting this season, but in order for him to advance his career further and take the next step up.
He has opportunities to race in the following championships in 2009:
-> Formula Palmer Audi(U.K)
-> Formula Fantastic(South Africa)
-> Formula Ford (S.A or U.K)
-> VW Polo Cup (South Africa)
-> Champ car Atlantic (U.S.A)
-> Formula Mazda (U.S.A)
-> A3 (S.A)
