Nominees / Award Nominee

Austin Riley

It’s hard to believe that Austin has been racing in some form or another for 15 years now. When he started karting, he was the only one in the world at that time that was openly “racing with autism”. Despite his karting accomplishments (3 championships by the age of 13) we still had to battle every year he moved up to a different class (faster) to get him approved for his race license. When he moved to cars the struggle was even greater. At this point, there were no guidelines from any of the sanctioning bodies about someone racing with autism. He had to go through several psychiatric assessments just to prove he wasn’t a danger to the other racers or the public. Despite that Austin became the first person with autism to gain his road racing license, he became the first person with autism to the podium in a nationally sanctioned series, he became the first person with autism to win in a U.S.-based sanctioned race series and in 2020 he became the first person with autism to win a major car racing championship by winning the Radical Cup Canadian championship. A feat he repeated in 2021. This past year Austin took his talents to the United States full-time, he faced much more competition and much bigger fields and he overcame all of that to become the Radical Cup North America Pro 1340 champion as well as the overall champion. Because of Austin’s incredible achievements and his worldwide following, he has inspired thousands of children to start racing with autism. The motorsport sanctioning body for the world (FIA) has discussed Austin’s story at their year-end meetings in Paris and created procedures for their branches to follow for racers applying for a license that has a disability like autism. Because of Austin, there is now a branch of Racing With Autism in Australia, that helps fund and nurture young racers with autism. There is also another branch in the UK that organizes “racing with autism” nights at a local indoor track in Manchester where the track is only open to people with disabilities. All the attendees are given instruction by a young racer with autism that Austin inspired to start racing. With everything Austin has been able to accomplish behind the wheel of a kart and car, he has changed the motorsports world and people’s perceptions of what someone with autism is capable of. Austin truly is a trailblazer, not just in Canada but the world over.

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