Le Mans debut is a dream come true for Jonny

The Aston Martin ace was simply thrilled to be making his debut at the world’s most iconic endurance race, considered part of motorsport’s triple crown alongside the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500, in front of over 250,000 fans.

However, the former Balwearie High pupil put the icing on the cake by not only reaching the chequered flag - considered an achievement in itself - but also powering his Vantage V8 to sixth place in the highly competitive GTE Pro class along with team mates Fernando Rees of Brazil and New Zealander Richie Stanaway.

As an added bonus, the result lifted Jonny’s Aston Martin Racing team to the top of the standings in the FIA World Endurance Series GT manufacturers championship.

“It’s such a cool race and something I’d wanted to do for a long time,” he said.

“I’d been looking forward to the biggest race weekend of my life and it lived up to all expectations.

“To complete it and just take it all in was unbelievable. Finishing the race is an achievement in itself - it can take most people three or four attempts to do it.

“To do it with a brand and a team like Aston Martin is quite special.

“It’s testament to the car. It never missed a beat in 24 hours of racing.

“The team and the car performed so well. We arguably had the fastest pit stops of the weekend.

“We just didn’t quite have the race pace to compete for a podium.

“The most important thing for us was to get to the end so to finish the race, and come out of it leading the world championship is pretty special.”

Jonny revealed that he only managed one hour sleep between his stints on the track.

“I didn’t get much sleep - especially with Le Mans being a three driver event,” he said.

“During the race itself I must have slept for one hour so it was a long 24 hours but definitely worth it.

“It was great to do it with two great team mates, but it wasn’t about individuals.

“The Aston Martin team is like a family to me now so I know the massive effort that goes into these 24 hours races from everyone.”

Jonny’s path to Le Mans started at the age of nine when his father, Jonathan, bought him his first kart.

“It’s been a long process to turn the dream into reality,” he said. “I had friends and family out with me and my mum and dad watched every minute of it on TV.

“I don’t think my dad slept - he was glued to Eurosport.

“It’s been a journey with all of them now the next step is to go back to Le Mans next year and fight for a better position.”

This weekend Jonny returns to France for the latest round of the Blancpain Endurance Series, staged at the Paul Ricard circuit.