Hill House Hammond/Renault ABkC Formula ICA Championship sensation Freddie Martin-Dye (Shamley Green, Guildford) is well on course to making his father Phil a very rich man with an ambitious wager, worth an incredible £1 million, still very much a racing certainty.
The teenage ace - who last year finished runner-up in the Hill House Hammond/Renault MSA British Junior Kart Championships - is viewed as such a hot prospect for motor racing glory, dad Phil opted to place a £1,000 bet with leading bookmaker William Hill stating ‘Fast’ Freddie would win a Formula One Grand Prix on or before his 27th birthday.
Since Phil placed the heavyweight flutter around eight years ago, when Freddie was just seven years old, the likelihood of his 15-year old son making the bet pay dividends has only increased with success against karting’s elite.
Now the Surrey teenager is preparing hard for his debut season in the highly regarded Hill House Hammond/Renault ABkC Formula ICA category – one of the final steps on the ladder before a move into single-seater car racing.
Speaking on the wager Phil Martin-Dye said: “It is quite a rare and ambitious bet, although we’re still highly confident it can come off. The main reason I initially did this, naively, was because I thought we could approach sponsors with the idea if they backed Freddie they could eventually end up making a share of the £1 million.
“It generated plenty of publicity at the time. The bet will work if Freddie manages to get into Formula One and win a Grand Prix on or before his 27th birthday. It’s certainly possible and we’re going to do all we can to make sure William Hill has to give us this major payout!”
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe commented: “It was a bold bet when it was struck all those years ago and Freddie looks like he’s certainly on the right track to making his father a lot of money – good luck to them we say.
“This is possibly the equivalent of when we offered extravagant odds on man walking on the moon in the 1960’s which then, of course, happened a few years later. It would be a fantastic achievement for Freddie to get to Formula One and this is certainly one of the more unusual bets William Hill has ever taken. Hopefully I’ll be retired by the time it comes true though!”
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