GP3 Race 3 – SA race hero Hyman graduates with an LLB

South Africa’s GP3 race star Raoul Hyman may have been prevented from repeating his high after his recent Austrian victory, when his car slowed with a technical problem in the first race over the British Grand Prix weekend, but the London-based Durbanite celebrated on another front when he graduated from London’s City University Law School with an LLB with two distinctions and an Award Wednesday.

Many race drivers give up on their studies when moving up the racing ranks, but Hyman proved that managing a full time racing program does not have to come at the expense of an education — the double demands of student life and a race career called for total dedication and no social life, but Raoul has pulled it off. Now he plans to go on to study his Masters degree, as taking up a full time training contract with a law firm may not fit in with his racing program at this stage.

His scholastic successes this week also helped quell Raoul’s on-track disappointment, following a troubled run at Silverstone, essentially his home track, when a technical glitch caused his car to go into ‘safe’ mode during the race depriving him of acceleration.

“The British Grand Prix weekend was disappointing, especially since my grandparents had flown over to watch me race for the first time,” Raoul confessed. “We just could’t find the right balance in the car in practice and we struggled in the faster sections, which have always been my strength at Silverstone.

“I had saved my tyres and DRS in the first race and I was well placed to target eighth and the reverse grid pole once again, but trouble struck after the Virtual Safety Car restart. “My car ran slightly too hot and went into safety mode. “My engineer helped me reset it over the radio, but it happened twice more and I was out of touch with the pack, so I just drove it home.”

“I fought my way from 16th to eleventh in race 2, but we ran out of time to get into the top 10. “It’s Budapest in two weeks, so I am even more determined to make up the lost ground.”