No nonsense British cultural, sporting and political characters Michael Parkinson, Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird and Arthur Scargill all came from Barnsley, forming a matter-of-fact, practical image for the south Yorkshire town.
What Barnsley isn’t renowned for was forging International motorsport stars who could get to the cusp of Formula 1.
But Oliver Rowland isn’t your stereotypical northern character. Yes, he’s proud of his ancestry but he’s now very much a considered and intelligent racer who for a period pre-George Russell, Lando Norris and Alex Albon looked the most likely British racer to make it big in F1.
A star in junior karting and then a winner and champion on the single-seater ladder, Rowland was clearly prodigiously talented.
A semi-fair reputation as a bit of a rough diamond only exacerbated the belligerent Yorkshire stereotype meant a few wilderness years after the F1 dream dimmed in 2017.
Since then though Rowland has become one of the top performers in Formula E, taking four pole positions and a breakthrough win with Nissan in 2020.
Now racing for the British-based Indian manufacturer, Mahindra, Rowland is earning both results and a hard-earned decent payday in one of motorsport’s toughest disciplines.
At last weekend’s maiden Cape Town ePrix he sat down to answer the Motorsport News readers’ questions and mull over his expansive career.
Question: Where did the passion for motorsport come from in you? Was it in your family?
James Hilton
Via email
Oliver Rowland: “I think the real passion came when my parents both had motorbikes when I was younger, my mum and my dad used to go out on them quite a lot, sit me on them in the garage and they were quite big fans of the Isle of Man TT.
“So my passion really came from bikes in the beginning, watching the TT on TV replays between the ages of two and three. Then I had a quad bike at the age of two-and-a-half that my dad used to follow me around on and it had a kill switch so there was some control and I couldn’t do too much damage!
“By the age of about four I could ride around the local field on two wheels and I could pretty much do everything, so I wanted to get a dirt bike next. My mum eventually said, ‘no chance’ and I wasn’t allowed one, so the compromise was a kart.”
MN: So, your family were a real driving force. Did they also compete?
“I would say it definitely came from them [my parents], my grandad also did the Monte Carlo Rally and things like that so he was a pretty decent rally driver. He was called Edward Rowland, or Ted – I used to
