In March 2023, as I was knuckling down for several months of hard studying for my GCSEs, the door to Ginetta Juniors opened.
Dad and I took a week off school at the beginning of March after a PFI kart round and went to Mallory Park to do my ARDS test and get my junior race license. I followed up two days later for my first Ginetta test at Brands Hatch in the middle of the snowiest week of the winter.
Testing at the legendary Brands Hatch for my first outing on a car circuit was surreal. I have driven the circuit so many times on the sim, but it is a truly special place, and you feel truly privileged to have the chance to drive it.
I would not get back in the Ginetta until after my GCSEs, and I would do one more karting event in April for the NKC at Wigan.
BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP
16th June 2023 – I finished my last exam and was on the boat in the afternoon. GYG, my favourite kart track, testing ahead of round 2 of the British Championship the following weekend after two months of no karting, was immediately followed the next week by two days of Ginetta testing at Blyton Park.
Nothing can quite prepare you for it if you haven’t been brought up competing in the British Kart Championship. The level of competition and the standard of the kart packages are so high.
We were at a race meeting every weekend until School started in September, fitting the Ginetta testing in between. The pace would carry on almost until Christmas. Dad and I lived out of the van for nearly three months as we toured up and down the country.
I did the NKC O plate at Whilton Mill in mid-August, finishing second across the line. My driving developed so much while working with KR—-Sport.
CAMBRIDGE AND HILLS ROAD
The plan had been to move to Cambridge and go to 6th Form College, but the entry requirements were high.
The spring months spent studying paid off, and I was accepted. The school remains challenging to balance, but the commitment, sacrifice, and hard work paid off when I received the best grades to date.
In the middle of all of this, Mum and Dad packed up the house in the Isle of Man, found somewhere to live in Cambridge and moved us in time for the start of term in September!
EUROPE, GENK & SENIORS
We had long been told to go to Europe, and our chance would come in October after the season had ended in the UK; the opportunity opened up to venture to Genk during half-term for the Rotax Max Golden Trophy.
It would be my first outing in a senior kart and my first event in Europe. It did not fail to meet expectations; I loved it!
First, the MOJO D5 tyre differs from juniors and has so much more grip, and I immediately felt at home in the senior kart. (It made me wonder if I had been too big for a junior kart for some time).
Very excited to make the A- Final and finish the pre-final in the top 10, in what is a truly top-level international field of karters, on my first outing.
BRANDS AND DONNY
Part of my preparation for 2024 was the final two rounds of the 2023 Ginetta championship at Brands Hatch and Donington.
Overall, there was no expectation for these events but to gain experience. Still, they couldn’t have been more different with the sweltering heat of 30 degrees C at Brands, testing rained off at Donington, and some serious engine problems.
Overall, I was pleased to finish in a respectable position against competitors who had been racing all season, if not longer.
WINTER TRAINING
Marked the official start of preparations for the 2024 season in December 2023, we spent 3 days in Cartagena (Spain) just before Christmas and 3 days in Calafat (Spain) at the start of the new year.
Elite had 5 drivers present for the winter testing, one more would join in February, making a full roster of 6 drivers for Elite.
Testing would intensify at home with a busy schedule through February and March, with time spent at all circuits except Brands Hatch and some very windy days at Anglesey!
All of this testing is done midweek, so it took a lot of cooperation from school and my weekends to catch up with missed lessons. Overall, it’s not ideal, but my college has been brilliant in helping me make this possible.
2024 GINETTA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 1—Oulton Park—March 30 and April 1st—marked a wet, changeable, and frustrating start to the season.
While I didn’t qualify as well as I hoped, my first race went reasonably well, finishing 8th after running 7th for most of the race. However, Race 2 and 3 on Monday did not go my way due to circumstances beyond my control, ending any hopes of improving on my qualifying.
Round 2 – Silverstone – April 27 & 28th – Again a very cold weekend with changeable conditions, and again, qualifying would frustrate me the constantly changing track proved challenging to adapt to, which saw me finish p10 in all races, a solid performance but frustratingly not reflecting my capabilities.
I am eager to progress to the final six rounds and prove my potential. Here is my 2024 race calendar.
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