* Spotlight moment for series champions.
* Karters share stage with F1 Greats.
The annual Autosport Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London each December is the Motorsport world’s version of the Oscars and it was into that spotlight that the four Formula Kart Stars Champions of 2011 stepped to receive their championship trophies last Sunday evening.
In front of the watching eye of the motorsport industry, reigning MSA British Cadet Champion Daniel Ticktum, Formula Kart Stars Mini Max champion Josh White, Junior Rotax title holder James Singleton and KF3 Champ Callum Ilott joined current Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel, fellow F1 drivers Jenson Button and Paul Di Resta and many more on the main stage and then got to rub shoulders with their heroes as the evening progressed.
“I met Jenson Button and he was really laid back, a really nice guy,” commented Ticktum afterwards. “The FKS title is the biggest championship I’ve won in karting. It was my toughest year in karting and will probably one of my toughest ever.”
Ticktum, White, Ilott and Singleton may have been representing the best of Formula Kart Stars in 2011 but there were many connections back to the earlier days of the Formula One Management backed championship.
Former series driver Oliver Rowland won the prestigious Autosport Young Driver of the Year award and multiple former FKS champion Di Resta was named Rookie of the Year. The late Martin Hines, one of the founders of the FKS championship in 1996 when it was known as Champions of the Future, was also posthumously honoured with one of his Superkarts on display.
“To be a part of one of the most important nights of the year in our sport is a tremendous honour,” stated FKS Championship Director Carolynn Hoy. “It’s a fantastic reward for all the hard work our champions put in over the course of the year and, of course, they get to meet many of their idols.
“But what our current drivers may not realise is that many of the major players in our industry are here and their names will be remembered by those players as they continue up the motorsport ladder.”
All four 2011 Champions will officially receive their unique Formula Kart Stars steering wheel trophies and TAG Heuer watches at the full FKS Presentation ceremony at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham on Saturday January 14th next year.
