Having added the missing ‘sparkle’ to his driving over the second half of last year and come on quite literally in leaps and bounds to establish himself as a leading contender on the British karting stage, Welsh hotshot Tom Harvey now hopes his rivals will be seeing an awful lot of his rear number plate in 2010 as he eyes title glory.
Truly a breakthrough year, in 2009 Tom sprang to prominence after joining respected MSA Cadet class outfit Fusion Motorsport, run by Dan Hazlewood. Having failed to better 17th place in the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) curtain-raiser at Kimbolton, worse was to come with a failure even to escape the dreaded ‘B’ final on ‘home’ turf at Glan Y Gors in North Wales and at Rowrah in Cumbria. What followed would be arguably the turnaround of the season.
“Fusion have brought me along a huge amount,” explained Bonvilston’s resident speed demon. “Dan has calmed me down as a driver, and Leon at Soixante Racing has also provided me with really rapid engines. I’ve been trained a lot more in analysing data, too, so I can see where I need to improve and whether I’m carrying too much or too little speed into corners and so forth. That kind of thing is so important, because it can make a massive difference.
“I feel 2009 was my best racing year so far, because I had better results and I enjoyed it more. I made a lot of progress and really started to improve mid-season, when I won the ‘C’ Plate in the Welsh Championships at Llandow, which I’d say is my biggest title so far. It was tough, because I had another driver on my tail all the way through and I just managed to hold him off on the last lap. It felt great to win, especially as one of my teachers had come to watch me that day – my school started supporting me even more after that!”
For a driver who has been racing barely two-and-a-half years, Tom’s achievements over the second half of 2009 were little short of sensational. Another clear highlight for the 11-year-old was victory in the hotly-fought Midland Championships at Rissington, prevailing in all three heats as well as the final and setting a new lap record for good measure – an impressive feat similarly accomplished by a rather famous name some two decades earlier.
“That was fantastic,” he enthused. “Jenson Button has won it twice, so I was really proud to have a trophy with my name on it alongside his in my house. Now I want to put my name on there twice as well by winning it again this year!”
Other memorable moments included the FKS finale at Whilton Mill, when suspected kidney problems necessitated an extended stay in hospital in the build-up to the weekend and cast doubt on Tom’s participation at all. Not only did he race, though, he fairly dominated, magnificently seeing off all comers to seal his maiden success at national level, in the same series that first set Lewis Hamilton, no less, on the fast track to future superstardom, and one that now boasts the prestigious official backing of both the youngest-ever F1 World Champion as well as the sport’s highly-influential ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone.
What’s more, the Vale of Glamorgan ace’s determined effort up against the very crème de la crème of young British talent earned him the championship’s special ‘Fired-Up’ award for the most eye-catching Cadet performance of the day – as well as a nomination for the Sports Personality of the Year accolade at Cowbridge High School, which he attends.
“Having been in hospital all week, I was never expecting to win and didn’t really think I would even be fighting at the front,” he recalled of Whilton. “Winning gave me a huge boost, and it meant a lot to me to be presented with the ‘Fired-Up’ award too, because it meant I had been chosen as the best driver of that round.”
As he turns his attentions forward now to the task at-hand, Tom acknowledges that all of the experience and racecraft he has gained over the course of the last 12 months will stand him in good stead indeed as he embarks upon his 2010 campaign – comprising a full house of FKS, fellow UK-wide series Super 1, the Welsh and Midland Championships and the prestigious one-off ‘O’ Plate and Kartmasters outings. And he leaves nobody in any doubt at all that he is in it to win it.
“I think I’ve come on a lot as a driver,” he concluded. “I had the speed all year to be fair, but before I joined Fusion I wasn’t capable of stringing it all together; now I’ve got that last little bit to put the sparkle into my driving. I used to look for gaps that weren’t really there and would end up crashing, but with experience and time in the seat I’ve learned when to make moves and when not to, because you have to be committed. If you’re not and you just dive in, it will end in tears.
“I think my reputation has changed a lot over the last year. You need to earn your stripes, and I think I’ve earned a lot more respect the more I’ve been racing at the front, which has set me up really well to be able to challenge right from the off this year. I’d like to finish in the top three in all of the championships I’m entering – but really I’m aiming for a clean sweep! Hopefully the other drivers will only be seeing the back of my number plate...”
