Off the back of his inarguable breakthrough year at national level, exciting young Dartford karting star Harry Crawley has been tipped for great things indeed in 2010, as he heads into his maiden European campaign boosted by what he describes as ‘the icing on the cake’ of his 2009 achievements – a trophy presentation from reigning F1 World Champion Jenson Button.
Having entered last year as a relative unknown on the British stage, Harry wasted little time in making his mark, challenging for the Mini Max class crown in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship right the way down to the wire, and winding up an excellent fourth in fellow national series Super 1. For that, he went on to receive his award from the man who in 2010 will be bidding to become the first Brit in grand prix history to claim the F1 title in back-to-back seasons.
“It was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Harry enthused. “It was really good to see Jenson. I hadn’t met him before, but he seemed like a really nice guy and really down-to-earth. I’ve been supporting him for quite a while, and it was brilliant when he won the F1 World Championship. He is very determined at what he does, puts 110 per cent into everything, is never fazed by anything and never gives up – a real inspiration.”
The crowning moment of a superb year it might have been, but as Hawley’s resident speed demon bids to follow in Button’s wheeltracks in crafting out a career path of his own from karting all the way up to F1, he is very much looking forwards rather than back.
Graduating to the more powerful Junior Max class this year, Harry has already brilliantly triumphed at only his third start over the winter-time. Benefitting moreover from continuity by remaining with the Evolution Racing outfit that helped to transform him from an outsider into a consistent front-runner and bona fide title contender in 2009, he is preparing now to make his European bow next month in the hotly-fought Euro Max Winter Cup at Malaga in Spain.
“It’s going to be very different from what I’ve been used to racing in Britain – a lot more challenging and a lot more aggressive,” reflected the Wilmington Grammar School for Boys pupil. “I don’t really know any of the other drivers either, so that will make things tough. It’s a big opportunity for me to be able to race abroad in Euro Max, and I just want to try my best – and hopefully I will enjoy it too!
“Evolution brought me on a lot as a driver last year, and knowing I’ve got the whole team behind me working hard to help me do well is a real boost. I gained a lot of experience in 2009 – and hopefully that will show through in Malaga.”
That is a conviction that is shared by the 13-year-old’s team manager Ash Whitcroft, who is effusive about the tremendous progress his protégé has made over the last 12 months. Given what he accomplished last season, it is sometimes easy to forget that Harry was one of the very youngest drivers in the class – and that being the case, Whitcroft is convinced that he has a bright future ahead of him indeed.
“When Harry joined us at the end of 2008 I could see the potential in him straightaway,” he revealed, adding that a similarly successful campaign in Junior Max could pave the way for a step-up to the fiercely-competitive KF3 level in 2010. “We set out for Mini Max to be a two-year plan to start with, and to see how it went. He was young enough to be able to spend two years in Minis and two years in Juniors, so by the end of the year we hoped he would be at the front and getting podiums and maybe even a win – but he did that right from the ‘off’ and progressed a lot quicker than we had expected.
“I’m very proud of what he has achieved. He had quite a lot of offers from other teams to move at the end of the season, and obviously we are very happy that he decided to stay. We all work hard and well as a team together, and Harry and his family are a pleasure to deal with.
“Harry has no prior European experience, but I think he has a good chance of achieving a good result in Malaga. He has adapted to Junior Max better than most of his fellow competitors who have similarly moved up from Mini Max – he has looked quite a lot stronger than them in Juniors already – so I don’t see him having any problems with adapting to racing out in Europe and on different tyres.
“I’m really looking forward to the year ahead; I think Harry has got a good chance over here in Super 1 and in Europe. We are certainly approaching both championships believing we can win.”
