As he bids to make a name for himself in the motor racing world and ultimately go on to carve out a successful career in Formula 1, exciting young Sheffield karting ace Russ Danzey will need to get used to the glare of television cameras – but as the BBC found out when it went to film him this week, he is already displaying signs of being a natural.
With the 2010 F1 World Championship campaign now literally just around the corner in the shape of the curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir, Russ was chosen as the subject of a special CBBC Sportsround feature, for which Auntie’s filming crew travelled to PF International in Lincolnshire, a circuit the Dore-based speed demon knows well as it is home to the JM Racing team with which he competes.
For all that he is accustomed to the pressure-cooker situation of British Championship race weekends, however, this was something altogether different – and Russ admitted that at first, he didn’t quite know what to expect.
“Until I got there I was really excited about it,” he revealed, “but then just before I arrived I began to feel a few little nerves. The whole filming team were really helpful and made me feel comfortable straightaway, though, and just eased me into it all – by the time it came around to doing the first shoot I was completely relaxed and just back to feeling really excited again!
“They asked me how I got into karting, what it is all about and how I plan to progress from there up to F1 – as well as my views on who will win in F1 this year. They started filming at 11:30am and didn’t finish until 5pm, so it was a long day – but it went really well.”
Appearing on TV is something the 15-year-old will be doing a lot more of this season, with each meeting of the national Super 1 Series in which he races due to be televised five nights a week, going out at prime time on Motors TV from 7pm-9pm. With the promise that every single driver in the championship and their respective sponsors will be featured, the package offers superb coverage and publicity for potential backers.
What’s more, with the vast majority of F1 drivers – most recent two world champions and current McLaren-Mercedes team-mates Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton amongst them – having set out in karting initially, Russ is aiming to tread a well-trodden path, along which the likes of fitness, preparation and the ability to set-up the equipment that you have beneath you will be of paramount importance.
Aside from quizzing the Westbourne School pupil on all of those vital topics, the BBC crew went on to film inside JM Racing’s garage and workshop, before sending the presenter out in a kart wearing – in a distinctly rare privilege – a pair of gloves that had previously been the property of double F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso...
“He did well,” Russ mused, as the pair both took to the track for a series of timed laps and the chance to put together some thrilling high-speed, high-octane on-board camera footage. “He had done some karting himself when he was younger, so he had a bit of experience from then. He spun a couple of times early on, but once he got into it he was fine – and, considering he had never been round that track before, actually quite quick.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the day overall. It was a completely new experience for me, and really strange to be talking into a camera. I’m generally quite a shy person, but I think doing a few interviews on the radio and some presentations has helped to bring me out of my shell a bit in that respect. It’s almost becoming just another part of the job now...”
Articulate and word-perfect throughout, the BBC crew attested to the fact that Russ had been the consummate professional – affirming that he had been ‘fantastic in front of the camera’ – and you can see for yourself by tuning in to Sportsround on either the CBBC channel on Sky at 6:30pm on Friday, March 12th, or on BBC2 at 7:25am on the morning of Saturday, March 13th.
Whilst F1 fans will doubtless later focus their attentions on the action in Bahrain, South Yorkshire’s most promising young motor racing star will instead be pounding around the track at Shenington in Oxfordshire, where he will be kick-starting his bid for British honours in the hotly-contested Super 1 Series aboard his KF2 class chassis bearing both the input and initials of 2008 Canadian Grand Prix-winner Robert Kubica.
Having set a new benchmark for the highest top speed ever recorded down the straight at PF – a mind-numbing 78mph mere inches from the ground – first time out in 2010, hopes are undeniably high.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Russ enthused. “It will be my first race weekend in KF2, but despite not having been out in the kart for a couple of months, when I went out a week ago we were very quick – and we just kept on getting faster and faster. If the ‘RK’ performs well around Shenington, I think we should be in with a good chance.”
