In terms of age and experience, Callum Bowyer gave away plenty to his rivals on his British KF2 class debut in the 2010 Super 1 Series curtain-raiser at Shenington – but in terms of talent and raw pace out on the race track, Peterborough’s very own karting hotshot rapidly demonstrated that he is giving away absolutely nothing at all.
At just 15, Callum is one of the very youngest of the 14 KF2 competitors in Super 1, and he headed to super-fast Shenington in Oxfordshire with just three prior meetings in the class under his belt, during which he had firmly established himself as one of the leading contenders in the 2009/10 Winter Series. That notwithstanding, he knew that he still needed to earn his spurs on the national stage.
“The aim was to have a good, strong, consistent weekend to set us up well for the championship,” he explained. “I knew I had a bit of a point to prove to earn the respect of all the big boys in the class. A lot of the others are far more experienced than I am, but I try not to let it bother me because at the end of the day what matters is the results you get on the track, not how old you are or how long you’ve been racing.
“I try to treat all of my rivals the same regardless of age or experience, and just race everyone hard but fair. The racing in KF2 is definitely more physical than in KF3 too, but because I’ve been training hard over the winter I haven’t found that too difficult.”
Up against some extremely high-calibre opposition including the likes of European names Jacob Nørtoft and Todor Batkov and reigning Asia-Pacific KF3 Champion Jordan King, the Gunthorpe speed demon nonetheless came out of the starting blocks flying during practice, lapping quickest of all throughout the opening day.
As the others slowly chipped away at that advantage as the weekend progressed, however, so Callum found himself embroiled in a tight duel for the leading positions – and come race day, there would be barely hundredths separating the front-runners, making for some fiercely-fought on-track action.
A superb second in qualifying – a mere tenth shy of the top spot – the Global Karting ace overcame a lack of engine power in the first of his two heats to secure the same result when the chequered flag fell, and added to that with third place in heat two. Never more than four tenths shy of the leader in the first and similarly keeping the pressure sternly on the two drivers ahead of him in the second, fastest lap in one of the heats and second-fastest in the other proved that Callum was right in the hunt.
Second on the grid once more for the pre-final, he unfortunately found himself disadvantaged by being on both the dirty side of the track and on the outside line – and paid the price in being forced wide when the lights went out. The Ken Stimpson School pupil is nothing if not a fighter, though, and he wasted little time in battling back and snatching the lead on lap four of 23. With a solid margin over his pursuers, all was looking good – but then the performance of his kart began to fade and left Callum to doggedly defend to hang onto a gutsy third place.
“I pulled out quite a gap over the others, but then towards the end the kart started to go off slightly,” he recalled. “Nørtoft overtook me with four laps to go, and because that caused me to briefly lose momentum, Steven Napier was able to come past too. I was a bit disappointed having done all the hard work and led most of the race, but I had to remember it was still only my first national meeting in KF2 – so I couldn’t really grumble at that!
“Having a corner pretty much straightaway after the start makes things hard at Shenington, and doesn’t give us much chance to sort ourselves out. I managed to find a bit of a gap at the start of the grand final, but then I got run wide and ended up dropping down to fifth behind Rob Foster. It was hard to overtake him, because although I knew I was faster, it was difficult to find the right moment. I got past him at the top hairpin, but he attacked me straight back and ran me off the track – I don’t think he liked being overtaken by a 15-year-old!
“I got back past again later, though, and was able to shake him off and reel in Sam Snell. I got him for third and then got Napier for second, which put me right behind Nørtoft in the lead, but Steven lunged me straight back again and ran me out wide – which, like with Foster, I guess was all about me having to earn their respect. That allowed Sam to catch me back up, and with only a few laps left at that point my chance to win had gone, because the three of us fighting had allowed the leader to pull quite a way clear.
“It’s so hard round Shenington without the tow – and with only four corners to the lap, it’s not a track where it’s easy to close gaps, especially when everyone is so close on times as well. On the last lap everyone just concentrates on holding their line so as not to give the driver behind an opportunity to attack – and Napier covered his line well, so I had to settle for third in the end.”
There was no shame in standing on the bottom step of the podium, however, even if it had looked at one stage like one of the other two steps might be in the offing until his adversaries took a dislike to being shown the way by a driver considerably younger and less experienced than them. Callum’s pace, in particular, was stunning, with another fastest lap of the race going to underline his potential – and by pulling out of Napier’s slipstream and drawing alongside to cross the finish line a scant four hundredths of a second adrift, he left the others in no doubt at all that he is there, and very much in the thick of it.
With consistency likely to be the key to a successful challenge for the crown, the former Peterborough Evening Telegraph Junior Sportsman of the Year has made an impeccable start and – perhaps even more importantly still – he has now earned his rivals’ respect. As he prepares next to return to Larkhall up in Scotland – scene of an excellent showing in the KF3 class of Super 1 last year – the double rostrum finish from Shenington has left Callum just eight points off the championship lead, and unquestionably poised to pounce.
“Pace-wise we’re already very strong,” he concluded. “We just need a bit more experience and to sharpen up on a few things. Because some of the others have been doing it for so long, they can come to a race weekend and have a good idea of what effect different changes to the kart will produce at each circuit. We don’t have that confidence 100 per cent yet, so sometimes we’re still having to take a few gambles. Everything was new at the weekend, so to end up with two podiums and a good points haul was pretty pleasing.
“We’re definitely there, and I’m just looking forward to the next round now! The goal for Larkhall is to come away with an even better result. Hopefully we’ll be able to do some testing there beforehand, and it’s a real drivers’ track, fast and tight with a lot of corners. The amount of time I’ve had in the seat so far isn’t a great deal compared to many of the other drivers in the class, meaning as time goes on we will only get stronger and stronger. We can only improve, and hopefully next time I’ll go a couple of steps higher up on the podium too...”
Callum is still seeking sponsorship for the 2010 season. If you are interested in backing him, please contact Tracey Bowyer on 01733 701099 or 07960 400731, or e-mail: callumkf3@hotmail.com
