Barely a month away from arguably the most important date on his karting calendar – as he prepares to defend the prestigious Kartmasters ‘GP’ plate he clinched in 2009 – Ash Hand has elected to switch chassis from the tried-and-tested Kosmic to CRG, less prominent on the British scene but a brand with which he is convinced he can steal a march on his adversaries.
Ash’s record in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship this year speaks for itself, as he remains undefeated in the opening four rounds and looks to be on-course to follow in the wheeltracks of the youngest-ever F1 World Champion by lifting the coveted laurels come season’s end.
In fellow national series Super 1, the highly-rated young Nuneaton star has suffered a touch of misfortune, but his raw pace and talent have been every bit as much in evidence. Having achieved all that he has in the comparatively short period in which he has been racing on either a Kosmic or Alonso TonyKart derivative – like the vast majority of his competitors – when the opportunity arose to try out a CRG mount at PF International, it clearly whet his curiosity.
With so many UK drivers possessing in-depth knowledge of the set-up and intricacies of the Kosmic and Alonso chassis’ and the field being so tightly-matched, it is difficult to gain any discernible advantage in that area. Ash and his team believe CRG will give him that vital edge – and at PF, the 16-year-old wasted little time in setting the benchmark and leaving his arch-rival and reigning FKS Junior Max Champion Matt Parry fairly trailing.
“In the first session it felt good, even if I initially found the brakes so sharp that every time I used them the kart got out-of-shape,” explained the Maple Park hotshot, palpably effusive about the budding new partnership even at such an early stage. “They were the main thing to get used to, because the chassis itself felt really planted – almost like it was stuck to the track – and had loads of mechanical grip.
“Once I started to get used to it all, the back end stopped stepping out so much – and I like the fact that I could go into corners really late because the brakes are just that good. On the Kosmic I had tended to out-brake myself sometimes into the first two hairpins at PF, but this time I was a tenth quicker than Matt just under braking – he couldn’t stay with me there.
“You do need to drive the CRG more forcefully and hold onto it a bit more – you need to be strong and it requires a more physical type of driving – but that isn’t a problem for me, and within just three sessions we were the quickest. I didn’t think we would be that fast; I’d thought it would be a bit more difficult to figure out and find a decent set-up.
“As the competition at national level is always so close, everyone is looking for just a tenth of a second or less to get pole, and I think we can find that and more on the CRG. I and the team have got a lot of work to do to learn as much as we can about the kart, but I’m sure that if we all put the effort in we can be on the podium regularly and show other drivers and teams that there is an alternative to TonyKart that is capable of doing battle at the front. I’m really excited about CRG and about trying something different to everyone else, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Ash will also benefit from the expertise of Ricky Grice on the engine front, and his enthusiasm for what lies ahead is matched by that of former European Karting Champion-turned-CRG importer Tristram Oman and CRG’s UK sales and marketing director Mark Collings, both of whom wax lyrical about their new charge’s potential and what he can bring to the team, and are positive that the George Eliot School pupil will prove to be a superb brand ambassador.
“We’re just delighted to have a top-class junior driver on-board a CRG kart,” underlined Collings. “With only very limited testing, Ash was quickly on the pace at PF and said the CRG was proving superior to the previous chassis he had been on, with a particular improvement under braking. That was very gratifying to hear, as we’ve done a lot of R&D over the last 12 months – and our new kart appears to be a real winner.
“CRG is already a leading marque in Europe, but in the UK it’s never been as popular. It’s a world-beating kart, but we haven’t been able to demonstrate that adequately in this country yet. Now we’ve got a really top-class driver, we are showing that you don’t need to be on an OTK (TonyKart) to be competitive – and hopefully the results will reinforce that.
“Ash is a very focussed and knowledgeable lad, and it was great to have him go out and say ‘I like this’ within just a few sessions. Even though he has been driving for only three years – far less than most of the other leading Junior Max runners, who have been karting for eight years or so – he brings an awful lot of experience to the team.
“For Ash to come from nothing to where he is now in just three years is a phenomenal achievement – and with the equipment and material we are giving him, I think he has the potential to go even further. This is the most exciting time I’ve known for CRG – it’s really looking good.”
“We’re ecstatic to have one of the leading junior drivers in the country moving over to our product,” echoed Oman. “We’re looking forward to great results to come – and confident that within a very short period of time, Ash and CRG will be winning races together.”
