.. and tells rivals: Bring it on!
Having proven that he was back on the pace with a vengeance in the blue riband Kartmasters meeting the weekend before, highly-rated young South Wales karting star Tom Harvey drove the point home with brio in the fifth round of the hotly-contested national Super 1 Series at Glan Y Gors, as he closed in on the British Championship crown.
Having comparatively struggled the last time he had visited Glan Y Gors in North Wales – by his own exactingly high standards, at least – Tom returned a month later bidding to atone for that, and to extend his Super 1 lead over his two chief rivals for glory, Lando Norris and Max Vaughan. He would accomplish both of those goals in style.
“Kartmasters was a real boost, because I knew after that I was back on it,” enthused the Bonvilston speed demon of his runner-up finish in what is widely-regarded as the toughest and most prestigious event on the UK karting calendar. “I felt quite confident because I knew we had the pace, whereas the previous time at Glan Y Gors we hadn’t. I really feel like I can push the kart now, and I really enjoy the circuit – it’s exciting, tight-and-twisty and just everything a racing driver loves!”
Quick in the wet as the heavens opened in time for qualifying, Tom placed a competitive seventh amongst the 32-strong MSA Cadet class field – the indisputable crème de la crème of young homegrown talent at that level – to begin both of his heat races from the third row of the grid in P5.
“I was really pleased with that, because this year I haven’t had that many good qualifying sessions,” the 12-year-old candidly confessed. “I’m a much better racer than qualifier, because I can always come through the pack well. Qualifying is only about being a one-hit wonder, whereas in racing you’ve got to be consistent and keep putting the lap times in to get to the front.
“Both heats were incredibly close, exciting races. In the first one, five of us went over the finish line absolutely together, with three of us on the track and two on the grass! There was nothing to choose between any of us, and we all really enjoyed it and said to each other afterwards ‘what an amazing race, boys!’
“In the second heat I was leading, but then coming round a corner I got nudged into a full 360° spin. I just kept it flat-out and went straight round, and in the end it only cost me two seconds. If I had lifted off it would probably have taken me longer to get back, but thankfully I was able to still rejoin in fifth because there was a big gap before the next group of karts.”
Fourth and sixth at the chequered flag, the margin separating Tom from victory was respectively 15 hundredths and 36 hundredths of a second – or, in layman’s terms, the literal blink of an eye as the leading sextet flashed across the line blanketed by a scant four tenths in both encounters. And he began the opening final from seventh.
“It was a good race, and well fought-out,” reflected the Cowbridge High School pupil. “It was very close again, and the last corner decided it. Max Vaughan made a really late lunge up my inside; as he is my main threat for the championship I really didn’t want him to beat me, so I held him out wide on the exit and Philip Rawson got the cut-back on both of us to win, which he deserved after an outstanding drive. The top four at the chequered flag were all rookies, and second place suited me just fine.
“In the second final, I initially dropped down to 13th with a terrible start as everyone went up the inside of me and I couldn’t get across – the drivers on the inside did a great job of keeping me on the outside – but within six laps I had fought my way up to third. I then made my way into the lead and was able to pull out a little gap, but the others just towed each other back up to me again on the straight.
“That was really annoying, because I had worked really hard to build a gap in the twisty infield section, but the tow is worth a lot at Glan Y Gors. The last lap then basically turned into a bun fight, and coming down the hill someone nudged me a bit wide again and a few of them got past me, but overall it was another great race and I was still happy with the result.”
With just cause, as fifth place – again, a mere six tenths shy of the top spot – enabled Tom to stretch out his advantage in the title chase from 36 points to 45. With mission accomplished – “my main goal had been to keep my two nearest challengers behind me, which I did,” he explains – the Fusion Motorsports ace is now bidding to maintain his upward momentum to reclaim the championship lead in fellow national series Formula Kart Stars at Genk in Belgium this weekend, before endeavouring to reproduce the kind of magical form that has seen the ‘Whilton Wizard’ reign imperious recently around Whilton Mill, scene of the next Super 1 round in September.
“I felt really happy about the weekend overall,” summed up the Vale of Glamorgan hotshot. “It was very productive, and even though I didn’t win, by pulling further away in the championship it still felt as if I had won! My eyes were on the prize all weekend. Everything is hunky-dory.
“Whilton is my favourite track in the country – it’s a real drivers’ circuit, I love racing on it and I’ve had seven wins in a row there, so I’m feeling very confident. I began my national racing career at Whilton, and my first-ever national win came there last year too. Whilst I really want to go for it, I’ve also got to keep thinking about the points for the championship, but watch out, because Tom Harvey is back on it – so bring it on!”
