He might have entered Whilton Mill’s latest club meeting bidding merely to gain some more time in the seat as he prepares for a shot at British title glory in 2011, but highly-rated young North Wales karting star James Singleton left again clutching the winner’s trophy following a dominant performance – and more convinced than ever that he will be a force to be reckoned with next season.
A previous winner at Whilton in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars Championship, James enjoyed little good fortune when he visited the demanding Northants circuit earlier this year in fellow national series Super 1 – despite demonstrating an impressive turn-of-speed – but as he returned to pit himself against some strong competition composed of 27 leading Junior Max class contenders and local specialists, the 14-year-old Conwy-based hotshot clearly bore no rancour.
“It’s probably one of my favourite tracks,” mused the Ysgol Aberconwy pupil of a circuit at which he still holds the lap record at Mini Max level, set more than a year ago. “It’s very challenging, and some of the corners are so fast and flowing that they can catch you out – even missing the apex by just a foot can send the back end of the kart sliding and cause you to lose half-a-second in a single corner. It’s quite bumpy, too, which makes it physically demanding, especially towards the end of races when your arms really begin to ache.
“The weekend started off quite well. We were fast through practice – a couple of tenths up the road and pretty confident about our chances – and in the first heat, from 24th on the grid I got a really good start and missed all the first corner carnage to come out of it eighth. As the race went on, we just got quicker and quicker and quicker and finished third, with the fastest lap by quite a bit, too – I thought that was pretty good having started right at the back!
“I began the second heat 14th and got another lucky start to gain six or seven places – and then we just got faster throughout the race like in heat one and ended up third again. In heat three I started eighth, but the driver directly ahead of me didn’t get away well at all, and because I couldn’t get around him I fell down towards the bottom of the top 20. We were very fast after that, though, and came through to fifth.
“I started the final second and followed the pole-sitter for a couple of laps, and when I felt my kart come on I knew I had to make a move. Once I got past, he started making mistakes and slipping back and then got caught up in an accident, which gave me the gap I needed to go on and win. I had an advantage of the length of the straight after that, so I was able to take it a bit easier.”
Whilst he may have pulled some three-and-a-half seconds clear of his pursuers, it is never ‘easy’ being on your own out at the front, with the need to constantly maintain focus even with nobody to either chase or race against. That James did so with not so much as the slightest error was laudable indeed, and earned the Penmaenmawr speed demon a thoroughly well-deserved victory as he proved himself to be the class of the field and, quite frankly, a notch above the rest.
“I knew I had to keep my cool or I would have started making little mistakes and the others would have caught me,” reflected the Coles Racing ace. “I just had to keep sticking to my braking-points and make sure I kept everything consistent, and it felt brilliant to win! Obviously it was a good start to winter testing, and a big confidence boost, too.”
His rivals would do well to watch out for James Singleton in 2011.
James is seeking sponsors to help support him next year; if you are interested in backing North Wales’ brightest young F1 hope, please contact his father Mark on 07795 297350 or at: gwyneddforklifts@ukf.net
