For a driver far more accustomed to competing on British shores, it is quite something to boldly throw your hat into the ring in the most fiercely-contested international series in the sport – but in entering the inaugural WSK Nations Cup, that is precisely what highly-rated Edmundbyers karting star Matty Graham did. And he excelled.
Having claimed a superb top three overall finish in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship this year – his first season in the KF3 class after stepping up from the entry MSA Cadet level – Matty is gearing up to test his talent on the European stage in 2011 in the WSK Euro Series. To that end, the Nations Cup represented a toe-in-the-water exercise of sorts.
To give himself even more of a challenge, the Co. Durham hotshot had switched from a TonyKart chassis to a Birel mount for the occasion, had joined a new team in KSB and had to get to grips with both a circuit he had never seen before in the shape of La Conca in southern Italy and rivals he had never previously competed against. Needing to adapt to pretty much everything from scratch, there was also the added pressure of being the only British driver in the 62-strong KF3 field – but he handled that pressure magnificently.
“I like the brakes on the Birel and it felt very stable,” the 14-year-old explained, “and it didn’t take that long to get used to it. I settled in very well inside the team and everybody there made me feel extremely welcome, and I really liked the track – it’s probably one of the favourites I’ve ever been to, I’d say, with some fast corners where you need to have a lot of confidence in the kart and some really challenging sections.
“We’re thinking about doing WSK next year, and I knew it was going to be pretty hard, because the top drivers in the world were there. That meant the competition was very tough and I had to push really hard and drive absolutely to the limit. I hoped to be quite high up amongst them, but I hadn’t really expected to do as well as I did.”
Indeed, over the course of what was a hugely impressive weekend, Matty would go on to exceed all expectations and turn a good number of heads – although proceedings did not get off to the brightest of starts in practice, when an unintentional knock from another driver left him with two snapped track rods. Thereafter, however, he proved to be quick come rain or shine.
Qualifying a strong 11th, he confessed that he knew in truth there was more time to be gained, and from his four heat races, the Ponteland Community High School pupil secured an excellent third and a trio of fifth places, setting extremely competitive lap times throughout.
“I knew I had the pace to keep up with the big names,” he reflected, “so it was all about believing in myself and having the necessary confidence. I drove smoothly and consistently in my heats, was thereabouts on pace and didn’t really make any mistakes, so I was pleased with that.”
Crucially keeping himself out-of-trouble, too – albeit only just in one of the encounters, with a pile-up unfolding literally right in his slipstream – from P5 on the grid in the pre-final, Matty went on to take the chequered flag a superb fourth, trading both lap times and positions with the leaders all the way through. And then in the grand final, he added to that with an equally eye-catching fifth, running as high as second at one stage amongst exalted company, right in the mix and on the very front-running pace.
“I’ve got a lot more confidence racing abroad now,” mused the north-east’s most promising young speed demon in conclusion. “It was really good to be able to measure how quick I am against other drivers from all around the world – and overall it gave me a good insight into what’s hopefully ahead next year.”
