It seems Ash Hand’s outstanding international debut in karting in the fiercely-contested 2010 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals at La Conca in southern Italy has turned more than a few heads – with the highly-rated young Nuneaton hotshot and reigning Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Junior Max Champion receiving effusive praise from some of the sport’s most influential figures.

Despite being new to the European way of racing, the circuit at which he was competing, the Sodikart chassis and Mojo tyres he was using and the vast majority of the 71 high-calibre rivals from all around the world against whom he was pitting himself, Ash stunned with a trio of gutsy heat showings to recover from a torrid qualifying session that had left him down in a distinctly unaccustomed 33rd place.

From tenth on the grid in the pre-final, the 16-year-old Maple Park ace produced a classy and calculated effort to rise to third at the chequered flag, leaving him well-positioned indeed for the grand final later in the day. And then, sitting a close third midway through the most important race of the meeting and poised to pounce, he found himself helplessly harpooned by the driver ahead who, in attempting to snatch the lead, unexpectedly clipped the kart in front of him and went shooting across the track, taking the luckless Ash with him. Nonetheless, his performance had clearly been noted.

“Ash did really well,” underlined Jason Parrott, who ran the North Warwickshire College student in Italy. “Before going into the weekend, I had been a bit sceptical about him because he kept winning by such a margin in FKS, which had led to some speculation as it tends to do in karting – but when we went to La Conca, I could immediately see why he has been so much better than everyone else because he was just extremely fast. That’s the bottom line of it.

“In testing, we were on the pace straightaway and I was confident Ash could have got at least a top three position in qualifying, but unfortunately he didn’t realise the way new tyres work in Europe so he struggled. He then drove really well in the heats to recover, though, and in the pre-final he knew the game plan was to secure an inside line starting spot for the grand final – and he achieved that to perfection.

“I was really gutted for him with what happened in the grand final – I honestly thought we were going to win the race. He had worked hard to get himself up there and just sat back and kept pushing the two leaders like we had told him to – and then one of them crashed out and took Ash with him and we ended up in the fence. I was so disappointed for him – he would easily have been on the podium, and I do think he would have won. There’s no doubt that he’s a very fast driver, and the people at Sodikart were clearly impressed by him.”

“It was a real last-minute deal for Ash to compete, but as the FKS Champion there was no question that he was worthy of it,” agreed respected Rotax Max Challenge race director Nigel Edwards. “The equipment was totally new to him, but he seemed to learn as the weekend went on and worked well with Jason, and between them they pulled together in the heats and just got better and better.

“In the pre-final, he drove a very sensible race and third place was a fantastic achievement. He just got his head down, quietly got on with the job and did exactly what he needed to do. My money was on Ash in the grand final, but then unfortunately the two leaders collided and that ended up taking him off into the barriers. He looked very comfortable and would certainly have finished inside the top three, and could quite easily have won.

“There was some strong competition out there in Junior Rotax and the top echelon was extremely competitive, so Ash’s was an excellent performance. He’s very level-headed and doesn’t get carried away, and he proved that he can handle himself on foreign soil – I know Sodikart really appreciated those attributes in him. It was very, very impressive.”

Indeed, the key movers and shakers at French chassis manufacturer Sodikart were palpably struck by the Voi Jeans brand ambassador’s composed performance over the course of the weekend, battling back from adversity to establish himself as one of the very best not only in Britain but indeed the whole world. Praise does not come much higher in karting than when it comes from the likes of Gildas Mérian and Nicola de Cola.

“I was very impressed by young Ash’s performance and his attacking qualities at La Conca,” stated Sodikart founder and CEO Mérian, whilst team manager de Cola added: “I was astonished by the very high standard of driving in the Rotax Grand Finals, and I particularly admired the performance of Ash Hand.”

In proving himself to be the absolute cream of the crop both at home and abroad and driving arguably the best he has ever done, the Warwickshire speed demon left observers with mouths agape, struggling to believe his complete lack of prior experience of racing on the continent given his accomplished form that made him look every inch the seasoned pro. He might have been an unknown on the global stage before the weekend – but afterwards, everybody knew who Ash Hand was.