with F1 elite at red carpet awards show
It was quite a year for Ash Hand, was 2010, with the highly-rated young Nuneaton karting star achieving the indisputable crowning glory of his impressive career to-date with British title success – so it is only right that he should celebrate it in some style. F1 style, that is.
As a reward for lifting the ultimate laurels in the Junior Max class of the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship – thereby following in the wheeltracks of 2008 F1 World Champion Hamilton himself – Ash was invited to attend the prestigious, glittering Autosport Awards ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London to claim his trophy, appropriately enough in the form of a distinctly cool, retro-style steering wheel.
During the course of what was a true red carpet affair, the 16-year-old had the opportunity to meet and chat to the newest and youngest-ever F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel as well as the sport’s most experienced campaigner in the shape of Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello. It was, he acknowledged, quite an occasion.
“It was a really good evening,” Ash reflected. “It was exciting to see so many big names and just to be there amongst so many people who have achieved such great things in motorsport. Sebastian and Rubens are both really nice guys; Sebastian spoke to us for a couple of minutes, and Rubens was really upbeat and asked me all about my racing and my career.
“It felt quite surreal, to be honest, being asked to go up onto the same stage as them to receive my award. It was a bit nerve-wracking when they called our names out – it was the first time I had been to an awards night like that, in front of so many important people in the sport and with all the bright lights and music and glitz and glamour. It felt so good to be there and to experience it all – it was a brilliant way to finish 2010, and really made me feel like I achieved something during the year.”
That he unquestionably did, as even the briefest of glances at the statistics goes to show. In FKS alone, the Maple Park teenager triumphed in eight of the 12 finals and a staggering 15 heats – meaning he ascended the highest step of the rostrum in more than 60 per cent of the races he contested. He also secured eight pole positions out of a possible 12. In short, if there was a record to be broken in 2010, Ash broke it.
In fellow national series Super 1, that outstanding raw pace was every bit as much in evidence, only this time Lady Luck was not on the North Warwickshire College Student’s side, and four podium finishes were in truth poor return for a series of performances that deserved far, far more. Still, amongst those four podiums were a brace of peerless victories at Three Sisters – allied to his similar double success at the Wigan-based circuit in FKS, constituting an undefeated clean sweep there and marking a memorable highlight.
There was also, it should be noted, a brilliant runner-up finish in the annual blue riband Kartmasters outing that unites the very crème de la crème of young British driving talent, and a magnificent showing as a ‘wild card’ entry with Sodikart and Jason Parrott Motorsport in the fiercely-contested Rotax Grand Finals at La Conca in Italy, in which Ash pitted himself against more than 70 adversaries from all around the globe and at a track upon which he had never previously so much as set eyes.
Be that as it may, in the final, he was closely shadowing the leaders and poised to pounce – as most observers’ favourite to snatch the honours – when he found himself abruptly sideswiped by an out-of-control rival, but still, from already being the ‘Best in Britain’, the Voi Jeans brand ambassador could now justifiably claim to similarly being the best in the world.
“I’d never won a major championship before, and I led it all the way – I think that was quite a big achievement,” Ash mused of his superb FKS triumph. “I think the year went really well overall. I’m happy with the way I drove, and when it came down to a head-to-head situation I almost always came out on top.
“Wigan was good. I’d only actually raced there in two club meetings previously in all of my career and it isn’t even a circuit I like or enjoy that much – I don’t find it particularly interesting – but I just seem to connect with it, and I think we’ve proved we’re pretty quick round there now...
“There were some meetings where we were just plain unlucky, like in the Rotax Grand Finals. Going to La Conca was a big highlight of the year for me, being the quickest amongst so many drivers from all around the world and most of whom I’d never raced against before – some of them had completely different driving styles to what I’ve always been used to. Seeing that we could out-race them and beat them and be right up at the front was such a boost.”
Another undeniable boost was a mid-season chassis switch to Italian manufacturer CRG, hugely successful and well-established on the Continent but hitherto little-known on British shores. It was a gamble, certainly, and a gutsy one at that – but Ash made sure it was one that paid off with interest.
“Initially, it seemed like it might have been a mistake,” he confessed. “Our first meeting on the CRG at Buckmore Park didn’t go well, but that was purely because I still hadn’t learned how it needed to be driven. Once we figured that out, it was a really good kart, and I think the move was an important step in terms of winning the title.
“I think it gave us a bit of an advantage, because there was nobody else on the CRG in the UK in Junior Max. When FKS went to Genk in Belgium, I think it was better simply because of its European pedigree. I really connected with it and we made great progress – by the end of the year, we were pretty much unbeatable.”
That much is no idle boast, and as he now assesses a number of different options in order to move his career forward again in 2011, the Warwickshire speed demon cast one last look back at what was incredibly only his third full year of national competition in 2010, having begun karting midway through 2007. It was, he concluded, a landmark season.
“I learned so much and won so many races,” Ash summarised. “It’s one thing being able to be fast, but learning how to win consistently is something else. That’s what we learned in 2010 – and that’s what made it my best year yet in karting, I feel.”
