Matty Graham did not expect to be spraying the podium champagne after the way his weekend had begun in the fourth round of the 2011 WSK Master Series at Siena in Italy – but courtesy of a gritty and never-say-die performance, that was precisely what he did.
Matty might have stormed to a brilliant victory in the fiercely-contested national Super 1 Series at Shenington the previous month, and he might have been invariably on the leading pace both on home turf and abroad all year, but he had enjoyed scant good fortune in Europe, truth be told. This time, though, he demonstrated just what he is capable of when Lady Luck deigns to shine upon him and when everything comes together.
“I was simply aiming to get some decent finishes to score some solid points in the championship,” revealed the talented young Edmundbyers karting star. “There’s quite a difference in points in WSK between the top positions and the ones lower down, so I wanted to score big.
“It was the first time I had raced around the Siena circuit, and it isn’t one of my favourites, if I’m honest, mainly because it’s just so bumpy, which means it isn’t all that enjoyable to drive. It’s a shame, because I think it would be a good track if the surface was smoother. It has a good layout with some slow-speed, technical corners and hairpins, but the bumps just make it really tricky to drive.”
After slowly-but-surely getting to grips with its intricacies during practice, Matty’s efforts in qualifying were stymied by carburettor issues that blunted his challenge, and an unfortunate collision – as the 15-year-old found himself caught out by a driver ahead braking unexpectedly – left him with a bent MSport Zanardi chassis and in just 27th position in the tightly-packed, 60-strong KF3 class field, albeit only a third of a second adrift of the outright benchmark.
Battered but unbowed and refusing to let himself get downcast since ‘I knew we were quick enough in race-trim to move forward’, the legacy of that qualifying shunt would, however, bear repercussions in the Ponteland Community High School pupil’s opening heat race.
“The kart wasn’t straightened out properly, and if anything, I think we had maybe gone a bit too far the other way,” he explained. “I couldn’t turn properly through right-hand corners, and coming out of one of them I just understeered off the track. As I came back on again, the oncoming pack piled into me, which wrote the kart off.”
A less-than-ideal situation and one that necessitated a swift acclimatisation to a different kart, tenth and 13th positions in his next two heats were very solid efforts indeed. Even so, Matty entered his last heat knowing he needed a good finish in order to continue on to the finals and avoid having to take an early flight home. Immediately mixing it with the front-runners, fifth place represented a much stronger performance – and a crucial result.
“There was a little bit of pressure, but I usually handle those kinds of circumstances well,” recounted the Co. Durham-based speed demon. “I was quite relaxed about it all, to be honest, especially given that we had finally nailed the set-up, which meant the kart felt a lot racier.”
Progressing on to the finals in 28th position – with only the top 34 contenders making it through – in an extremely hard-fought pre-final in which he found himself surrounded by a gaggle of rapid rivals who had all similarly encountered difficulties in the heats, Matty fought his way up to 17th at the chequered flag, despite an early yellow flag period frustratingly reducing the number of laps available to him to try to gain back ground.
What’s more, an excellent fifth-fastest lap time – quicker than those of the drivers who finished second, third and fourth – once more underlined the reigning CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific Champion’s raw pace and potential.
Better yet, as the heavens opened just ahead of the grand final – making a real predicament out of tyre selection for the conditions – whilst many of his adversaries erred, Matty got it spot-on and proceeded to carefully negotiate his way through the opening lap chaos and keep out-of-trouble to comfortably exceed his target of a top eight finish. A superb third position – not to mention top Brit – from right the way down in 17th on the grid marked his maiden podium on European soil and vaulted him from ninth to sixth in the championship standings.
“I’m usually quite fast in the rain, so I was pleased to see that,” he confessed. “We went for wet-weather tyres when a lot of drivers chose slicks, and we were confident we had made the right decision. There was quite a big crash into the first corner, but I managed to get round it and then just worked my way up towards the front.
“I was in fifth a few laps from the end with two Birel drivers ahead of me. I was fighting with one of them for quite a long time, but after I got past him, straightaway I caught the other one. I overtook him quite quickly for third place and was able to consistently pull away. It felt really good to come home with a trophy from a WSK event; we showed everyone that we’ve got the pace in Europe as well as in Britain, and now hopefully we can keep the momentum going.”
Matty is seeking sponsors to help him to progress his burgeoning career; if you are interested in backing the north-east’s most promising young hotshot, please contact him at: matthew.d.graham@hotmail.co.uk
