Billingshurst karter aged 10 will have to wait for British Championship shot

Ten-year-old Jamie Warner has  qualified for the British Indooor Karting Championship finals.
Jamie Warner with his kart and trophiesJamie Warner with his kart and trophies
Jamie Warner with his kart and trophies

But the star driver from Billingshurst will have to wait for his shot at the national title because of the second lockdown.

Warner, who goes to school at Pennthorpe School in Rudgwick, just won the regional title at Bristol after qualifying through the heats in Crawley.

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The youngster said: “I was really happy to first qualify to enter the local selection race.

Jamie WarnerJamie Warner
Jamie Warner

“This was done over three visits to the track at Crawley and the fastest times were allowed to race to try to qualify.

“I finished second with top three going through. The regional finals were in Bristol, I was nervous as I had not driven there before but practice went well and I loved the track.

“I finished second, first and first in the heats so was in pole for the final.”

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Jamie had a good start and managed four laps within a tenth of a second of each other to build a three-second lead. He added: “I then kept an eye on the karts behind and finished around eight seconds in front, I was so happy.”

Jamie on the trackJamie on the track
Jamie on the track

He will now race in the finals in Warrington when lockdown is over.

Jamie has been racing 60mph two-stroke karts in the nationwide Daniel Ricciardo series as well as many victories at Daytona karting in Esher.

He has also started racing on the Electroheads championships (run by famed F1 Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley) all over the UK. These are 55mph electric karts and represent the future of karting. All the current F1 stars started in karts as children, Lewis Hamilton being no exception.

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Jamie’s dad Kevin also raced as a youngster and hopes Jamie follows his path. Kevin said: “I raced all over the world and represented the UK and was lucky enough to be multiple British champion so I hope I can guide Jamie on his path.”

Jamie is supported in his sport by his school.

Kevin said: “Mrs Bolton, head at Pennthorpe, is very keen for Jamie to continue along his racing path.

“She supports and encourages him and, as an independent school not restricted by attendance targets, it has the flexibility to encourage children to take the opportunities both inside and outside school.”

Jamie started karting in the Bambino class at six years old, he is now in the cadet class until he is 12.

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He loves his karting and keeps fit with swimming and cycling, he also adores snowboarding and skiing.

All races are on hold at the moment because of Covid but Jamie likes to practice on the PlayStation.

There is a lot of cost to supporting Jamie in his endeavours.

Kevin explained: “The Daniel Ricciardo series is the most expensive and professional, in this series you purchase the kart and run it yourself.

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“Kart cost including stand, tools, sundries etc is around £5500 plus running costs, hotels, as it’s run around the country over a weekend. Second hand karts can be used and are usually around half price. The karts are 8hp, two stroke engines and give a top speed of around 60mph.

“You can spend huge amounts of money, £70k plus on cadet karting at the top level, so we are happy to spend a fraction of that and still have great competitive karting.

“Next tier down are the arrive and drive, which offer great value.”

If your child is interested in getting into the sport, Kevin says there are plenty of options which can be cheaper if you want to ‘dip your toe in’.

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He said: “Electroheads is an electric kart series where you can drive all over the country again over a weekend.

“These karts do around 53mph and it costs £450 per weekend, including excellent tuition from the experts.

“This series is run by Rob Smedley of Ferrari F1 fame and top F1 race engineer. They keep and maintain all the karts.

“Then you have the local arrive and drive such as Daytona at Sandown, Esher, and Teamsport who have many venues inc Crawley (this is all indoor karting) and are open all week.

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“These are great fun and offer an excellent cheap way to dip your toe in the water.”

Kevin said it was a great way for youngsters to learn about mechanics - but it did need a lot of commitment.

He said: “Karting, especially the two-stroke series is a big commitment both financially and time spent, Jamie always helps prepare his kart so it’s a great way to learn about mechanics and so on.

“When Jamie is racing he has to control the kart, make decisions about passing another kart, or racing line etc so there is a lot going on as well as how to deal with failure as well as success.”

Do you have a sporting success story? Does your child travel around the country winning trophies?

Let us know by emailing [email protected]