Tom Harvey ‘over-the-moon’ with ‘amazing’ breakthrough British success 10.10.2009: South Wales’ leading karting star Tom Harvey sent out a warning of intent to his rivals by bouncing back from a stay in hospital to secure a brilliant breakthrough British triumph in the final meeting of 2009 in

South Wales’ leading karting star Tom Harvey sent out a warning of intent to his rivals by bouncing back from a stay in hospital to secure a brilliant breakthrough British triumph in the final meeting of 2009 in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship.

Having entered only a handful of FKS rounds last year as he found his feet in what is widely-acknowledged to be the most fiercely-contested cadet racing in the country – with no fewer than 63 competitors constituting the very crème de la crème of young driving talent in the UK – Tom’s stated objective for this season was a top 15 championship finish to earn himself a seeded number for 2010. He has accomplished that goal in style.

Since switching teams mid-season to the crack Fusion Motorsport outfit run by Dan Hazlewood, the Bonvilston ace has made impressive progress, but his participation in the FKS finale at Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire looked to be in serious doubt after he was rushed into hospital the Monday before the weekend with suspected kidney problems. His prospects of taking up his place on the grid appeared bleak, but motivated by the desire to improve by at least five spots from the 20th position he occupied in the points standings ahead of the meeting, Tom was determined that nothing was going to stop him.

“We were just hoping we would be able to race to be honest,” he confessed, “because I really wanted a number in FKS for next year. The weekend before we had been at Whilton for a club meeting warm-up, and we had been pushing George Russell, who went on to win the FKS championship – that gave me a huge confidence boost.

“Fusion is a great team to be with, and Dan has been really good for me, especially on the coaching side – I’ve really learned a lot from him. I’ve changed inside my head mainly; I think I’ve become a lot more focussed. I used to try to win the race on only the third lap or something, but at Whilton I concentrated on the long game and thought a lot more about my strategy.

“It’s one of my favourite circuits too; I race in the Whilton club championship, so I’m there practically every month. It’s very bumpy and undulating, which makes it really challenging and fun to drive; you certainly have to concentrate hard, because if you don’t the bumps will just throw you off the track.”

A close and hard-fought victory in heat one on Saturday was followed by a stunning second place from 26th on the starting grid in heat two – setting fastest lap along the way for good measure, a staggering three tenths of a second quicker than that of the race-winner – and a frustrated and unlucky sixth position in heat three, after leading for more than half of the distance only to get pushed unceremoniously off onto the grass on the last lap and bundled down the order. That left Tom to begin the all-important grand final from third.

“On the first lap my plan was to push the pole-sitter Connor Jupp away from the pack, because he’d been quick all weekend too,” he recalled. “I was hoping we could break away from the rest and make it a two-horse race between us. Unfortunately, Ricky Collard came with us, and after about five minutes I thought ‘I really need to get past Connor now, because Ricky is coming on really strong behind me’. Ricky and I would always gain two tenths on Connor through the infield section, but then he would pull the gap out again down the straight, which made for a really even battle.

“On the last lap Ricky overtook me coming down the hill, and I was worried Connor would get past too because the move had slowed me right down. That meant I had to defend, but I managed to get back into Ricky’s tow going along the back straight and coming into the ‘Boot’ section I went wide because I knew he would go for the inside, and that allowed me to get the cut-back on him on the exit like I had planned – I had done the same thing the previous weekend in the club meeting.

“I was really pleased with myself and couldn’t stop celebrating on the slowing-down lap. I was over-the-moon to have won a round of FKS for the first time – I’d seriously never expected to do that this year. I thought ‘I like this feeling a lot...’ It was amazing, and being up there on the podium afterwards was one of the best things I’ve ever done!”

It was a superb performance, as the leading trio flashed across the finish line when the chequered flag fell blanketed by a scant four tenths of a second. All looked set for another podium flourish the following day after qualifying fifth, but a knock from behind on the opening lap dropped the 11-year-old right the way down to the back of the field – and left him with much work to do.

“It was a really exciting race for me,” he enthused, maturely preferring to take away the positives rather than the negatives. “I love fighting my way through the field – and at one point I was two tenths quicker than anybody else on the track. I was pushing like mad and rapidly catching the group in front, and that just spurred me on even more. I would rather have been up with the front pack again and scrapping for the win, but I was really pleased to finish seventh in the circumstances.”

Supremely quick throughout – more than a tenth faster than anyone else on the circuit – and consistent with it, Tom admitted that the adrenaline had helped him to keep on pushing right the way to the end of the gruelling 21-minute encounter. Reflecting at the end of the weekend on what had incontrovertibly been the two finest results of his career to-date – his previous best finish in an FKS final had been just 13th – the Cowbridge High School pupil made a point of thanking his team manager, his dad for being an excellent mechanic, engine-builder Leon Soixante and P1 Racing team boss Richard Amos for prior driving tuition.

Summarising the year as a whole – one that has also seen him clinch the Welsh ‘C’ Plate honours at his home circuit of Llandow and the Midland Championships at Rissington, prevailing in all three heats and the final as well as breaking a four-year-old lap record along the way to emulate the feat of F1 World Champion-elect Jenson Button at the same age almost 20 years earlier – Tom admitted that it had far exceeded his expectations.

As he eyes a full-on title charge in 2010 with the number 13 proudly adorning his kart after successfully achieving his top 15 goal, the Vale of Glamorgan speed demon has high hopes of following in the wheeltracks of F1’s youngest-ever world champion Hamilton, who himself lifted the laurels in FKS’ predecessor, McLaren-Mercedes Champions of the Future, 13 years ago.

“Santino Ferrucci came over to race from America,” Tom concluded, “and his dad said FKS should be the world championship – he’s raced all over the world, and he reckons cadets in Britain are the hardest anywhere. When you consider that, it’s been a great year for me – and a real stepping-stone in my career in motorsport.” 

One that looks set to go, on present evidence, all the way to the very top.

To keep up-to-date with Tom’s latest career news and results, please visit: www.tomharveyracing.com


- RA -  photos Chris Walker kartpix.net