Calling the Next Generation of British Karting Champions
08 January 2008
If you want to follow
in Lewis Hamilton’s tyre marks, or be the
next Jenson Button, then you need to get started in karting and can’t
afford to miss the Karting Show at Autosport International, Saturday
12 and Sunday 13 January 2008 at the NEC. A new dedicated show within
the world’s biggest motorsport show, the Karting Show is the
best one-stop shop to find out all you need to get started in the exhilarating
sport of karting.
Honda Racing F1 team star Jenson Button will visit Autosport International
on Saturday and will be joined by other top former karting graduates,
Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard and Mark Webber. All three
Formula One stars will be paying special visits to the new Karting
Show, to encourage more people to start karting.
Speaking about his forthcoming visit, Button commented: "I am
excited to be attending the Autosport International Show on Saturday.
It's been a couple of years since I was last able to visit the show
so it’s great to have the chance to return and meet some of the
fans whose support is so important to us throughout the year. The show
is a real ‘must-do’ for fans of all forms of motorsport
and this year looks to be no exception with some fantastic racing planned
for the Live Action Arena.”
Great Britain boasts some of the best motorsport talent in the world,
many of who cut their teeth in the karting ranks. Scotsman Allan McNish,
for example, was a multiple British and Scottish kart champion before
progressing to Formula One and is currently the reigning American Le
Mans Series Champion. A long-time visitor to Autosport International,
McNish welcomes the fact that the profile of karting has increased
to such an extent that it is now a stand alone show.
“Karting is definitely the best way for a young person to develop
the skills that are required to go on and become a professional racing
driver. It is where I, and so many motorsport champions, have learned
our craft and it is only right that it deserves its place in the heart
of Autosport International. Karting is a family and fan friendly sport
that gives young and older drivers the chance to experience the cut
and thrust of wheel to wheel racing. I have said this on many occasions,
if I was not a professional racing driver, I would be racing karts
as my sport."
Although a route to the higher echelons of motorsport, karting is also
a rewarding and budget friendly sport for racers of all ages. Whether
you want to be the next British sensation or kart for fun, the UK’s
largest Karting Show is the perfect place to find out how to get started
in kart racing.
Expert advice will be at your fingertips, on everything from leisure
karting to how to get a race licence in one easy visit. Your first
stop should be the Association of British Kart Clubs (ABkC) stand,
adjacent to the Lewis Hamilton Feature, to pick up a copy of the fully
updated ABkC/ArKS 2008 Start Karting brochure. The ABkC offers free
and friendly advice to guide you through the licence application process
and help you to decide which class to enter and which club to join.
Aspiring Lewis Hamilton’s will be inspired by the British Formula
One sensation’s first dedicated feature at Autosport International.
Situated in the heart of the Karting Show, the Lewis Hamilton Feature
will demonstrate how this remarkable 23-year-old has launched himself
to the pinnacle of the sport. Charting his progress from karting and
through the formulas to a record-breaking inaugural Formula One season,
the feature will reunite the star’s karts and cars for the first
time.
Lewis is still a patron of the karting championship, then known as
McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future, that kick-started his career.
It is fitting, therefore, that the Lewis Hamilton Feature will be presented
from the new BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Race Centre. The series’ 2007
champions, all young drivers aged nine to 16 years, will be at the
Karting Show on Saturday to collect their championship silverware and
to pay a visit to their patron’s feature.
Button, Coulthard and McNish all graduated from the ranks of Super
One, the UK’s largest and longest-running national kart championships.
The premier series will sport its biggest Autosport International stand
to date, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and the 2007 championship
drivers will also visit the show on Saturday.
The Karting Show will boast its own stage from the BRDC Stars of Tomorrow
Race Centre, hosted by the voice of the BTCC and talkSPORT, Alan Hyde.
As well as the cream of British karters, young and old, the Karting
Stage will welcome an array of international motorsport celebrities
including Button, Coulthard, Webber, and McNish, world class sports
car racer David Brabham, British fans’ favourite Johnny Herbert,
and triple WTCC title winner Andy Priaulx.
As well as seeing all the karting stars and rubbing shoulders with
the world’s motorsport elite, visitors can find karting championships,
manufacturers and teams, all under one roof. Expert advice and the
best equipment in karting will be on offer, making the new Karting
Show impossible to miss.
Autosport International opens to the public on Saturday 12 and Sunday
13 January, filling 10 halls of the NEC, Birmingham, to form the world’s
biggest motorsport show. Avoid the queues and book online at www.autosport-international.com
or by phoning the ticket hotline on 0870 040 0396. Tickets are £28.00
per adult including entry to the 55-minute adrenaline-pumping Live
Action Arena; children’s (5 – 15 years) tickets are £18.50.
Related Story 04.01.2008 - British F3 / British GT is front and centre at the Autosport Show
