Pittard takes top Surtees prize

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Current page

173

Current page

174

Current page

175

Current page

176

Current page

177

Current page

178

Current page

179

Current page

180

Current page

181

Current page

182

Current page

183

Current page

184

Current page

185

Current page

186

Current page

187

Current page

188

Current page

189

University kart champ beats several fancied rivals… and sets his sights on a career in sports cars | by Alex Harmer

John Surtees’s opinions about racing’s convoluted nursery slopes are well known by now, but the Henry Surtees Foundation’s annual karting challenge at Buckmore Park offers young drivers some great prizes to put their careers on the right path.

This year’s winner had a decidedly old-fashioned start to his racing life and has the attitude to go with it, having started racing with his dad and worked his way through club championships. In the ’50s that approach could eventually have landed you in Formula 1, but without financial backing many drivers’ careers tend to stall nowadays.

When I sat down next to 21-year-old David Pittard at lunch – for no other reason, I must admit, than the lack of seating elsewhere – he was friendly and didn’t laugh too hard when I told him the extent of my own karting experience. I asked what racing he’d been doing and he mentioned the British Universities Karting Championship, but not the fact that he’d won it in 2012, nor anything of his exploits in much more advanced machinery. I’d seen his name near the top of the timesheets during practice and qualifying earlier in the day, but as I wished him good luck before the race he didn’t strike me as a potential winner. He was quick, but too ‘normal’ in a room full of confident young racers who looked and acted the part. Perhaps that should have been the first clue…

David started karting when he was eight, winning club and national championships before moving on. “My dad’s been heavily into motor sport as a spectator,” he says, “and it’s just something I’ve picked up from him. The older I got, the more I wanted to be part of it and I’ve been very lucky that my family has supported me.

“I’ve been car racing since 2009, when I did a part-season in the Toyota MR2 series with Montana Motorsport, where I had a couple of top-three results and scored my first win at the end of the year. We came back for a second year and took six wins from six races. At the same time I was doing the Sports 2000 series. A couple of mechanical failures didn’t help us in the championship fight, but the pace was there.”

“After MR2s and Sports 2000 we stepped up to the Britcar Endurance series, with the Strata 21 team. I got my hands on a Porsche Carrera Cup car, which was fantastic, and won the Class 4 championship with my team-mate Adam Sharp. This year we’ve done the Ginetta GT5 Challenge and really hit the ground running, winning races and – even though we didn’t complete the season – coming fifth in the championship. From here we’re looking at British GTs or the Blancpain Endurance series.”

David comes across as a young man who’s got his priorities straight, studying motor sport engineering at Brunel University. “I enjoy it and, I if want to become a professional driver, then speaking the language of the engineers will help,” he says, with some enthusiasm. David’s setting himself up to succeed and appears to be one of many young drivers for whom Formula 1 is no longer the end goal.

“Recently,” he says, “my big hero was Sean Edwards, someone to whom I looked up to massively. I should dedicate this win to him, really, because in the past couple of years I’ve followed his career avidly. Allan Simonsen was another who was talented and fortunate enough to be out there every weekend in all corners of the globe. That’s what I want to do.”

For these kids the opportunity to win races and championships, competing as often as possible, is the name of the game. Pragmatism beats the big bucks and a rich racing life is better than fame. “My dream is to be a Porsche factory driver,” says David. “Being Porsche Supercup Champion sounds pretty good. It’s arguably one of the most competitive one-make series in the world. Those guys are flying all over the world, racing for Porsche.

“I’ve always enjoyed F1, but getting there just never appealed to me. There’s a whole lot of money and people involved and it’s difficult to forge a career. You see a lot of drivers coming out of the lower formulae into sports cars. The GP3 test [with Carlin] I won through the Henry Surtees Foundation is a fantastic prize, though.”

Speaking only a couple of hours after what might be the biggest victory of his career so far, the excitement of the day hasn’t yet evaporated. In his heat David finished with a lead of five seconds, untouched beyond the first corner. In the final he eked out a similar lead before cruising home while Paul Janes and last year’s winner Jack Aitken scrapped behind him.

“It’s definitely not sunk in yet,” he says. “I haven’t stopped grinning since the finish. I had a fantastic start that gave me a comfortable gap over the second and third drivers. I knew they were quick and I could see them out the corner of my eye as I exited the hairpin, so I just kept my head down and my lines clean and brought it home.

“It didn’t really feel like I was going to win it until I was coming through the last corner and I thought ‘Oh my god!’, so I was quite emotional. There are some big names here and I was able to mix it with them and beat them so I’m over the moon.” This is David’s third try at the HSF Challenge; he previously finished third and 10th. As far as he can remember he’s only visited the Kent circuit five times before.

“I did the MSA club championship here in 2005, but didn’t come back until 2011 in the British Karting Championship and for the Henry Surtees Foundation event. It’s not really a local track for me, coming from Hertfordshire.”

Karting hero Bill Sisley, who has run Buckmore Park since 1985, points out that recent experience is essential for this type of event. A number of F3 drivers were out there, getting blown away by the kids. “The ones that are karting now have an advantage because they’re used to it,” he says. “Even someone like Ben Barnicoat – who is a brilliant driver, no question about it, he’ll be a Formula 1 driver if he has the chance – is doing international karts with very soft tyres. It takes you a day just to adapt to something with no power and no grip.”

“You can’t help but come back to your roots in karting,” David says. “It’s a very pure form of motor sport. Everybody’s been there and it gives you a nice level playing field. I want to make motor sport my living and this has capped off a good year. I’m looking forward to the future, hopefully to becoming a professional driver.”

He was unable to match high-calibre rivals such as Dean Stoneman and Oliver Rowland during the GP3 test, but there’s no shame in that. The lesson will be used and stored as he continues to pursue his dreams.