Whizz kid richard bradley wins british karting title

By Simon Hayes on April 9, 2008 8:16 PM |

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LEWIS HAMILTON might have failed in his latest big race but another young driver had no such problem as he roared to victory in a British Karting championship contest.

Richard Bradley, from Blackheath, won the first KF1 race of the season in Wigan on March 30, picking up the KF1 Plate – the equivalent of the British Cup – in the process.

The 16-year-old, whose father is a partner at Clifford Chance in Bank Street, was delighted with the win, especially as he was racing against professional drivers, most of whom are years older than him.

He said: “It’s the first time I’ve won it so it’s pretty special. But it wasn’t easy as I was up against some very good drivers.

“Once I got into the lead I had to make sure I kept the gap between myself and the rest of the drivers and then in the last lap I just concentrated on making sure I finished, so I slowed down a bit. It’s a great feeling.”

Richard left school last summer to concentrate on his driving career, regularly competing on the continent against some of Europe’s best as well as racing Britain’s elite.

He races for the Wright Karts team, who played a role in the development of current Formula One stars Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and David Coulthard.

“It’s tough but I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “It’s the karting equivalent of Formula One and it gets pretty intense but I can hold my own. There’s a lot of experience in the team and that helps.

“My goals this year are to try and win the British championships and then have a go at the World Championships in Bari in October.”

Richard plans to continue kart racing for a couple more years but has set his long-term sights on sports car racing, with the Le Mans 24-hour event his ultimate goal. And he has a back-up plan, should his career plan go off-track.

He said: “Although I’m driving pretty much full-time I’m also doing a motor sport engineering course at Brooklands in Weybridge. But my ambition is to be professional driver.”

But one thing he will have to do first is pass his driving test. Richard doesn’t turn 17 until August, and he admitted the pressure is on.

“I think my friends will find it pretty funny if I don’t pass,” he said. “So I’ll be taking it seriously.”

simon.hayes@wharf.co.uk