#77 James @ Forest Edge

James has been with the team since the Spring of 2015, having passed his ARKS around a year later he has been developing well although until now has been working with minimal track time, in recent weeks we have agreed an increased level of driving and this session showed a new level in James’s driving.

Commitment in the corners has for some time been one of his weaker points, following a huge crash at Rye in 2015 before we met he was very weary of the kart and it was holding back his open passion to go racing. Being one of our younger cadets James enjoys all things with a screen, as they do’ and we have used this to our advantage, go pro footage, racing games etc. have all played a part and during 2016 we have continued to push him forward with radio communication and constant coaching, we are now seeing him racing at CKC regularly and since the spring he has shown a new tenacity, and a new eagerness to progress, we are equally as keen to see a driver we believe to be very able step up to his rightful place.

The purpose of this session was, using our radios, to get him to drive through the corners and retain his line for consistency, also touching some of the kerbs (this is Forest so you can’t touch many that hard!) just to ‘sweeten’ the lap up, last time we visited we were sat in the late 51’s so needed to lose another second maybe 1.5 just to make the day a success.

From the first session, we knew we had ‘racing’ James, he was instantly on the money and within a few sessions was overtaking a few established drivers which was great to watch, he was also lapping within a couple of tenths overall, great to see him actually in the field and despite dad’s best efforts to sabotage his kart still kept it running and improved to bring his time into the low 50’s. Having fleeced his dad of a MacDonald’s for the effort they left having improved again and I think in 2017 have a chance of getting a result, Mark continues to let the team take James forward and with the increase in track time he is showing a solid improvement which will hold him well at CKC especially if he continues to use the track as shown and as he has proved he can.

James:

Continue to push this hard and the rest will follow very quickly, your concentration is brilliant – well done Seaweed!

Supporters:

Cummins and Pope - www.cummins-pope.co.uk

Walker Bros - www.walkerbrotherselectrical.co.uk

Sawmills Garage - www.sawmillsgarage.co.uk

Without this support the team could not continue to operate on a low-cost basis, the development of youngsters in karting at this early stage is vital to the continuity of our sport, Veneno will always be about the driver and is thankful for the generous support of its sponsors.