YOUNG
GUNS Modern motorsport has long been awash with teenagers whose sights are set on professional glory. As James Page discovers, however, more of them are now starting out in slightly older machinery – even if, in some cases, they’re too young to drive on the road! PHOTOGRAPHY MICK WALKER/GARY CLARKE/750MC/LAT
118 Classic & Sports Car February 2017
James Clarke
16, HSCC TOURING CARS
“I’m named after Jim Clark because my dad used to watch him at Oulton Park, and my middle name is Damon – Mum was a Hill fan! So I’ve always followed racing and started in karts one day after my eighth birthday. In 2015, I moved up to the Junior Saloon Car Championship. On my first track day, I felt so out of my depth. But shortly after that, on my 15th birthday, I did a half-day’s testing at Mallory Park and something clicked. I ended up third in the championship. “For 2016, I wanted to learn about wings and slicks so I entered the Clubmans Championship, but had to wait until I turned 16 in April. Dave Beecroft was running the car and he had a Lotus Cortina in the workshop, doing nothing. Dad asked about it, and my first outing was at Brands Hatch. We had a few gearbox problems and I was still learning to heel and toe, but every meeting’s had great moments. Finishing second at Oulton Park was probably the highlight, but I had the most fun at Silverstone. In the first race, I spun and came through from 26th to 11th. Then, in race two, I started 31st and finished 13th. “Historics are really cool – especially being named after Jim Clark and getting to race a Lotus Cortina. I never thought I’d get the chance, let alone at 16! I’d like to stay involved with classics, but I’d also love to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours.”
Harry Painter 18, VSCC
“From the age of three, I learnt to drive in a 1939 Atco child’s car. It had a little engine, gears and three pedals, and from there I graduated to driving an Austin Seven around the field. Between the ages of 12 and 16, I raced 125cc karts – and when I started racing Dad’s MGs I discovered that the handling was pretty similar! They slide all over the place. “We’ve got a PA and the Kayne Special, which is a P-type engine in a J2 chassis. I’d only driven them up and down the driveway but I was thrown straight in. My first outing was a sprint at Brooklands and I was only three seconds slower than Dad [Mike], which I thought was okay. Then I went to a handicap race at Pembrey and finished eighth, Donington where I was third – and then I won at Snetterton! “Mark Dolton at the Triple M Register has got so many cars out of the woodwork, and the all-MG race at Mallory was brilliant. Dad and I qualified on exactly the same laptime, and we finished second and third. Being on the podium with him was special. I’d really like to race his Brabham BT16, but so far he’s said that I can only drive it on a test day! “I might retake one of my A-levels, which affects plans for early 2017, but I’d like to stay in historics. The VSCC is such a great place for youngsters. It’s very welcoming and someone is always on hand to help or give advice.”
Ed Thurston
16, HSCC FORMULA FORD “I got into racing via historic karts. Dad restored one and I started racing it when I was 12. I wasn’t blindingly fast but I enjoyed it, then one day at Llandow it all came together and I was four seconds per lap faster. I ended up winning the British and European Formula A titles in 2015. “I bought an Elden Mk8 with money that my grandma left me, and started at the 2016 Croft Nostalgia meeting. I thought I’d be blisteringly quick straight away, but I only did half a day’s testing and hadn’t really worked out how to change gear! I did okay, then had a terrible meeting at the Oulton Park Gold Cup. I didn’t know where the track went and spun in the first race. In the second, I came through from 22nd to finish 11th. By the time we got to Silverstone, I’d learnt how the gearbox worked well enough to qualify seventh, and I finished third. “It’s such a competitive series, but everyone’s been really welcoming and has given me lots of advice. I’ve had plenty to learn about car set-up, too. Dad would ask me whether or not it was turning in and I’d reply, ‘Well, it’s going around the corners, yes.’ I didn’t know if it was understeering or whatever. “I’ll definitely stay in historics. I’d love to race in the Group C series, for example, and look at how popular the Super Touring races are these days. I just want to drive nice cars!”
John Slatter
20, HISTORIC 750 FORMULA “We live near Silverstone, and one day we drove past and saw a sign for the 750 Motor Club. Dad said that he used to race with them – when we got home, he went straight onto eBay and found a car that he’d raced against but rarely managed to beat! “It’s got a Reliant engine and a very basic spaceframe chassis that looks as if it’s made out of an old climbing frame. It’s got no power at all, but it weighs only 400kg and, with cut slicks, will keep up with a Locost and corner much faster than an MX-5. “I’d been karting with my mates, but never done anything competitive. I did my ARDS test when I was 18 and went straight in at the deep end. My first race was at Rockingham and it was terrifying! The car was shaking
about and I didn’t know where to go. But then, at Snetterton last year, I won a handicap race. That was brilliant – I caught one of the Austin-engined guys with two corners to go. “I’ll definitely stay with the 750MC. Dad and I both race now, and sometimes share an MX-5. We did the Birkett Relay in it. He keeps reminding me that I live under his roof, so I can’t really say who’s quicker! If I claimed it was me, I might not get any dinner…”
February 2017 Classic & Sports Car 119
Dan Hunter 19, VSCC
“My granddad [Steve Jones] has always had Austin Sevens, so I grew up around old cars. My first trip to a race meeting was Oulton Park in 2006, and I gradually got more and more hands-on in the paddock. My first event as a driver was in my granddad’s Ulster, which I helped to build, at the Cotswold Trial in 2014. I was lucky in that I’d been around trials for a while – I had an idea of how to read the ground and choose a line. “My first speed event was at Curborough, which wasn’t too daunting because we did a track day there beforehand. It was more about getting used to how hard you had to push the car. “Loton Park last season was great. It was a two-day meeting, and I was ahead of Granddad until his last run. He pipped me by 0.34 secs, which was frustrating but also satisfying. It was nice to compete at Harewood, too. I grew up half an hour away and had spectated there a lot. “Next year, I’m hoping to have a few outings in a Riley 12/4 Lynx owned by my boss [Ian MacFarlane of Blue Diamond Services, where Hunter is an apprentice] and will definitely stay in historics. It’s my life! I’ve thought about competing in moderns, but they just don’t feel same. It’s difficult to explain to non-car people what a vintage racer is like – you feel every bit of input and you’re ‘at one’ with the car.”
Tom Waterfield 19, VSCC
“My grandpa raced with the VSCC in the 1960s and my mum competed as well – racing was in the family. I’d always driven cars around fields, but I didn’t expect to start so early. I did an experience day at Silverstone when I was 16, and while I was there they said that I might as well do my ARDS test. My stepdad builds cars, and I’d been putting together an Austin Seven special. In the end, though, I sold that and we bought a very sorted Seven instead. “It was a bit daunting going in with no roaddriving experience. It took until someone passed me a bit too close for comfort for me to realise that you needed to be on it all the time. I managed to come fourth in my first race, which was a handicap event, and this year I won the Voiturette Trophy at Cadwell Park. “I’ve also been running Dragon Fly – a GN special. I got talking to the owner, who asked if I’d like to race it for him. We had a great result at Pembrey, following a group of Frazer Nashes that spent most of their time sideways! “I finished school in July and now work for my stepdad. I’ll continue to race with the VSCC, but I’d love to do the Spa Six Hours, too.”
Clockwise, from right: 19-year-old Chris Amon at Reims in 1963; Fernando Alonso made an instant impact during his debut season in 2001; Thackwell attempting to qualify for the 1980 Dutch Grand Prix
Youngsters at the highest level In recent years, more and more teenagers have graduated to Formula One, from Sebastian Vettel and Jaime Alguersuari to Esteban Ocon. Two-times world champion Fernando Alonso was only 19 when he made his debut with Minardi in 2001, but the most precocious of all is surely Max Verstappen. The son of former racer Jos hadn’t even passed his driving test when he started the 2015 Australian GP at the age of 17 years and 166 days. He then became the youngest F1 winner by claiming the 2016 Spanish GP, by which time the FIA had decreed that you needed to be 18 in order to gain the necessary superlicence. But there’s nothing new under the sun. Mike Thackwell rapidly graduated from Formula Ford to F3 and F2 before Ken Tyrrell signed him as a test driver. The 19-year-old rising star failed to qualify for the 1980 Dutch GP in a guest outing for Arrows, and his F1 career sadly petered out before it had really begun. The late, great Chris Amon, meanwhile, was racing an elderly Maserati 250F – chassis number 2509 – in New Zealand by the time he was 17. At 19, he moved to Europe to embark on a Formula One career in Reg Parnell’s Lola; four years later, he was a works Ferrari driver. Talk of Maranello brings us to the legendary Rodríguez brothers. Ricardo’s entry to the 1958 Le Mans 24 Hours was rejected because he was only 16. His older brother Pedro, who was all of 18, took his place in the NART 500 TR. Two years later, Ricardo finished second at La Sarthe in a 250 TR. And in 1961, the 19 year old qualified on the front row for his Grand Prix debut, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he was driving a factory Ferrari at Monza.
February 2017 Classic & Sports Car 121
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Elliot Paterson 18, MORGAN CHALLENGE
“My grandad Ninian was a two-times rally champion in Scotland, and my dad raced all sorts of things before taking a break in the 1990s. He got his first Morgan when he was 21, and in 2005 he got back into it via the Challenge Series. “Since the age of seven, I’ve been in paddocks and started in karts when I was eight. I took a break from that and learnt car control from driving MG Midgets and Morgans around fields – as well as the gravel paddock at Knockhill! I started in the Morgan Challenge halfway through 2015 and led my debut race. I remember going into the first corner at Rockingham thinking, ‘What do I do now?’ “And 2016 was brilliant, with five or six epic races. I had a great battle with Dad at Anglesey on a damp track and we went toe-to-toe at Silverstone as well. He won the series in 2005, so when I won it this year we were the first father-and-son team to get our names on the trophy. “The Morgan Challenge is the best series I’ve ever raced in – everyone’s so friendly. They’ve known me since I was seven, and because Dad’s quick they were expecting the same from me! “I chose not to go to university and I’ve joined Dad’s business. In the short term, I can’t see me racing anything other than Morgans. In moderns, people throw everything at it because they all want to be world champion. Historic racing isn’t like that – it’s close, but it’s gentlemanly, so I’d love to do more of it if I can.”
The knowledge The Bambino class of karting caters for children aged between six and eight. After that, you can move up to Cadets and race there until the end of the year in which you’ve turned 13. At 14, you can apply for a Race National B Junior licence, for which you’ll need to do a Junior ARDS test. That enables you to compete only in Junior race formulae that have been authorised by the MSA. At 16, you can gain your full race licence. Unless you’ve had a National B Junior licence, and depending upon the level at which you’ve previously raced, you might need to take an ARDS test. All of the above is for circuit racing. Requirements for speed events, trials and rallying can be different, so check the Motor Sport Association’s website. For all licences, if you’re under 18 your parents will need to countersign your application.
Benn Tilley
17, HSCC FORMULA FORD “On my ninth birthday, we went to an indoor karting place, and I raced karts from then until I was 12. In 2014, I entered the Junior Saloon Car Championship. Apart from a couple of test days beforehand, I turned up to the first race pretty much blind. It's a one-make series using Citroën Saxos – front-wheel drive and about 800kg, so somewhat different to a kart, which is rear-wheel drive and weighs nothing! “Dad had started in 1986, racing pre-1974 Formula Ford, and competed in a variety of cars up to 2009. We’re friends with [historic-motorsport specialist] Simon Hadfield, and we were spectating at Cadwell Park one day when he asked me: ‘When do you turn 16? I’ve got a nice Formula Ford car waiting for you.’ “It was a Merlyn Mk20A, and it’s been so much fun – another real step from the Saxo. In my first race, I managed to qualify fourth and
finish third on Silverstone’s Grand Prix circuit, but every time you get the chance to race it’s a highlight. It’s difficult to pick out one event that’s been particularly memorable. “The older guys in the series don’t seem to be bothered by a group of us coming in at the age of 16 or 17. As far as they’re concerned, we’re just more people to race against. Everyone’s been very welcoming, and with guys such as Callum Grant, Richard Mitchell and Max Bartell to race against it’s so competitive. “We’re going to do a full season in 2017 and hopefully we can be fighting for the title. I’d really like to stay in historics and, to be honest, I would be more than happy to race anything with four wheels and a steering wheel. A late DFV-engined Formula One car would be spectacular, though. I’d love to have a go in a Williams FW07C, for example.”
CONTACTS MSA www.msauk.org Historic Sports Car Club www.hscc.org.uk Vintage Sports-Car Club www.vscc.co.uk 750 Motor Club www.750mc.co.uk
February 2017 Classic & Sports Car 123