George Thomson produced a brilliant drive to finish fourth at the British Open Championship.
The 14-year-old from Sidlesham, in his first full year in the MiniMax class, had a difficult time initially at the Rowrah circuit in the northern part of the Lake District, with bad luck blighting his results in qualifying and heats for the O’Plate.
But when it came to the final, Thomson, on the new 2012 Intrepid chassis, found top form to storm through the field for Team Intrepid, who are going from strength to strength.
Thomson started the final right at the back of the grid but immediately it became clear he had the pace to make a huge impression against some of the country’s top racers.
Picking his rivals off one at a time to move smoothly into the top eight, Thomson was in a perfect position to take advantage as the leaders began battling among themselves on the last couple of laps.
The value of driver coaching from Intrepid team owner and former world champion Benjy Russell was obvious, along with kart set-up from the race engineer, as Thomson kept a cool head to ease into an outstanding fourth spot – a truly fantastic result bearing in mind his lack of experience at this level.
Russell said: “This was a great result for George and he was pleased with his performance. We are also delighted to see the Intrepid chassis perform so well – George is still gaining experience at this level but the kart is great to race and clearly has plenty of pace.”
Thomson’s dad Graham said it was the latest in a string of successes.
“We have been out doing a lot of races with our new team and George is progressing well and we are having lots of success and fun,” he said.
“Last month George dominated the heats and finished first in the final at Kimbolton, a national track near Peterbourgh and drove the fastest lap.”
For more details, visit George’s website www.georgethomson.me.uk