The Grid

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Harvey times it to perfection to brilliantly triumph in race of the year!

Tom Harvey had vowed to bring home the winner’s trophy prior to heading cross-Channel to Genk in Belgium for the latest meeting in the Formula Kart Stars (FKS).

Tom set off on his European adventure – only the second time he had ever competed at Genk – with his tail up off the back of having extended his lead in the title standings in fellow national series Super 1, and bidding to similarly reclaim the advantage in FKS.

“The aim was to keep that kind of form going and catch my team-mate in the championship,” mused the Bonvilston-based hotshot. “I really like Genk – I think it’s an amazing circuit! It’s nothing like the tracks in Britain, which are far more tight-and-twisty; at Genk you have to really pull on the steering to stick to the racing line, and keep the power down all the time. It’s all about throttle and braking. You have to get into the zone and into the groove properly before you get it right.”

Tom was soon on the pace during practice, “I got back into the rhythm of the track and the lines, and after that I was really quick and carried that over to Saturday,” he confirmed – and third in his group in qualifying was a strong start, a mere three tenths of a second shy of the outright pace.

Unfortunately, due to the track being slower for his group, the 12-year-old would begin both of his heat races just ninth.

The opening encounter swiftly developed into a three-horse race as the leading trio pushed each other to pull away from the chasing pack, after a superb race that was only resolved on the very last lap, Tom nicked the lead into the final corner after all three had set identical fastest lap times and were covered by a mere 0.2secs at the flag, with fourth place some five seconds further in arrears.

The second heat would be just as fraught, but this time the Fusion Motorsports driver prevailed comparatively comfortably after his two pursuers collided on the last lap – allowing him to just concentrate on bringing his kart home to secure pole position for the all-important final.

“I had expected to finish in the top three, but not necessarily to win both heats,” he confessed. “I knew I had the pace, but there were a lot of other quick drivers out there too. In the final I was expecting a three-kart getaway to be honest, and for me, Nathan Aston and Connor Jupp to push away from the rest of the field like we had done in the heats. That didn’t happen.

“At one point there were 18 of us all battling over the win, and I dropped down to tenth towards the end but had worked my way back through to seventh by the time we went into the last lap. I then just shut my eyes and hoped for the best! I pulled off a manoeuvre into the first corner to take fifth, and into the chicane I zipped up the inside of three more to move into second. After that I overtook my team-mate to grab the lead, and then just defended to the end.

“I was always confident I’d be able to make up the places on the last lap like that – I didn’t know how I was going to do it or where I was going to do it, but I just knew I was going to do it! On the run to the flag I didn’t know where anyone else around me actually was, so I just kept my head down and pushed for the line and hoped I would cross it first, which I did. I was really pleased and just celebrated like mad when I got back to the pits and up on the podium! It was my first national win in nearly two months and I just thought, ‘I’m back!’”

With 18 karts circulating virtually as one and trading places into practically every corner,any one of the racers could have won,, But it was Tom who timed his attack to absolute perfection to clinch that all important victory.

Having added another 100 points to his tally and with his chief competitor for the laurels down in eighth, the result moved the Cowbridge High School pupil back to the top of the table.

After winning Sunday’s first heat by two hundredths of a second and taking a solid sixth in a ‘waterlogged’ second heat in which he admitted ‘it wasn’t just wet, it was like a monsoon’, from third on the grid for the final, Tom had high hopes of making it cause for a double celebration having proven himself to be equally rapid come rain or shine. Even just a top ten finish would have been enough to keep him at the head of the standings, but as he reflected, ‘it wasn’t meant to be’.

A knock at the rear from a rival on only the opening lap of the race was enough to dislodge him and put Tom into retirement, leaving him 15 points adrift in the championship, albeit still comfortably in second place and determined to fight back next time out at Three Sisters.

pics: Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net

Harvey closes in on British Championship

Having proven that he was back on the pace in the recent Kartmasters meeting, Tom Harvey drove the point home in the fifth round of the Super 1 Series at Glan Y Gors, as he closed in on the British Championship crown.

Having comparatively struggled the last time he had visited Glan Y Gors in North Tom returned a month later bidding to atone for that, and to extend his Super 1 lead over his two chief rivals for glory, Lando Norris and Max Vaughan.

“Kartmasters was a real boost, because I knew after that I was back on it,” enthused the Bonvilston speed demon of his runner-up finish in what is widely-regarded as the toughest and most prestigious event on the UK karting calendar. “I felt quite confident because I knew we had the pace, whereas the previous time at Glan Y Gors we hadn’t. I really feel like I can push the kart now, and I really enjoy the circuit – it’s exciting, tight-and-twisty and just everything a racing driver loves!”

Quick in the wet as the heavens opened in time for qualifying, Tom placed a competitive seventh amongst the 32-strong MSA Cadet class field – the indisputable crème de la crème of young homegrown talent at that level – to begin both of his heat races from the third row of the grid in P5.

“I was really pleased with that, because this year I haven’t had that many good qualifying sessions,” the 12-year-old candidly confessed. “I’m a much better racer than qualifier, because I can always come through the pack well. Qualifying is only about being a one-hit wonder, whereas in racing you’ve got to be consistent and keep putting the lap times in to get to the front.

“Both heats were incredibly close, exciting races. In the first one, five of us went over the finish line absolutely together, with three of us on the track and two on the grass! There was nothing to choose between any of us, and we all really enjoyed it and said to each other afterwards ‘what an amazing race, boys!’

“In the second heat I was leading, but then coming round a corner I got nudged into a full 360° spin. I just kept it flat-out and went straight round, and in the end it only cost me two seconds. If I had lifted off it would probably have taken me longer to get back, but thankfully I was able to still rejoin in fifth because there was a big gap before the next group of karts.”

Fourth and sixth at the chequered flag Tom was just 0.1s and 0.36s of the leader he began the opening final from seventh.

“It was a good race, and well fought-out,” reflected the Cowbridge High School pupil. “It was very close again, and the last corner decided it. Max Vaughan made a really late lunge up my inside; as he is my main threat for the championship I really didn’t want him to beat me, so I held him out wide on the exit and Philip Rawson got the cut-back on both of us to win, which he deserved after an outstanding drive. The top four at the chequered flag were all rookies, and second place suited me just fine.

“In the second final, I initially dropped down to 13th with a terrible start as everyone went up the inside of me and I couldn’t get across – the drivers on the inside did a great job of keeping me on the outside – but within six laps I had fought my way up to third. I then made my way into the lead and was able to pull out a little gap, but the others just towed each other back up to me again on the straight.

“That was really annoying, because I had worked really hard to build a gap in the twisty infield section, but the tow is worth a lot at Glan Y Gors. The last lap then basically turned into a bun fight, and coming down the hill someone nudged me a bit wide again and a few of them got past me, but overall it was another great race and I was still happy with the result.”

With just cause, as fifth place – again, a mere six tenths shy of the top spot – enabled Tom to stretch out his advantage in the title chase from 36 points to 45. With mission accomplished – “my main goal had been to keep my two nearest challengers behind me, which I did,” he explains – the Fusion Motorsports driver is now bidding to maintain his upward momentum to reclaim the championship lead in fellow national series Formula Kart Stars at Genk in Belgium this weekend,

pics : Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net

Harvey back on-song with battling charge to runner-up spoils in blue riband Kartmasters event

Tom Harvey proved that he is back and back with a bang with a stirring charge to the runner-up spoils in the annual Kartmasters outing at PF International, barely a gnat’s whisker shy of victory.

Unbeatable on the national scene with an incredible run of six MSA Cadet class triumphs in swift succession in the Super 1 Series and Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship earlier this year, Tom’s form suddenly came to a very unexpected halt at Glan Y Gors in North Wales a month ago, since when the 12-year-old has been inexplicably and worryingly struggling for speed.

“I’d had a drought of winning and being quick, which we finally figured out had been down to a bad chassis, because when we put a new one down it seemed to cure the problem and work really well,” he explained. “That meant I felt confident going into Kartmasters, but on the first practice day we were really slow – virtually a second off the pace – and didn’t know why. Then on Friday, just before timed qualifying we realised the kart was bent, so we had to quickly change chassis again...”

With traffic scarcely aiding his cause as he scrambled to set a decent lap time, 12th place out of the 30 competitors represented unaccustomed territory, and meant he would begin both of his heat races at the Lincolnshire circuit from the middle of the pack and unfavourable side of the starting grid.

“The outside is a really hard place to be when drivers on the inside just push each other through,” he acknowledged. “Everybody tries to slot across to the inside, which squeezes the outside line out. You just need to be aggressive to make sure you get in. In the first heat I was pushed back to 13th at the start but I was able to slot in at the first hairpin, and by sticking to the white line on the inside I gained loads of places and managed to get up to third!

“Unfortunately, we then had carburettor issues which caused the engine to keep cutting out down the straights. That made it a very difficult race, and I had to just try to hang on and drive as best as I could. If you’ve got a loss of power, you have to keep your speed up through the corners to try to compensate, and there’s more emphasis on being able to defend well. On the last lap I just clung to the inside line as tight as I could because I knew more drivers were catching me. That paid off, as whilst they could power past me in a straight line, they couldn’t get me in the corners.

“At the start of the second heat I nailed it around the outside of the first corner and braked as late as I could, which proves you can do it on either side – you’ve just got to be brave and keep your foot down, and then brake as late as possible into the hairpin so you don’t get hit from behind, because the risk in being on the outside is that if somebody gives you a little tap it can send you flying.”

A compromised ninth in heat one and seventh in heat two earned Tom sixth on the grid for the following day’s pre-final, but a ‘terrible’ start – as the Fusion Motorsports driver found himself unable to get across and caught in the middle, consequently falling out of the top ten – left him just eighth at the chequered flag. However another problem reared it’s head...

“I woke up on Sunday morning with a really bad stomach, and when we got to the track I threw up,” Tom revealed. “I felt really ill, but I was still determined to race – that wasn’t going to stop me – and the pain eased when I was out on the circuit, because the adrenaline just pumps you up so much.

“After a bit of a rough start to the grand final, I followed T-J Nelson and kept pushing him to the front. When his kart gripped up, I passed him to take the lead, and I had four other karts right behind me for several laps – but Connor Jupp then made a huge lunge on me and forced me back to sixth, so I had to work my way through all over again.

“Going into the last lap I was third. Jupp forced his way past James Kellett ahead and I went with him, and I then went up the inside of Connor into the second hairpin, but he drifted out onto the rumble strip which gave him a better run down the straight. He then turned in on me, which meant I had to slow down and lost my momentum, and there just wasn’t quite enough time left to have another go.”

Crossing the line 0.07secs adrift of the top spot, in a truly thrilling encounter in which any one of the top five could arguably have prevailed.

Making a point of thanking Soixante Racing, Fusion Motorsports, his mum and dad and THR Racing Graphics for all of their support, the Vale of Glamorgan driver’s front-running performance in what was beyond doubt the toughest meeting of the year proved that he is back on-song, and ahead of Super 1’s visit to Glan Y Gors this coming weekend, his optimism is palpable. Last time he raced at GYG, things went far from according to-plan – something he is eager to avenge upon his return.

“I was disappointed, because ultimately there is really only one prize – the ‘GP’ Plate – but at the end of the day I’ve got bigger things to focus on, namely the two British Championships, which mean a lot to me,” Tom concluded of his Kartmasters weekend. “I’m leading Super 1 by 36 points and am just five points off the lead in FKS.

“The engine and chassis are both back up-to-scratch, so hopefully at Glan Y Gors I can make it another double celebration. There are a lot of strong drivers out there, but I’m really confident and I think I’ve got a good chance. I’m aiming for the top step of the podium this time – because I want to be up there spraying that champagne again!”

pics : Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net

Unbeatable Harvey stretches his legs with third double in swift succession

Not satisfied with having won his previous four British finals back-to-back, highly-rated South Wales kart pilot Tom Harvey has now gone and made it six-from-six in the latest round of the 2010 Super 1 Series at Rowrah in Cumbria to eke out an advantage in the title standings that could prove significant indeed come season’s end.

Having triumphed at Rowrah two months earlier in fellow national championship Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Tom returned to the Cumbrian circuit as Super 1 championship leader, and optimistic of maintaining his run of form this year.

“We were aiming to remain consistent and keep on bagging the points – a couple of top five finishes was the target,” the Bonvilston-based speed demon revealed. “I was feeling confident, because we had established a good set-up for Rowrah in FKS and I was quick in practice. I enjoy the track; it’s really technical and undulating – just turn-after-turn-after-turn. That makes it really demanding, and definitely a drivers’ circuit.”

With consistency very much a hallmark of Tom’s campaign to-date – having finished up on the podium in five of the six Super 1 finals prior to Rowrah, second place in qualifying was an excellent start.

Less than a tenth shy of pole position amongst the MSA British Cadet class field the session would mark the only time all weekend that Tom did not top the timesheets, and equalled the 12-year-old’s best qualifying spot of the year thus far. Vctory in both of his heat races followed soon afterwards.

“They were both very close, but the first one was a bit more stressful, with seven karts all in a train and the order chopping-and-changing every lap,” he recounted. “I hit the front at the perfect time coming onto the last lap, and then just left the others squabbling behind me which allowed me to pull out a bit of a gap.”

That earned Tom pole for the first of the two all-important finals, and having reached the top step of the rostrum in recent outings at Nutts Corner and Whilton Mill from considerably further back – ‘all you can do is keep your head down...if you can see the front, you can win,’ he reasons – hopes were undoubtedly high.

“I was feeling quite nervous going into the finals,” confessed the Cowbridge High School pupil. “In the first one there was a three-kart breakaway with myself, my team-mate Nathan Aston and Ross Gunn. We fought for the lead all the way through, and on the last lap Nathan got me into the first hairpin. I got him back again at the second hairpin and then he and Ross started battling amongst themselves. That gave me a bit of breathing space and I was able to win, which felt really good.

“That left me even more optimistic for the second final, which developed into a two-horse race. I pulled out a little bit of a lead, but then coming onto the last lap I caught a backmarker right on the racing line. That slowed me down and let the driver behind catch me up, which meant I had to defend my heart out all the way to the chequered flag. I was always confident of being able to hold him off, though, because I know how to defend well at Rowrah...”

A magnificent double, the result has seen Tom extend his margin atop the chase for the coveted crown from eight points going into the weekend to 36 now. Undefeated on the national scene since late April, the Vale of Glamorgan driver has momentum on his side .

“It felt really, really good, like I’m right on top of my form,” he enthused in conclusion as he looked back on his Cumbrian charge. “Glan Y Gors is next in both Super 1 and FKS, and that’s another good drivers’ track so it should suit me really well. Let’s keep this winning run going!”

Harvey on a roll after taking fourth successive National win

Tom Harvey has proven his ability to fight his way from the wrong end of the grid to the top step of the podium in recent karting outings, and the third round of 2010 in the national Super 1 Series at Nutts Corner was no exception, as the South Wales kart pilot overcame tyre woes in qualifying to storm to a double victory.

Fresh off the back of a dominant double triumph in Formula Kart Stars (FKS) a fortnight previously, Tom arrived in Ireland having only discovered the Co. Antrim circuit for the first time several weeks earlier – but a second-place finish in a club meeting was a timely confidence boost.

“It’s a really flowing and exciting circuit,” revealed the 12-year-old Cowbridge High School pupil. “You don’t get a break at all, which is what I like most about it – it’s a real drivers’ track. The kerbs are massive, too, and the only way you can be quick is by riding them. That was pretty difficult to get right, particularly as you usually have to be really smooth to go fast in Cadets. It was all about just trying to stay consistent and keep good lines.”

Quickest in practice amongst MSA Cadet class field, a bad batch of tyres during the wet qualifying session the following day would leave Tom an unaccustomed 19th, battling against a dire lack of grip.

Worse still, having superbly risen from 13th to fifth in his opening heat race, a tap from a rival subsequently sent him down the order again to where he had started, meaning he needed a strong finish in his second heat on Sunday morning.

“We were just praying for it to be dry – I was doing an anti-rain dance!” he quipped. “I was so happy when I woke up on Sunday and it was dry. In heat two I got an amazing start up to fifth, and then I just worked my way through into the lead and hung onto it to the end.

“I was really pleased with that, because Nutts isn’t a track where you can overtake at every corner; you have to be really precise when you try to pass someone, or else you end up slowing your exit down. It was really important for me to get a good result in heat two to get a decent grid position for the finals – otherwise I’d probably have been a long way back.

“I began the first final 11th and made up nine places at the start to move into second, and then I pushed the leader all the way round to make it a two-horse race rather than have eight or nine of us all battling over it. Midway through, his kart began to grip-up and I got past and was able to rapidly pull out a gap.

“I didn’t feel under too much pressure after that and was always confident of staying in front, and it was really good to win – especially having come from 11th on the grid. I think I’m one of the best overtakers out there, and I like surprising other drivers by coming through the field from down the order and then pouncing when they least expect it!

“The second final was a bit more difficult and more of a dogfight. I was starting from the front this time, but the top seven just kept swapping places during the race – if you missed a braking-point the rest would be gone, so I had to be really precise. I did break away for a couple of laps, but then the others caught me back up again by working together.

“Three-quarters of the way through I made my move for the lead and then pushed absolutely to the limit, really on the ragged edge. I managed to break the tow and after that didn’t really have to worry too much – I was almost chilling! I pulled away quite a bit on the penultimate lap, and then I just stayed cool and maintained that gap on the last lap.”

It was a great performance and an incredible turnaround from how things had looked post-qualifying, and means that Tom remains unbeaten in the last four national finals, and now leads both British Championships, by eight points in Super 1 and 18 in FKS.

Tom is clearly on a roll, “It felt so good to get the double victory again,” the Fusion Motorsports star enthused in conclusion. “I was really, really happy with that, and afterwards we celebrated a bit but now we’re already looking ahead to the next one. If somebody had told me back at the start of the year that I would be leading both British Championships now I would have been speechless, just stunned – but the goal is to keep it up.

“At the end of the season I want to be British Champion. I’m confident, but I know anything can happen so I’ve just got to keep my head down and keep on pushing. I want to carry on banking some good points because it’s all about consistency – and hopefully I can be consistently winning!”

Harvey storms into British Championship lead

Tom Harvey put himself firmly in the driving seat for 2010 British Championship glory in the MSA Cadet class of Formula Kart Stars (FKS) at Whilton Mill, with an inspired performance that saw him take a double victory in the second meeting of the season – in one of the races, having to come from all the way down in 17th on the grid in order to do so.

Tom arrived at Whilton sitting second in the title chase – 12 markers adrift of the leader – and with a fine previous record around the demanding Northants circuit, having achieved there seven months previously his breakthrough national triumph.

“It’s definitely a track I enjoy,” enthused the Bonvilston ace, “and I’ve got happy memories there. My win last year gave me a lot of confidence, because it made me realise that I could do it and I knew how to do it. I’m a stronger driver now, and in particular I’m a lot better at coming through the traffic. Last year, if I started at the front I could stay at the front, but if I started towards the back I wasn’t able to come through as well.”

Having progressed in leaps and bounds over the last 12 months, the results are now coming thick-and-fast for South Wales’ driver. Up against some 49 rivals, grip and engine woes during qualifying on Saturday resulted in unaccustomed territory with eighth place in his group and 12th and 11th on the grid respectively for his two heat races, but with the issues rectified by then, Tom would make amends.

A second place in his first heat was snatched from his grasp on the very last lap when he found himself knocked out of contention. Understandably frustrated, the 12-year-old nevertheless maturely remained positive, confident he had the pace – and he rebounded in some style in heat two, using his head and picking his rivals off on occasion two-at-a-time to take an important win that secured him 17th on the grid for the all-important final, when a lesser result might well have consigned him to needing to battle his way through the dreaded second-chance ‘B’ final.

“I always believed I could win,” Tom insisted of the final, belying cynics who had predicted that he was just too far back to do any real damage. “I only wondered if I would be able to get through the pack quickly enough before the leaders pulled away – but I got a good start and then just kept on pushing and pushing and pushing to get to the front; by lap eight I was already into the top four, and because there was a lot of battling, on the penultimate lap I was able to take the lead.

“On the last lap there were six other drivers right behind me, but they then started to scrap amongst themselves. I just stuck to my line, and the pressure actually wasn’t too bad because I knew it was my team-mate next up and that he wouldn’t do anything silly, so I just had to concentrate on fending him off really. It was still a little nerve-wracking admittedly, because with that many karts right behind you in Cadets, sometimes if one of them goes past they all will.

“Going into the last corner I had a reasonable gap and thought I was safe, but perhaps I relaxed a bit too much, because my team-mate caught me up going towards the line – I hadn’t realised he was quite so close! He pulled alongside me like a rocket – when the chequered flag came out you could barely even have put a needle between us. Neither of us knew who had won to begin with...

“When I was told the result I just felt so happy and relieved, because I had really wanted to win! Whilton Mill is one of my favourite tracks, and it meant a lot to me to be able to come through from 17th to first there – that made it quite a special result. I would definitely rate it as one of my best wins, because I had to come from such a long way back and work so hard for it. It’s certainly one I will remember.”

It was a good performance, and one that Tom would go on to replicate the following day – albeit without having to recover from quite such a disadvantage this time. After qualifying third in his group, he found himself out-of-luck in his opening heat – gutsily fighting back from an early setback to intelligently and opportunistically reclaim his starting position of fifth into the very last corner – and then prevailed in a fraught seven-way ‘dogfight’ in heat two to seal P3 on the grid for the final.

“In the first heat I was just unlucky,” he explained. “At the top of the hill there was a tangle ahead of me and I got hit from behind, which sent me across the grass. That dropped me down to 11th and left me with a lot of work to do – but I caught back up by the end. I got a couple more places on the last lap when the drivers ahead started squabbling amongst themselves.

“In the final I made a really good start to take second into the first corner and then take the lead, and after that it was just a real battle for the whole race. We all kept swapping places, and on the penultimate lap I was back in the lead with Philip Rawson behind me. He passed me at the top of the hill, but I wanted to be ahead going into the last lap so I got him straight back again under braking for the next corner.

“At the start of the last lap I had an eight-kart train behind me, but I just kept my cool and made sure I was completely accurate and didn’t leave even an inch of space on the inside anywhere for someone to attack me. Philip tried to pass me at the hairpin, but he went out wide and I kept tight to the inside to make sure of blocking the exit. I then braked a touch early into the next corner, which forced him to back off – and that gave me enough of a gap not to need to defend around the last corner.”

Tom left Northamptonshire with a commanding 18-point advantage atop the chase for the coveted crown, and a full 48-point margin over third place. With three of the first four FKS British Championship rounds of 2010 to his credit, the Vale of Glamorgan speed demon is just what he admits he could scarcely have believed at the same stage last year.

“It felt brilliant to do the double,” he enthused in conclusion, as he prepares to turn his attentions towards the next stop on the FKS calendar at Glan Y Gors in North Wales, a ‘home’ outing of sorts. “I’d never done that in a national meeting before, so it was just a perfect weekend!

“The sun’s shining right now, and hopefully it will be at GYG too. That’s another good track; in the dry it’s a really technical drivers’ circuit, and in the wet it’s even more challenging. We need to get everything right on the day again, but if we can do that I’m confident I’ll be strong there too. We just need to keep on working hard, keep consistent – and keep the results coming!”

‘Whilton Wizard’ strikes again as outstanding Harvey storms into British Championship lead

FKS is the same series as first set a certain Lewis Hamilton on the fast track to global superstardom, and what’s more now boasts the prestigious official backing of both the youngest-ever F1 World Champion and the sport’s highly-influential commercial rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone. Tom arrived at Whilton sitting second in the title chase – 12 markers adrift of the leader – and with a fine previous record around the demanding Northants circuit, having achieved there seven months previously his breakthrough national triumph.

Having progressed in leaps and bounds over the last 12 months, the results are now coming thick-and-fast for South Wales’ leading karting star. Up against some 49 rivals – the very crème de la crème of young British talent at Cadet level – grip and engine woes during qualifying on Saturday resulted in unaccustomed territory with eighth place in his group and 12th and 11th on the grid respectively for his two heat races, but with the issues rectified by then, Tom would brilliantly make amends.

A deserved second place in his first heat was snatched cruelly from his grasp on the very last lap when he found himself assaulted from behind and knocked out of contention. Understandably frustrated, the 12-year-old nevertheless maturely remained positive, confident he had the pace – and he rebounded in some style in heat two, using his head and picking his rivals off on occasion two-at-a-time to take an important win that secured him 17th on the grid for the all-important final, when a lesser result might well have consigned him to needing to battle his way through the dreaded second-chance ‘B’ final.

It was, indeed, a magnificent performance, and one that Tom would go on to replicate the following day – albeit without having to recover from quite such a disadvantage this time. After qualifying third in his group, the Fusion Motorsport hotshot found himself out-of-luck in his opening heat – gutsily fighting back from an early setback to intelligently and opportunistically reclaim his starting position of fifth into the very last corner – and then prevailed in a fraught seven-way ‘dogfight’ in heat two to seal P3 on the grid for the final.

What made Tom’s success all-the-more incredible was the fact that the eight drivers directly behind him at the chequered flag had all set better fastest lap times, meaning on pace alone he should have only actually finished ninth. Winning, though, is about more than just out-and-out raw speed, and indisputably, the Cowbridge High School pupil is now increasingly the complete package.

With the ‘Whilton Wizard’ having struck again, Tom left Northamptonshire with a commanding 18-point advantage atop the chase for the coveted crown, and a full 48-point margin over third place. With three of the first four FKS British Championship rounds of 2010 to his credit, the Vale of Glamorgan speed demon is just what he admits he could scarcely have believed at the same stage last year – a bona fide contender to follow in Lewis Hamilton’s illustrious wheeltracks.

Harvey proves he’s ‘one of the best out there’ – despite rival’s ill-intentions

Tom Harvey demonstrated his title credentials with a great display in the second round of the 2010 Super 1 karting series at Larkhall . and it was only a rival’s ill-intentions that prevented the South Wales driver from coming away again with a deservedly handsome lead in the chase for the crown.

Tom headed north of the border aiming to build upon the momentum he had established by way of a brace of runner-up spots in the Shenington curtain-raiser just over a month earlier – and whilst he had only discovered the demanding South Lanarkshire circuit a week beforehand in a club meeting, he returned with high aspirations.

“I had never been to Larkhall before the club meeting,” confessed the Bonvilston ace, “so it was all quite new to me. I finished second in the ‘clubbie’, though, which was a confidence boost ahead of Super 1. It’s quite a twisty track and you need to be on the limit for the whole lap, around every single corner, which makes it tough physically. It does really punish mistakes, but as long as you overtake in the right places it doesn’t hold you back. It’s just about getting to know where those places are...”

That was something that Tom made short work of indeed to lap right up at the sharp end of proceedings from the word ‘go’ – and he would maintain that pace all weekend amongst a 36-strong field. Quickest in his group in qualifying equated to third position overall due to slower track conditions, before he relentlessly pushed arch-rival Connor Jupp all the way to the chequered flag in heat one.

Crossing the line barely 0.04 seconds adrift in P2 and with a better fastest lap to his name out of the pair, he wisely refrained from risking any do-or-die moves for the win as he reasoned that ‘in the heats it’s all about scoring grid points towards the finals – and I knew I had the pace’. Heat two, however, would test the 12-year-old’s skills, as the opening of the heavens presented Tom with a sudden and unexpected journey into the unknown.

“I’d never driven there in the wet before,” he confessed, “and it was quite a challenge, because it becomes a completely different track. You have to stick to the inside line everywhere and slow the kart down earlier to get a better exit off the corners, whereas in the dry you try to go into them hard and then follow through. I finished third, and I was pretty pleased with that because I knew it meant I would be starting third in the first final and on the right side of the grid.”

Once more displaying maturity, Tom turned the opening final into a two-horse race by pushing himself and Jupp ever-further away from the pursuing pack until they had the entire length of the straight as a lead – a commanding margin of some seven or eight seconds. And then, through no fault of his own, it all went wrong...

“On the last lap I sold Connor a dummy going down the straight,” he recalled. “He went to the outside to cover and I cut up the inside into the corner and got past. It was a really good move, and I thought ‘Yes!’ After that I just concentrated on keeping it tight for the rest of the lap so he couldn’t come back at me – and then into the last corner he knocked me straight off, which spoiled it all. It was blatant. I had been on-course for my first-ever Super 1 win, and I was disappointed and angry with what happened at the end.”

It was indeed a sad conclusion to an awesome performance, as after holding onto his kart the first time he was hit, a subsequent second nudge was enough to send him off-track, leaving him to recover to a frustrated sixth place at the close – and doing well to retain his composure in circumstances that might have caused others to fall prey to the red mist.

The race stewards similarly took a dim view of Jupp’s actions by disqualifying him from the result and endorsing his licence with four points, whilst fastest lap for Tom only went to show what might have been – and he was determined to make amends in the second final later in the day, what he described as ‘more of a dogfight’.

“Everybody was going for it!” he admitted. “I led for about six laps and really tried to get my head down and go for it, but because I was on my own with no-one to push me along, the others were able to catch me up eventually by slip-streaming each other. You need someone to push away with, like I’d had in the first final.

“I tried to push T-J Nelson away later, but we didn’t have a big enough gap going into the last lap. I overtook him for the lead but he got me back again, so I then went wide into the next corner to try to get the cut-back on the exit, but I got overtaken by James Kellett so wound up third.”

A mere 0.27 seconds shy of victory in the end and a scant five hundredths behind Kellett, the bottom step of the rostrum at least represented decent points and means Tom will arrive at Nutts Corner in Ireland at the end of May three points adrift of the championship leader, one closer than he had been at the beginning of the Larkhall weekend.

“Larkhall proved to my competitors that I’m one of the best out there,” he concluded, “so all we’ve got to do is carry that on for the rest of the season and we will be up there winning races and contending for the championship. It’s looking good – and I’m approaching Nutts Corner with a winning attitude.”

Harvey gets ‘that winning feeling’ again for second national triumph

Tom Harvey confirmed he is one of the leading contenders for the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) title with a superb victory in the opening meeting at Rowrah in Cumbria.

Having come on in leaps and bounds over the past 12 months, Tom entered 2010 widely-regarded as one of the front-runners to lift the laurels on the national stage, and by qualifying quickest in his group and second overall amongst the 49 MSA Cadet class competitors.

“The aim was to get a top three finish to start the campaign off well,” he explained. “I had a lot of confidence having won the weekend before at Whilton Mill, and I was just hoping to be able to carry that pace over. Rowrah is one of my favourite circuits – it’s really twisty and difficult to get right – and I’ve had some very good results there, including a couple of victories in club meetings. Then after qualifying I thought, ‘Yes! I’m on it – and I’m in it to win it!’

“In the first heat, unfortunately, my kart didn’t come on until midway into the race, which allowed my team-mate Nathan Aston to get away early on. Then it started to spit with rain, which caused me to lose all grip. The drivers behind began to close on me due to that, but whilst I was mindful that they were there, I didn’t look round because that only slows you down and gives them an even greater incentive to catch you. I could hear their engines in the background and it got pretty close at times, but equally I was always confident of being able to hang onto second, which was a really good result in the circumstances.”

That it was, though Tom’s second heat efforts were somewhat hampered by further grip issues and what was at first thought to be an engine problem but would later transpire to be carburettor-related – costing the Bonvilston racer crucial time to his adversaries and leaving him down in fourth at the chequered flag having begun from pole position and pulled out a handy early advantage.

Those same difficulties would similarly stymie the 12-year-old’s efforts in the final later in the day, when after starting from fifth he coped admirably in conditions. Doing a tremendous job he finished in seventh place – barely 0.8s shy of the podium and under four seconds adrift of the race-winner.

“It was like getting blood from a stone,” Tom quipped. “I could see the engine was getting hotter all the time, and at one point it cut out altogether. I had to immediately get on the carburettor and richen the mixture up to ensure there was enough fuel flowing through to get it going again – all whilst trying to hold onto my position at the same time!”

With Tom’s dad and Fusion Motorsport team boss Dan Hazlewood working through the night to diagnose exactly what was wrong, a new carburettor was fitted for the next day, and following an early scare when the engine initially refused to fire up at all, the Cowbridge High School pupil was sent out into qualifying with nobody really knowing quite what to expect. That being the case, second position in his group and third overall was an excellent result.

“I woke up in the morning feeling really positive, and Dan said to me ‘today could be your day’,” Tom recalled. “He told me I was going to win because he could see it in my eyes. It’s great having him there – Dan’s the best! He’s not like some other team bosses; he relates better, spends more time with his drivers and it’s obvious he really cares. He’s amazing with me.”

Admitting that his kart was now ‘electric’, the Vale of Glamorgan youngster was determined to show what might have been the previous day. A brace of runner-up spots to local specialist Aston in his two heat races – with no more than eight hundredths of a second to choose between them in either outing, and setting identical fastest lap times to one another in heat two as the pair’s mutual respect shone through in their close but clean contest – earned Tom a front row grid slot for the all-important final.

“I got hung out to dry a bit at the start with being on the outside line,” he revealed. “That dropped me down to ninth, but I just focussed on working my way back up again after that. There were 15 drivers in the lead battle – the whole back straight was just one long train of Cadets all on each other’s bumpers – and it was anybody’s race to begin with, a real lottery! You had to concentrate on both attacking and defending at the same time, because in a situation like that if one driver goes past you they all will.

“I got up to second just behind Trevyn-Jay Nelson, and I knew he had been really quick all weekend. I got into his tow, and it was always my plan to push the two of us clear of the rest of the field. If you are at the front of a group of 15 karts towards the end of a race, you can only go backwards, so I just wanted the two of us to get a break, with no lunging or overtaking attempts until the last lap. If you do that, you only slow each other down – and that would have allowed the others to catch us again. It’s a lot easier to fight just one other driver than 15!

“I just sat on T-J’s bumper and pushed and pushed. By watching his lines I found out that his weakest point was into the bottom chicane, and on the last lap there I got past him and made sure there was no room for him to come back at me again. I was just focussing on keeping it tight everywhere and not giving him any opportunity to re-attack.

“I celebrated so much when I crossed the line, and coming into the pits afterwards I gave my dad the sign for number one! I had given him such a hard time the previous day for the problems we had, but when he got it right on Sunday it was incredible. There’s nothing better than that winning feeling, and it was amazing to get my second FKS win!”

Sitting a challenging second in the title chase heading next to Whilton Mill – scene of a brilliant breakthrough national victory in FKS last October and his ‘favourite track’ in the country.

pic Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net

Harvey warms up for British title bid with intelligent triumph against the odds

Tom Harvey didn’t give himself much hope of winning the final after carburettor and engine woes left him uncharacteristically well off the leading pace in his latest karting outing at Whilton Mill – but a dramatic turnaround, an intelligent drive and display of sheer grit and never-say-die determination earned the young South Wales driver a win against the odds.

Having finished an excellent second in the club championship at Whilton last year, and having stormed to his breakthrough national victory in the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) series at the Northants track, Tom boasts an good record around the challenging circuit and travelled there with high hopes of another strong result.

Carburettor problems that took a while to successfully diagnose and resolve, however, left the Bonvilston hotshot in distinctly unaccustomed territory during his first two heat races – at the wrong end of the 39-strong MSA Cadet class field.

“We first knew there was a problem when I was 1.2 seconds off the pace in the first heat,” he explained. “I’m never 1.2 seconds off round Whilton Mill! I know my way around there really well. It’s a hard circuit to drive, but I like that. It’s a drivers’ track with a really bumpy surface, which makes it very physical as well.”

A gutsy performance in heat one secured the 12-year-old a wholly unexpected seventh place from way down in 22nd on the starting grid, whilst in heat two a brilliant getaway from fifth briefly elevated Tom to second, before he found himself helplessly ‘dropping like a stone’ to an eventual and massively frustrating 12th at the chequered flag.

“I got a good opening lap in the first heat,” he recounted. “I can get my tyres warmed up a lot quicker I think than most drivers out there, and that gained me ten places in just one lap. A few other drivers in front of me then crashed out, and I overtook one more on the last lap too. We were way off the pace, but I was very pleased with the way I drove.”

Happily, a new engine and carburettor and tweaked set-up for heat three suddenly brought the Fusion Motorsport ace right back into contention, and though he was sent out on a wing and a prayer with no certainty that the changes would produce the required effect, fastest lap proved that a corner had indeed been turned. Enthusing that his kart was ‘electric’, Tom produced a good pace to claim tenth position.

With it he sealed a fifth row starting spot for the all-important final, where following some encouraging early progress, he went on to channel all of his efforts into hunting down the top six who had broken away from the chasing pack. Fired-up and with his head down, his charge saw him inexorably reduce the gap until he was a part of the leading scrap himself. And then, rather than rashly throwing caution to the wind by attempting to immediately fight his way through, Tom maturely sized up where each of his rivals’ weaknesses were to know where to try and attack – before impressively picking them off one-by-one...

“My pace in the third heat put me in good spirits for the final,” he recounted. “I said to my dad ‘I can win this now!’ When I have good pace around Whilton, there’s no stopping me! I’ve raced there since I was very young and have watched a lot of top drivers in action and learned from them – so I know every last lap move there is now!

“In the closing stages there were six of us in the leading pack including my team-mate Nathan Aston, who came through really well from seventh to third. It was a huge battle and there was a ridiculous amount of passing going on between us – it was classic fast, frantic and furious Cadet action! Connor Jupp got past Ross Gunn into the lead on the penultimate lap and began to pull away, and on the last lap the lead must have changed four or five times!

“I pushed Jordan Gilbertson past Ross and we caught Connor. I pushed Jordan past him too, and with just two corners to go I passed Gilbertson before jumping on the brakes and then immediately getting on the throttle again to back up the drivers behind me and give me some breathing space. I went into the last corner and didn’t even need to defend. When I looked back I just saw four karts going into it together all fighting over second...”

Tom, though, was already gone, and his victorious margin of just over six tenths of a second was greater than the literal blink-of-an-eye that blanketed second through to fifth as they flashed across the line behind him.

Next there is Rowrah in Cumbria, where Tom makes it clear that he will be bidding to atone for the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the top step on the podium in the curtain-raiser for fellow national series Super 1 at Shenington last month.

“I’ve got full confidence going there,” he affirmed. “Rowrah is a circuit I’ve been to many times, and I’ve won there before. It’s one the most technical tracks in the country I would say, and I love driving there! It felt great going across the finish line at Whilton – like I was back, and back with a vengeance! This is the best time to win with the British Championship coming up, and my rivals all know I’m on it now! I’ll be aiming to repeat this result in FKS – in fact, I want two wins!”

pics Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net

Harvey lives up to pre-season billing with runner-up laurels in national curtain-raiser

Having come on in leaps and bounds throughout 2009, young South Wales karting driver Tom Harvey has been tipped as a challenger for the British title in 2010 in the MSA Cadet Class. In the opening round of the Super 1 Series at Shenington he didn’t do his bid any harm.

Second spot out of the 39 entrants in qualifying – a scant three hundredths shy of pole position and leading Super 1 rookie – would set the tone for what would turn out to be an excellent weekend.

“I was aiming to finish in the top three to bag some decent points,” the Bonvilston speed demon recounted of his objective for the meeting. “I was inside the top three during practice, so I was really happy with that – and I was confident of being able to carry that pace through into qualifying. Pole would have been just one more jump in the seat – if I had got my head down for just three hundredths more I would have had it – but there was no denying I was pleased with second.

“Cadets for me is the toughest class out there – there are loads of good drivers, and it’s going to be a dogfight all the way to the end this year. I think there are as many as seven drivers who could be in contention for the title.”

If that is so, then Tom is probably one of them, and a victory, second place and two fastest laps from the frantic heat races earned the 12-year-old second on the grid again for the pre-final.

“The heats were ridiculously close,” he admitted, “but I thrive on that type of racing. Two of us just pushed away at the front, and then it all came down to the last lap both times. The last lap is crucial – you’ve got to think tactically all the way through the race and try to spot where your rival’s weaknesses are so that you know where to try to attack and hopefully overtake them.

“The pre-final was a good race. I pushed Lando Norris away to begin with, but then Max Vaughan, Jordan Gilbertson and Connor Jupp worked together to catch us up. Max and I moved to the front, and then I latched onto his rear bumper and pushed him away. We had the extra pace to break clear, and I had kept my tyres cool by following Lando so closely, so that when I needed them they were ready.”

In another incredibly close finish, a single hundredth of a second separated the pair at the chequered as Vaughan just pipped Tom to the top spot. Beginning the grand final once again second, the Cowbridge High School pupil shunned any notions that he was on the unfavourable side of the starting grid and calmly and maturely focussed on the job in-hand.

“I didn’t mind which side of the grid I was on to be honest,” he explained, “because at Shenington you have a choice between hanging on around the outside to have the inside line for the next corner or trying to slot in on the inside immediately. I managed to keep second at the start, and then Max and I just pushed away again at the front.

“My aim was always to make it a two-horse race, because we had proved in the pre-final that we had the pace to do that. Max’s engine got hot halfway through which allowed some of the others to catch us a bit, but he managed to sort the jet out and after that we just pushed harder and harder and went even quicker and quicker – we were flying.

“The last couple of laps were really hard; I was constantly thinking ‘Where am I going to get him? Where is his weak spot?’ It all came down to the last lap again in the end, and I managed to pass him into the chicane – but he then found some room that I didn’t even think was there into the last corner and got up the inside of me to win.”

Nonetheless taking the runner-up spoils at the end of his maiden outing in Super 1, and the rookie trophy to accompany that for second place was just reward for Tom’s brilliant drive and for which he earned a hearty cheer up on the podium afterwards.

“If someone had told me coming into the weekend that I would leave again with two second places, I would never have believed them in a million years,” he enthused in conclusion. “I’m over the moon, and I’d like to thank my mum and dad – who is also my mechanic – my engine-builder Leon from Soixante and Dan Hazlewood who runs Fusion. They’ve all helped to give me the confidence I need.

“I’d also like to thank John Hoyle for organising the championship, and all the people who help to run Super 1 and make such a great job of it. The plan now is to keep on bagging points all the way through – and then see what happens in the last round.”

pics : Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net

Harvey ready for national challenge as the pieces fall into place

Tom Harvey languished uncharacteristically off the pace at the beginning of 2010, only couldn’t work out quite what was amiss – but after a new chassis rectified his problems and proved the catalyst for an immediate return to form, the young South Wales karting hotshot is now revved up to do battle for British title glory.

Tom broke through at the end of 2009 as a genuine front-runner on the national scene with his maiden triumph in the penultimate round of Formula Kart Stars (FKS). That being so, the Bonvilston youngster headed into 2010 widely regarded as a leading contender for the MSA Cadet class laurels – but initially, things went far from according to plan.

“We were slow and we didn’t know why,” he confessed. “Nothing made sense. I could just feel a lack of power. We eventually ordered a new chassis off Zip, though, and all-of-a-sudden everything lit up and it all just clicked. I could actually feel the power off the corners again. The other one didn’t have any release off the corners, whereas this one is like a rocket!

“That made a huge difference and has brought me on a lot. I put it on pole for the final in my first meeting on it and I just feel a lot better driving it, because I know I’ve got the equipment underneath me now to be able to push even harder.”

That first meeting was at Three Sisters near Wigan, where Tom scythed through the field like the proverbial hot knife through butter in his three heats – going from seventh to second, 20th to second and 15th to first – to comfortably annex the top grid position for the final, where he would unfortunately find himself on the receiving end of a rival’s over-eagerness no sooner had the starting lights gone out, being unceremoniously punted out of the lead and out of the action only seconds into the race.

“These things happen, and at the end of the day it was luckily only a club meeting,” he philosophically and phlegmatically reflected, displaying impressive maturity for his 12 years. “The team manager Dan Hazlewood calmed me down, and afterwards I went out and watched the rest of the day’s racing. The important thing was that we were back on the pace – and what great timing, just two weeks before the start of the national championship!”

Tom carried that scintillating form onto PF International last weekend, where he claimed seventh in heat one – despite his carburettor going down mid-race – and a ‘ballistic’ second place in heat two, leaving him to begin the all-important final from sixth.

“I got a blistering start up to third, and after that I just kept pushing until I saw my opportunity,” the Cowbridge High School pupil recounted. “I got into the lead and opened up a bit of a gap, but then the kart majorly gripped up which allowed the others to catch me again.

“I started to go backwards and fell as low as fourth, but I managed to recover to third in the end. I knew we could have won that one if we’d only got the set-up a bit better; I think we just went a little too high on the tyre pressures. It was still all a good learning experience, though, and I’d never had a podium at PF before – I’ve broken my podium duck there now!”

That he has, and whilst downplaying the significance of having got the better of Connor Jupp, the driver tipped to be his chief threat this year – “It’s not all about beating him, it’s about beating the rest of the field too,” he insists, evincing that laudable maturity once more – Tom admits that his latest two outings have given him a timely injection of confidence, as has the arrival of reigning British KF1 Champion Robert Foster-Jones as a mentor.

“Rob was watching me all day at PF,” the Fusion Motorsport star revealed. “After the second heat he came into the awning and told us what we had been doing right or wrong. He is a very successful driver and it’s a huge boost to have him helping me. I think I can learn a lot from him, from his experience on the last laps of races and other little tricks he can teach me. He’s a great driver, so hopefully I can pick up a bit of that and go on to follow in his footsteps.

“You wouldn’t believe how much of a confidence boost the past few weeks have been. At the start of the year I was beginning to think it would be difficult to do anything special in 2010 at all because of all the problems we were having with the chassis, but these last two weekends have proved that I can actually do it again.”

One minor fly in the ointment is the fact that as he approaches the curtain-raiser in the national Super 1 Series at Shenington in Oxfordshire, the Vale of Glamorgan ace is currently recovering from whiplash, the product of being shunted heavily into the tyre wall during practice at PF. Adamant that he will be fighting fit, however, Tom’s adversaries might do well to remember that the last time he had required medical intervention before a race meeting, he went on to clinch his breakthrough national victory.

“I went to the doctor and he gave me some medication, and I should be good for the weekend,” he explained. “Shenington is one of my favourite circuits – it’s really fast and flowing, and I won twice in a row there late last year during my winning streak that built up to my first win in FKS. I just want to start off well and be up there at the beginning of the season.

“The goal is to end the weekend sitting inside the top two or three in the championship. It would be great to win, but consistency is the most important thing. Look at George Russell; he was in the lead of FKS at the start of last season by about 100 points, and he went on to win the championship, so that helped him a lot. Alex Gill was the same in Super 1. You need to be up there straightaway to be in with a chance.”

Wise words indeed – and as Jenson Button would doubtless confirm, early points can make all the difference in the final reckoning.

pics: Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net

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