Whitworth Community High School students progress in karting championships

Morgan Hudson, 15, from Rochdale has qualified for the British Kart Championships.

Tearing round the tarmac in a go-kart at speeds of up to 76mph, the Whitworth Community High School student competed in the Junior Rotax race at Three Sisters Circuit in Wigan – one of the North West’s most challenging outdoor race tracks.

Out of 75 competitors, he finished thirteenth.

Morgan, said: “I have been karting since I was four – then I would be driving at speeds of 30-40mph.

“I had a break for the last four years, so this was my first time back in a race, but I am now through to the British Kart Championships, which starts in the next few months, and takes place at races at circuits all over the country for the next year.”

His older brother Lewis Brown, 25, is the assistant team manager of Team SPR, which provides Morgan’s kart.

Morgan said: “The kart itself is around £4,500 and the engines cost £4,500 to £5,000. The team build everything and my dad, Richard, who also used to race, is a mechanic.

“We have 11 other drivers in the team and they come from all over the country. I have had some crashes, but never really hurt myself.

“In the race at Wigan, I did 76mph down the back straight. My kart goes about three times as fast as an indoor kart.

“As my older brother runs the team, I would like to become a mechanic and maybe one day run my own team.”

He also hopes to qualify to race in Valencia and Dubai in the summer.

 

 

Three other students at Whitworth also won through to compete for the school in the local heat of the British Schools’ Karting Championships.

The team of 14-year-olds Max Smith and Charlie Palliser and Josh Craggs, 15, competed at TeamSport Go-Karting in Trafford.

Five schools took part and the three drivers from Whitworth were put into different races after first completing 12 minutes of practice.

At speeds of up to 40mph, Max and Charlie finished their races in second place, while Josh was fourth meaning the school team came second overall.

Charlie said: “It was very good fun. We beat the competition and I was just a couple of tenths of a second off the winner.”

Max said: “It was a bit tense. We went down to the track before the race so that we could do some practice and get used to the circuit.”

Josh said: “I was in pole position at the start, but it was very competitive and there was a guy who was at the very back and he passed everyone on the grid and ended up first. I learnt that I need to defend more.”

In March, the team will compete in the local heat at Trafford, hoping to get through to the regional round and possibly the national final in Warrington in June.

The karting team from Whitworth benefited from money raised at a charity day in school which enabled a fund to be set up to support students to pay for fees for sporting competitions.

Morgan also attended the event in Trafford to support the school team in the competition.