New class, new kart and new circuit – but Singleton keeps on winning!After clinching the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars Championship Junior Rotax class crown and ranking an outstanding third in the world in 2011, James Singleton has graduated this year to Senior Rotax, the highest level in UK karting – and has already established himself as a race-winner.
James first drove his new CRG chassis at PF International in December, but then had to wait almost a month to actually be able to race it, and he acknowledges that Senior Rotax is a ‘massive’ step-up. Be that as it may, in his earliest two outings at Whilton Mill and Shenington, he displayed tremendous promise and eye-catching raw pace – all of which would be concretised with interest as he returned to recently-redesigned Lincolnshire circuit PF.
“To begin with, I think my racecraft wasn’t really ready for Senior Rotax,” confessed the talented young North Wales speed demon, who has since settled in well indeed and is benefitting from continuity as he enters his sixth consecutive season with Coles Racing, reasoning that ‘having been there so long now, we’ve got a lot of trust in them and they’ve got a lot of trust in us’.
“Seniors are much more aggressive than Juniors, but the more I get used to that, the easier it’s becoming. You need to learn when and how to put your foot down with the different power valve, and whilst in Junior Rotax, the tyres tend to come on sooner, in Seniors, you need to push a lot harder – and have the confidence in the kart to be able to do that. We’re starting to get the hang of it now, though, and every weekend is getting better and better.”
After comfortably setting pole position in qualifying at PF – in a field comprising several fast and experienced second-year Senior Rotax contenders – James proceeded to win two of his three heat races, the first at a comparative canter and the second of them following an entertaining three-way scrap. Although a set-up change backfired and left him just fifth in heat three, that nonetheless secured the Gwynedd Forklifts-backed, Conwy-based hotshot second on the grid for the all-important final.
From there, James made a superb getaway to sweep brilliantly right the way around the outside and snatch the advantage into the first corner. He would remain in charge for the first 11 laps, under constant pressure from behind – allowing absolutely no margin for error and placing a premium on consistency – but capable of responding to his pursuer’s every attack with a new fastest lap of his own.
Although the highly-rated Penmaenmawr ace briefly surrendered the lead three laps from home, he ultimately reasserted his authority to reclaim it and went on to prevail in a fraught three-way fight over the closing stages to seal his breakthrough victory in the class back at the scene of his ‘debut’. Even more impressively still, James was one of only two Senior Rotax rookies in the field, and the two drivers he closely defeated to triumph were experienced second-year campaigners.
“It’s really encouraging that our pace has been there right from the start,” affirmed the Ysgol Aberconwy pupil, “and we’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of weeks. I’m enjoying Senior Rotax a lot.
“We were treating PF primarily as a testing opportunity and not really fussing too much about the end result. We certainly weren’t expecting to win – so we were over-the-moon when we did! We made a lot of improvements and learned a lot on the set-up front, too. This is a massive confidence boost going forward – and there’s definitely much more still to come.”
Meanwhile, in further evidence of his growing profile within the sport, James has been rated number seven in leading publication Motorsport News’ annual ‘Fast 50’ drivers to watch over the year ahead – one of just ten karters to be selected for the prestigious recognition.
Not only that, but he has also been inducted onto the MSA Academy, a scheme run by Britain’s motorsport governing body – another feather in his cap and a notable addition to his burgeoning CV. The 16-year-old has already attended his first MSA workshop at Silverstone’s state-of-the-art Porsche Performance Centre, and there will be additional training sessions with Academy coaches over the coming months as he seeks to draw upon their wealth of knowledge and expertise to develop his own career prospects.
“There are a lot of very experienced people there that I can learn from,” James mused. “They teach us not so much how to race, but how to present ourselves, how to deal with the media, how to focus mentally and maintain peak fitness levels throughout a race... I’m really looking forward to the rest of it now – I can’t wait!”
James is seeking sponsors to help support his burgeoning career; if you are interested in backing the new world number three, please contact his father Mark on 07795 297350 or at:
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To keep up with his latest career news and results, please visit: www.james-singleton.co.uk
Russell Atkins
Motorsport Journalist
(+44) 07725 223288
