October 2008
Harrogate Driver Eyes Title Push
Like Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, Harrogate kart racer Adam Parsley has a chance of title glory wiith just two races left before the Yorkshire championship comes to a thrilling close.
A strong performance at the October round Yorkshire’s only Motor Sport Association championship has given Harrogate kart racer Adam Parsley an outside chance of title glory – with just two meetings left before the season comes to a close.
The 14-year-old – supported by Yorkshire Water for the past two years - took the most points in his class at South Yorkshire’s Wombwell circuit on Sunday to climb to third overall in the series.
And, although he needs others in front of him to score poorly in November and December to give him a clear shot at victory, recent momentum has given Parsley a sense of optimism which proved so elusive earlier in the year.
Although there were flashes of promise, a string of mechanical failures and some bad luck dogged the youngster’s early progress in 2008.
But, after signing an additional sponsorship deal with leading engineering firm The Flow Group in June, some of the barriers were overcome and Parsley has enjoyed some more consistent results.
Last weekend’s meeting was the best yet in 2008, with Parsley storming through the field from 15th to sixth in his first eight-lap heat before claiming victory from fifth and seventh on the grid in his remaining two sprints.
The results were good enough for pole position in the 15-lap final which proved a thrilling but incident-packed race. Parsley held on to the lead for the opening laps, only dropping back to third after a slight error under extreme pressure took him wide and almost onto the grass at Wombwell’s daunting Turn 1.
However, he didn’t give up and harried and hounded for ten more laps finally crossing the line just 0.29 seconds behind the winner.
“To be honest, I was disappointed with third but the kart developed a vibration after I’d run the kerb on Lap 4 and I didn’t want to take too many risks and not finish at all,” said the Rossett School pupil. “However, I still had the pace to run at the front all weekend and, after such a tough start to the season, it feels great to finally start winning.
“Of course, I have The Flow Group and Yorkshire Water to thank for that because, without them, we wouldn’t have a lot of the things we need to race. But I also owe a lot to my team, S8 Racing, and I need to thank them for being patient and working with me to get through the problems earlier this year.”
Parsley’s next outing will be at the Fulbeck circuit in Lincolnshire at the end of the month, although he’s out of the running in the championship there after missing two rounds while away in Hong Kong over the summer.
“But I still need as much time as possible in the kart so it’s still worth competing,” said Parsley. “Every race at every circuit is a chance to learn a bit more so, even though I’m out of the running, it’s not a waste of time.”