Milo Manderson

“An amazing start to our Super One campaign in Junior Max for Milo. We have had to move from our usual #77 to #82 which was Milo’s granddad’s racing number and it has brought us some luck! 

“Milo only went and put it on pole in timed qualifying! We did not quite have the pace in the heats or final to trouble the front two, but a 4^th and a 3^rd left us with P3 for the final. Milo’s side of the grid got away poorly and he dropped to 6^th, only to fight back for P3.

“Milo drove his socks off and delivered some great results. One pole position, two third-place finishes, two seconds a DNF, Milo also drove from 16^th to 6^th in the Sunday final, leaving him P5 in the championship standings with not a mark on the bodywork all weekend! On to Rowrah at the end of the month for Rounds 3 and 4.�

“This weekend’s high-octane journey took the team to a classic track: Shenington Kart Racing Club circuit near Banbury.

“Saturday’s practice sessions ran trouble-free for both Milo and Jensen, and all looked promising for the last run of the day in Heat 1. In particular for Milo, as his motor proved to be in fine tune, posting fastest laps in the earlier sessions.

“Our youngest pilot, Jensen, was to start Heat 1 in pole position and with his well-controlled formation lap, a green light start was in the offing. Milo made a strong start, holding position going into the first turn and Jensen gained a two-kart lead out of the Cafe Complex and continued to pull away from the pack.

“The usual ducking and diving ensued until the heavens opened with only three laps remaining. All drivers showed Senna-esque skills, keeping their machines on the rails in truly monsoon conditions and on slick tyres too!

“Jensen fought hard but was eventually overtaken and now down into third, but he was not to be beaten and recovered second place in the tightest of race finishes. Milo also drove with exceptional finesse in the same treacherous conditions, gaining some nine places and finishing in 6^th position.”

“It was a double-header at Whilton Mill Circuit, meaning rounds 6 and 7 were on the same weekend.

“Friday was the official practice day for the preceding weekend of racing. Unfortunately, this resulted in a huge accident for Harry on a difficult, wet track. Harry injured his wrist and the team worked well into the evening to fix the kart.

Saturday – Round 6

“Struggling with the arm injury and the wet/drying conditions brought another disappointing qualification result, although somewhat expected. Harry finished 46^th out of the 51 Junior drivers. In Heat 1, a brave drive from Harry saw him rise from a starting position of 31^st up to 18^th by the chequered flag. More of the same in Heat 2, where again, he drove through the back half of the field from 31^st to 18^th again. The final was a disappointment as Harry’s wrist injury started to affect his ability to put consistent fast laps together, finally finishing in 33^rd place.”

“This was our first visit to Kimbolton in Junior Max, which was compromised by the cancellation of the official test day, meaning Harry only had two eight-minute sessions to familiarise himself with the Cambridgeshire circuit against 50 other Junior Max drivers.

“Qualification: After a season of problems in qualifying, finally, it all came together with Harry putting it in pole position!

“Heat 1: Leading off of pole, it was a tough first heat and the inexperience showed as Harry fought hard to finish 9^th.

“Heat 2: We had a better race in Heat 2. Rain affected the last few laps, resulting in a contact between multiple drivers as they battled to keep the slick tyre-shod karts on the wet track. Harry crossed the line in 5^th, only to receive a harsh penalty, placing him down into 21^st.

“Pre-Final: Decent Pre-Final, with Harry gaining 10 places (from 27^th up to 17^th), no penalties and finishing in 17^th.

“Final: It was an exciting final, battling for the top 10 positions and ending up in 13^th at the chequered flag.

“A weekend ruined by a harsh penalty in Heat 1, but we still sit 15^th in the British Championship and more importantly, are still leading the Rookie Championship.�

“The struggles in qualifying continued as they had done all season – we were only 0.3 seconds from pole position, but in the ultra-competitive championship, that translates into a 33^rd place in the 47-kart grid.

“We started heat 1 in 22^nd place, on a track that is very hard to overtake on, so could only make up four places to finish 18^th.

“Heat 2 was no better. We were struggling with tyre pressures and could only make up two places and finish 20^th.

“Very average results in the heats, but it did give us enough points to qualify directly into the pre-final in 27^th place, avoiding having to qualify through the repechage.

“The pre-final went much better than the heats; the overnight set-up changes paid off. Starting 27^th, we passed 14 karts to finish a respectable 13^th

“For the final, we started in 13^th and were involved in a race-long battle to get into the top 10, only to be knocked off the track by a competitor. Then the problems compounded by a nose cone penalty resulting in a five-second penalty pushing, us all the down to 25^th.

“A frustrating weekend, but we still sit 15^th in the British Championship and more importantly, are still leading the Rookie championship.�

“This was a new track for Harry: Larkhall in the west of Scotland, and it took a while to get used to the 1140-metre track.

“Qualifying was tough: 0.4 seconds off pole put Harry back in 35^th overall, meaning he would start the heat races in 18^th place.

“The heats were very lively affairs; ultra-competitive as the Junior Rotax Class always is. Harry made his way forward in both heats, getting faster with every lap as he familiarised himself with the new circuit, finishing both heats in a respectable 14^th and more importantly moving Harry straight through to the pre-final.

“Starting 24^th in the pre-final, Harry drove well, setting fastest laps during the race, crossing the finishing line in 17^th only to suffer a nose cone penalty adding five seconds to his overall time, thus pushing him down to 27^th.

“Starting the final from 27^th was always going to be difficult but with the confidence of finally feeling he was used to the circuit, Harry set numerous purple sectors fighting his way up to 13^th and with three laps to go, another top 10 finish looked to be on the cards.

“Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as contact with another driver ended up in a hard hit into the wall. It took nearly 30 seconds for Harry to pull the kart out from under the fence, determined to finish but sadly resulting in crossing the line in 33^rd.

“Harry now sits 20^th overall in the championship but importantly still leads the Rookie championship.

“Onto Round 3 at Warden Law on July 22^nd.�

Harry reports how testing went very well, with the teenage star securing easy top-10 finishes throughout the session.

Qualifying was a disappointment for the team, with Harry being held up from the pre-grid before even getting onto the track, then receiving contact from other drivers during the session meaning he eventually qualified 50^th out of 60 drivers.

Hannam started 25^th on the grid for heat 1, driving well to gain 15 places and get up to 10^th place, only for a bumper penalty to push him back down to 16^th by the end.

Starting in 25^th again for heat 2, a fantastic drive helped Hannam gain 20 places in 12 laps, securing him 5^th places by the end of the race.

The pre-final was a very messy affair, with Hannam starting 18^th and moving up through the field, only to get pushed off the track on the fourth lap and re-joining in 32^nd place. With some great driving, Harry climbed his way back up to 23^rd, only to eventually be pushed down to 27^th after a penalty.

Harry therefore started the final in 27^th. A stunning first lap saw him take 10 places, gaining another seven during the rest of the races to get the top-10 result that had been the goal all weekend. From a poor qualifying to an excellent final, it was a weekend of ups and downs for the team.

Hannam now sits 17^th in the British championship overall and leads the Rookie championship, ahead of the second round in Larkhall, Scotland in June.

As well as some Emirates-based campaigns ahead of him for 2022, Hannam is also set to compete in the Rotax British Karting Championship, with the first race lined up for 6-8 May at Grantham’s PF International karting circuit.

For this UK-based series, Hannam will be racing for Midlands-based Jack Dex Racing, using the team’s MS Kart ‘Blue Phoenix’ chassis and 91´«Ã½â€™ Green Compound karting pads.

Stay tuned for updates as Harry’s 2022 competitive campaign gets underway.