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Callum Bowyer stunned the established regulars on his debut in his new karting class at Rowrah at the weekend – coming within a hair’s breadth of a top three finish amidst a fiercely-competitive pack and treacherous on-track conditions that made for a real baptism of fire.

The young Peterborough ace has enjoyed a magnificent 2008 campaign, triumphing in both national championships – Super 1 and BRDC Stars of Tomorrow, the latter being the series from which none other than recently-crowned Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton first sprang to prominence – as well as lifting the coveted annual ‘0’ Plate.

Now, having stepped up from Mini Max to the more powerful KF3 category over the winter months and making his first competitive appearance at Rowrah, it is clear that Callum has little intention of releasing his grip on the laurels.

“It’s one of the best tracks in the country in my opinion,” the 14-year-old enthused of the Lake District venue, “very demanding and undulating and a real drivers’ circuit. I won in Super 1 there earlier this year and finished third in Stars in cadets, so I’ve always had really good results.

“I had only been out in the kart six times, though – and barely at all in the wet – and on the Friday it was greasy and miserable. It was hard to adjust to at first, but we went out and before long were eight tenths up the road from anyone else, and we maintained that advantage throughout the day.”

As the conditions deteriorated on the Saturday, however, the Gunthorpe teenager initially floundered a full two seconds shy of the leading pace, but by dint of hard work and a constructive approach with his new team JKH, he had reduced that gap to just two tenths by the close of the day – and was back in the hunt once again.

“In the wet you really need to rely on the tyres a lot more,” he explained, “but on the Sunday the conditions were similar to Friday’s, so we went back to the set-up we had used then and were really fast again.”

With most of the KF3 front-runners – including defending British Champion Jake Dennis – all in attendance in the 18-strong field, Callum began his two heat races from 12th and ninth positions respectively. Despite dropping back in the early stages both times, he fought back to seal a brace of highly respectable sixth places – and fifth on the grid for the all-important final.

“The heats were quite hard,” he admitted. “Being mid-grid both times, it meant the drivers going through the first chicane in front – especially in the wet – were able to break away a bit, which divided the field into two groups, and I was left in the second of them both times. It was really satisfying to come back to sixth from there.

“In the final I got a slide on halfway through the first corner, which allowed Russell Danzey and Sam Blake to get by, and after that we couldn’t get the kart to come on quick enough. Over the last four or five laps I was able to come through a bit more and even caught third place, but I just didn’t have quite enough time to overtake him.

“That was a bit frustrating, but overall I was really pleased for my first time out – fourth was just brilliant. We hadn’t expected that at the beginning of the weekend; our aim had simply been to learn everything a bit more and if we got a result at the end of it, all the better.

“The main goal had been just to get used to who I’ll be battling next year really, and to the racing style in KF3 as well as of course the kart and team, but secretly I was hoping to get inside the top ten. I knew it would be tough and I thought I would be over the moon with that, so to finish in the top four was amazing. Everything just clicked and it was brilliant!”

Indeed, crossing the line side-by-side with third-placed Craig Mitchell, and with a fastest lap a scant eight hundredths off the quickest of the race was a superb performance, and a first trophy first time out was no less than Callum deserved. Still learning he may be, but as he now prepares to enjoy a well-deserved Christmas break before returning afresh in 2009, the Ken Stimpson School pupil has certainly given his rivals food for thought.

“The team is really good,” he concluded. “There aren’t many drivers in the JKH awning, which is a bit of an advantage as we get more time to discuss things and work closely with the team. I’m definitely getting to grips with the kart now, but there’s a new one coming out for 2009 which is a bit lighter and has slightly different brakes, so I’ll have to learn it all over again!”

Photo: Chris Walker