Hamilton revisits his karting roots
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton has demonstrated his commitment to help nurture the next generation of young racing talent, after attending the launch of the 2009 Formula Kart Stars (FKS) championship on Wednesday at the PF International track in Lincolnshire.
The British driver won the championship (then known as McLaren-Mercedes Champions of the Future) back in 1996, and was thrilled to be able to meet this year’s young competitors at the event.
“It was fantastic for me to have the opportunity to catch-up with the latest crop of Formula Kart Stars,” he said. “It’s really cool to see how determined and competitive they are, I can remember being exactly the same! I enjoyed my time in the championship massively and, more importantly, learnt a huge amount.
“This is the real grass roots of the sport, and gives kids an opportunity to compete and develop as a driver, and also to get a full understanding of the dedication that is required. Hopefully I gave them some good advice - the most important of which is not to neglect their education in their drive to succeed in motorsport!”
After Hamilton's visit, series director Carolynn Hoy said: “Lewis is a patron of the championship and sponsors a special prize in our Mini Max class. He has always been supportive of the championship and has remained involved ever since he raced with us more than ten years ago.
“He is still very interested in what’s going on in the championship and I’m sure our competitors would be delighted to know that he actually does know who they are and what they’re doing. It was fantastic to have him there.”
The championship also boasts former Super Aguri racer Anthony Davidson, McLaren tester Gary Paffett and DTM driver Paul di Resta amongst its alumnae.
