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‘Out si der’ B ow yer g ives r iv al s f ood for t ho ug ht w it h be st S1 sh ow in g o f sea so n

Exciting Peterborough karting star Callum Bowyer enjoyed his best results of the year in his latest outing in the
national Super 1 Series at Larkhall in Scotland – grabbing his breakthrough victory at KF3 level despite being put
at something of an ‘outside’ disadvantage weekend-long.

In his maiden campaign in the fiercely-disputed KF3 category – after securing no fewer than three British crowns
in the Mini Max class in 2008 – Callum has invariably been bang on the leading pace, only to be struck by a
variety of misfortunes that have blunted his challenge.

In Formula Kart Stars at Genk in Belgium last month, the 15-year-old set pole position and led both finals, but
was forced to drop out of the first with an electrical issue and found himself disqualified from the second for
weighing in a scant 19g beneath the legal limit – thereby coming away with next-to-nothing at all to show for his
scintillating raw speed and determined effort. At Larkhall, once again, he was nip-and-tuck with experienced KF3
pace-setter and champion-elect Alex Albon throughout – only this time the meeting would have a happier
ending.

“Having not been there for two years – the last time was when I was in Mini Max in 2007, which didn’t go too
well, but we had won there in cadets the year before – we were just aiming to have a good, strong, consistent
weekend,” Callum related of his cross-border adventure. “It’s a track I definitely enjoy – really undulating and
demanding and unquestionably a drivers’ circuit, and one you never really forget.

“We showed good pace to begin with in practice, so we took our best Vortex engine out and put it to one side,
then put our old XDR engine in just to make me work harder and drive the track a lot harder. We got the kart set
up well, and when we got to within a couple of tenths of the fastest runners on the Saturday morning we put the
Vortex back in and were immediately right up there again. I think the others had forgotten about me and
believed I wasn’t that fast – so when we changed the engine back over it shocked a few people I think...

“I knew we had good pace after that, and that if we could put it all together we should go really well. I was
fastest in my group in qualifying, and Alex was the only one to go faster than me in the second session. Being
out in the second session is always an advantage, because there is generally a lot more rubber down on the
track by then – meaning we have effectively cleaned the track up for them! I was actually expecting the second
group to go quite a chunk faster than we had done, but they weren’t really that much quicker. I was really
pleased with second overall, and it matched my best qualifying position in Super 1 this year.”

Indeed, ending up a mere four hundredths shy of the top spot in the 31-stong field – composed of the very
crème de la crème of young British driving talent – proved that Callum’s cunning practice strategy had paid off
handsomely, in lulling his adversaries into a false sense of security, and then shattering their self-belief. The
result, however, left the Gunthorpe teenager on the unenviable outside line for the opening heat – at Larkhall,
not where anyone wants to be.

“I struggled at the start, as you tend to do at Larkhall when you are on the outside,” he recounted. “I dropped
back a bit which made things harder, but I managed to come through again – only by then Alex had just built up
too big a gap and I wasn’t able to close him down. I was matching him on times, which was good – there were
literally just hundredths between us – but because we were so even on pace, once a gap is pulled out it’s very
difficult to pull it back in again.

“I began the second heat from pole, and it’s a lot easier being on the inside at the start! I got away and then
everyone was squabbling behind me, which enabled me to establish a bit of a gap. Unfortunately I then ran a bit
wide on the exit of the last corner, and Roy Johnson in second caught me up and was really knocking on the
door. He overtook me, and I followed him round until there were just a couple of laps left and got him back
again. It was my first win in KF3, and that felt really good.”

Second on the grid for the pre-final may have been Callum’s best starting position of the season to-date, but it
again left him on the outside of the grid. After slipping down to fourth when the lights went out, he doggedly
clawed his way back through to second, but ‘by that time Alex had a gap again, and it didn’t really come down at
all because there was nothing between us in terms of lap time’. Similarly comfortably clear of third place at the
chequered flag, the fact that the top five finishers were separated by just three hundredths of a second in fastest
laps said it all – and for the grand final, he was, once more, P2 on the grid.

“It’s an extra weight on your shoulders being on the outside,” acknowledged the Chris Rogers-run speed demon,
“but you’ve just got to keep your head strong and focus on getting round the first corner cleanly. We actually
went faster still in the grand final, but I think everyone else just gained a bit more pace than we did.
“I was in third, but Roy had really good pace again and managed to just edge up on me and get past. I was then
catching Macaulay Walsh in the last two or three laps, but fourth was still good. We were second-quickest – just
four hundredths off the best lap time of the race and faster than Alex – but it’s all about just getting a lucky
break.

“The race was won in the first few laps really – Alex was starting on the inside line all weekend, so he never had
any trouble into the first corner, and by the time the rest of us had sorted ourselves out nobody was going to
catch him because we were all just so closely-matched. We were consistent from start-to-finish, though, took a
good bagful of points home with us – and overall it was a really good weekend.”

Indeed it was, and crossing the line just over two seconds adrift of victory and less than seven tenths in arrears
of Walsh made Callum the highest-placed competitor with a Vortex engine to-boot. Heading to Fulbeck in
Lincolnshire now for the 2009 Super 1 finale in mid-October, the Ken Stimpson School pupil has his sights set on
an eye-catching conclusion to his ‘rookie’ KF3 campaign.

“I haven’t been to Fulbeck for a while,” he revealed. “I think the last time was when I was nine, so I don’t
remember it very well, but I’m aiming for a good, solid weekend again to secure a good position in the
championship at the end of the year. We were seventh arriving at Larkhall and we’re fifth now, and to finish
inside the top five in my first season in KF3 – with the budget we’ve had and the bad luck we’ve suffered – I
think I’d be pretty pleased with that.”

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