Southside driver races to pole position

A YOUNG Foxrock racing driver is making a name for himself after taking the podium at a top British championship challenge.

Alex Hamilton (15) came in a superb second in the third round of the Super Ones British Championship series recently which marked a stunning success in his first season racing internationally.

The kart driver has been carving his name on trophies in national championships but this was a significant step up for the schoolboy racer.

Like many drivers his age, Alex started out racing at local level in the cadets class for the eight to 12-year-olds but in his case he made rapid progress and won the All Ireland plate, the Irish Open plate and the very tough Ulster Championships which took him many times up North.

At 12-years-of-age Alex moved up a class and continued his winning run only for two accidents that slowed his rapid progress.

He shrugged off a broken arm and collarbone to come back seriously in 2010 and when he came third in the Champions Cup in Barcelona and enjoyed a number of good finishes in the WSK Masters in Europe his support team knew that his career was back on track.

Then, in a tough sport, his last season proved one of the toughest for Alex as various equipment problems hampered progress. However, this season as Alex has moved into the senior classes he has come under the reigns of Millennium Motorsport who have many British champions behind them.

The Super One series is not for the faint hearted and is incredibly challenging but the recent meeting at Larkhall really saw Alex, as one of the youngest in the class, showing his potential.

A second and a fourth place in early heats confirmed his form only for a crash in the first final that damaged his chassis setting things back. Under normal circumstances having to start at the back of the grand final grid after early success would knock the incentive out of a lot of drivers but in this case Alex turned that into an opportunity.

The chassis damage could not be repaired in time but he soon adjusted and the determination was clear when lap after lap he picked the drivers off one by one.

As the race closed the team realised that a podium finish was very much a potential and in the end Alex scorched home in an incredible second place.

With this most success behind him it is clear that Alex is going to be worth watching out for this season. The bulk of the championship ahead this summer will be an important one for the boy who is now one of Ireland’s rising talents in kart racing.