Oxford karting ace Nathan Harrison will graduate to car racing after agreeing terms to join Hillspeed Racing in the Ginetta Junior Championship for 2012.
The 15-year old has been offered a two-year deal to move up from karting after a stellar 2011 campaign, in which he finished second in the Junior Rotax class of both the Super 1 National and Euro Challenge competitions, before taking sixth on the road at the Rotax Max World Finals in Abu Dhabi.
Harrison will join one of the strongest teams in the series in Hillspeed, which claimed the 2011 title with Welshman Seb Morris, as well as coming out on top of the teams’ championship.
The team also claimed the 2011 BARC Formula Renault Winter Series title for good measure, and remains unbeaten in Ginetta Juniors, having claimed both the main and winter titles in 2010 with Tom Ingram and Morris respectively.
“I couldn’t ask to be joining a better team for my first season in car racing,” Harrison said. “Hillspeed Racing has an incredible pedigree in both sportscars and single-seaters, and that will hopefully make the transition from karting much easier.”
The Botley-based teenager will have to learn most of the circuits that the Ginetta Junior series visits in 2012, having focused his racing activities to this point on karting. His initial plan had been to remain in karting this season, with the opportunity to contest any number of series in the UK and abroad, before the chance to join Hillspeed arose courtesy of a third party prepared to fund the campaign.
“I am fortunate to have been offered a two-year deal by the team, which will allow me time to learn the circuits in 2012,” Harrison confirmed. “However, even though I am going to be a rookie this year, I am confident that I will be able to get to grips with the different discipline of racing a car, and am keen to be running at the front of the field as soon as possible.”
“Nathan is clearly a very exciting talent,” team owner Richard Ollerenshaw said. “We weren’t aware that a switch to cars was imminent, and a deal only really came about because Ginetta was pro-active in giving kart racers a chance to test at Bedford Autodrome in December. But Nathan really stood out. It was immediately apparent that he is a focused individual determined to succeed - and we’d always like to work with anyone who shows that sort of drive.”
As a result of the deal, Harrison will also be plying his trade before both a large live and television audience as the Ginetta Junior series supports the highly popular British Touring Car Championship. Seven hours of live raceday coverage captures all of the action as it happens, with additional highlight programmes also broadcast free-to-air on ITV4.
“It is very exciting to know that all my races will be shown live on national television,” the teenager said. “I’ve been involved in a lot of big events during my karting career, but this is a different level altogether. I can’t wait to get going – and hopefully bring more success to the Hillspeed team.”
