Racing this season in OK with the official Parolin Motorsport team, James Wharton continues his intensive preparation for the great international FIA Karting championships of 2021. The young Australian karting hopeful has just taken part in the first of the four events of the WSK Super Master Series, which represents an ideal event to develop his equipment and measure himself against particularly strong competition. On the circuit of Adria in Italy, success was not there, but James already has his eyes fixed on the next event and, perhaps, on a new challenge to take up…
Motorsport sometimes holds unpleasant surprises and, despite all his determination, James Wharton sometimes has to face more moments that are more difficult than others. This includes the last weekend in February, which did not allow James Wharton to achieve the expected result. “I am used to taking part in the events organised by WSK Promotion and they have often given me great satisfaction,” said James. “The previous weekend, during the Champions Cup, our level of performance with the Parolin Motorsport team was quite good. But while this opening Super Master Series race was only a week later on the same circuit in Adria, we didn’t manage to improve as much as many of our rivals, so I went down in the rankings in Timed Practice. To find myself 45th out of 63 drivers wasn’t what I had hoped for.”
The doors to the Final close
The young Australian found some satisfaction in the first race by moving up from 23rd to 14th place with strong combativeness. He was also to gain four places in another Qualifying Heat. But only three heats were on the programme and James had to drop out in the second, so he only found himself in 42nd position overall. “I was still hoping to take advantage of the Prefinal to qualify for the Final. Unfortunately, while I was in the middle of the climb, a tyre suddenly came off and I had to retire. From 11th to 14th March, we will be in the south of Italy on the circuit of La Conca, where the objective will clearly be to get back to the front of the pack.”
Managed by All Road Management, Nicolas Todt’s company, and supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy, James Wharton will also use the next few days to reflect on his future. “I’ve grown a lot in just one year and I realise that 125cc karts with KZ2 gearboxes might be better suited to my size. We need to think about my future to see if it’s right to stay in OK or to change categories.”
In any case, James Wharton is ready, physically and mentally, to show that he has all the assets of a great champion.
ABOUT JAMES WHARTON
James Wharton is a 15-year-old Australian kart driver currently competing internationally in his second season in the premier class, OK, with the official Parolin Racing Kart factory team.
James started racing karting in Australia at the age of seven. He then shone in the most important single-brand world challenges before making his debut in FIA Karting competition. 13th in the World Junior Championship in his first season in 2018, he also won the KA 100 Junior class in Las Vegas at the SKUSA SuperNationals.
In 2019, in his first full season in OK-Junior, he achieved top results: 9th in the European Championship, 4th in the Italian Championship and 2nd in the legendary Winter Cup in Lonato. He was again victorious at the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas in the X30-Junior category.
An official driver for the Parolin Motorsport Srl team, James is involved in the development and tuning of the equipment thanks to a very good rapport with Albino and Marco Parolin. Despite a 2020 disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, he has rapidly progressed in the category hierarchy and is aiming for a season rich in results.
Thanks to his competitiveness and fighting qualities, James Wharton was selected to join the prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy. Managed by All Road Management, Nicolas Todt’s company, James Wharton will continue his career in karting in 2021, before taking the plunge into single-seater racing in the near future.
