James Wharton 2020 - FIA Karting European Championship - OK, Zuera (ESP) - Round 1 - An Australian conquering Europe

A brilliant Australian driver, James Wharton is competing in his first season in the international OK category in 2020 at the age of 14. He has been a member of the official team of the Parolin Racing Kart factory since last year. His experience of this top category was interrupted for four months due to coronavirus.

Known for his speed and fighting spirit on the track, he quickly regained his bearings as soon as racing resumed at the beginning of July. Although his results so far have been affected by various problems, often of a technical nature, he has nevertheless achieved extremely convincing performances. Courageous and hard-working, he is motivated by a strong ambition to be among the best in international karting.

PERFORMANCE AND REGRETS IN ZUERA

Somewhat unsuccessful since the resumption of competition at the beginning of July with the WSK and Champions of the Future series, James Wharton was hoping to take his revenge at Zuera in the first of the three events of the 2021 FIA Karting European Championship. In the scorching heat of northern Spain, the Australian managed his Qualifying session well, finishing 17th out of a total of 66 drivers. In the first heat, after a perfect start, James Wharton managed to take the lead of a very lively field, but an incident led to his retirement with two laps to go.

Forced to minimise risk taking after this mishap, he secured 8th place in the next heat, before falling into a pile-up at the start of the next race. And despite a superb 5th place in his last heat, he just missed out on the Final, with many regrets. "You have to put the disappointment behind you and look to the future," said James. "In the meantime, I'd like to thank Bell Racing for the delivery of my new helmet and Lucky Design for the beautiful design."