Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen chose to continue their motorsport apprenticeship in a gearbox category in their final karting season in 2013. James Wharton also decided to go down this route, in agreement with All Road Management and the Parolin Motorsport team. "It was the right decision to make," confirms the young Australian. "I am very excited and motivated by this new challenge. A week before the WSK Super Master Series, I had the chance to participate in the Grifone Trophy. This enabled me to learn more about my new kart and to discover the Sarno track which was redesigned this winter. From the start I managed to take pole position ahead of drivers who were much more experienced than me in this category. In the Prefinal, my start was difficult, I crashed in 5th position, but I still managed to get on the third step of the podium at the end of the Final."

A lot of positives to remember...

With 52 drivers, the WSK Super Master Series event was obviously more difficult. "The meeting brought together both the drivers who will be competing in the European KZ Championship this season and my future opponents from the European KZ2 Championship. The objective was to measure myself against them and, in this context, the result is extremely positive, because I was regularly in the top 10. I made a clear run in all three Qualifying Heats. Only the Prefinal did not meet my expectations. I lost some precious places, which I quickly recovered in the Final."

Starting from 25th position, James Wharton managed to gain 10 places thanks to fierce determination, constantly improving performances and magnificent overtaking. With this first top 15, the Australian scored his first points in KZ2 in the WSK Super Master Series. "I know I still have a lot to learn in this class, but I feel that I have already progressed in many areas thanks to the work done with the Parolin Motorsport team and my engine supplier. There are a lot of good things to take away from this event and I am already looking forward to the next one."

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.