Some 15,000 km from his home country, James Wharton feels quite at home in Lonato, between Brescia and Verona, as he has decided to settle in this region of northern Italy to race in karting at the highest world level. "To prepare for this WSK race, we decided to take part in the Trofeo di Primavera the week before, as the event was being run in Lonato," says James Wharton. "I had a great performance there, being the fastest in the Final. My start wasn't perfect, I was only 13th on the first lap, but then I moved up to 8th in the Final standings."

Rain reshuffles the cards

Of course, the standard was much higher in the opening round of the WSK Euro Series, with a field of almost 60 participants. After particularly good set-up work in Free Practice with the Parolin Motorsport team, James set the 30th fastest time in official Qualifying, less than four tenths from the fastest in his group. "With our powerful KZ2 karts, the Lonato circuit is really difficult to get to grips with." He had a clear run in all three heats, battling relentlessly with drivers far more experienced than him. However, the mild weather on Friday and Saturday was replaced by rain on Sunday.

"I had never driven a 125cc gearbox kart in these conditions before. I realised that I was completely out of my depth. As soon as the morning warm-up was over I knew that the rest of the programme was going to be complicated."

A penalty at the wrong time

James Wharton knew that a top 17 finish in his Prefinal was a must if he was to make the Final. He got off to a flying start in his Parolin-TM Racing kart and managed to climb from 13th to 6th place during the first lap. Unfortunately, the respite was not to last. "Despite using rain tyres, the track was very slippery and I wasn't as comfortable as most of my competitors who know the Lonato circuit perfectly in these conditions." At the finish line, the gamble of qualifying for the Final seemed to be won, but that was without counting on a final penalty for a dropped front fairing.

"My performance stopped there, very close to the Final... This is part of the learning process for a young driver! This race has shown me that I need to drive more in KZ2 in the rain and I hope to come back even stronger in the next race."

About James Wharton

James Wharton is a 15-year-old Australian kart driver, currently competing internationally in his first season in the KZ2 class with the official Parolin Motorsport 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.