For the first time in his career, James Wharton was racing on the international circuit of Aunay les Bois in the Normandy region of France. With the Parolin Motorsport team and its engine builder Machac Motors, there was no shortage of work during the two days of Free Practice to adapt the equipment to the constraints of the French track and the specificities of its surface, which are very different from those that the Australian has experienced since the beginning of the season.

Penalising collision

"At the beginning of the meeting, the balance of my kart was not perfect at Aunay les Bois, but we made progress as the sessions went on by working on the tyres," admitted James. "Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and Qualifying didn't put me in the position to have a good race. The gaps are very tight in OK, it's down to a tenth of a second between each driver, so it's always difficult to start from the back of the grid."

Nevertheless, James Wharton threw himself into the battle. In his first heat, he managed to gain 15 places, coming back to 8th position while setting extremely competitive times. He continued his progress and this time made a jump of 10 places in the second heat. Unfortunately, a racing incident in the third heat relegated him to the back of the pack. In the last heat, the Australian was still on the rise. But his six-place climb was not enough. In total, he was three points short of the Final!

"The incident in the third heat was fatal. It's a pity, because my performance level was much better than in Qualifying. My pace in the race could have allowed me to keep going forward."

Another challenge now awaits James Wharton, with the start of the 2021 FIA Karting European Championship in Germany at the Wackersdorf circuit from 17th-20th June. This time he will be driving a gearbox kart and is looking forward to preparing for this upcoming event with the Parolin Motorsport team.

About James Wharton

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