Car Journey
Will Briant had been competing for six years in the British Kart Championship Junior TKM Class and UKC Senior TKM Class when, at the age of 16, he decided to take the step up into cars. As with most young drivers who make the move, Will’ s experience of karting gave him a good baseline, and his father, Toby, booked him into a local driving school for a few trial runs.
Having done the ARKS test for karting many years before, Will already knew what to expect from the ARDS test, particularly on the theory side. However, there was still plenty to learn – as not all things are transferrable between kart racing and car racing, plus at under 17, he did not actually know how to drive a car.
“ If you have never driven a car before, your first time should not be when you do your ARDS test,” smiles Toby.“ He had three one-hour lessons then we booked his ARDS test at Mallory Park. They did an hour-long tutorial before he started, so it was all a great learning experience, rather than just a test.
“ When they are out on track, getting through the test is not just about the speed but also about the ability to listen, learn and adapt. In the theory test, he had to make sure he was not being complacent because some of the flags and procedures are not quite the same as they are in karting, so he could not just assume things.”
Will adds:“ Taking the test wasn’ t that worrying for me and the hardest part was the written aspect. It contained multiple choice and written questions on all the flags and procedures which are important in racing. This test did, at the time, feel a bit difficult, however with a bit of revision it was fine.”
When he was younger, Will spent his weekends watching his dad competing in the Caterham Championship – so when it came to his first racing move, that was an obvious destination. Toby explains:“ It’ s a good entry point because the Graduates series is very open to newcomers, with a pathway for helping new drivers and a real focus on good driving standards.
“ It also has a Trophy Championship, where you nominate three rounds to count, and that makes it very good for fitting around all the other things that a teenager must do. We did also look at Fiestas, because a couple of people from our kart team progressed into that, and it seemed a good route, but you just need to do what feels right for you.”
Preparing to race
After he had passed his ARDS test, Will joined Caterham outfit Alpha 7 for a track day at Brands Hatch. Sat behind the wheel, with an instructor alongside him, he completed around 150 laps of the Kent circuit, absorbing as much information as he could – and by the end of the day, he was sent out on his own.
“ He had a really good instructor with him, and they spent all day in the car,” recalls Toby.“ Will had endless energy and given by the size of the grin on his face, he coped very well! He got progressively quicker throughout the day because he was prepared to listen and learn and adapt every time they went out for another session.
“ Rather than trying to set a fast lap time immediately, he was getting an overall feel for the car, learning what it was doing under braking, how it was rotating into the corners. The only sticking point of the day – which was quite amusing – was that when he first pulled out the garage, I knew that he was going to stall it, and he did!”
Taking part in a track day – where there are lots of other cars on track, often of very different performance levels – can understandably be daunting for someone who has only just acquired their racing licence. However, that is when the experience of racing in karts comes into its own – because in some ways, racing cars is just a bigger equivalent.
“ The mindset is key,” explains Toby.“ Once he recognised that he was used to racing with 30 karts, sometimes with not even a millimetre between the bumpers, he was fine. And by the end of the day, when he was out on his own, seeing him
throw it up the inside of cars going into Paddock Hill Bend, Will Bryant moved from the British Kart Championship to racing I thought‘ yep, he has got it.’” a Caterham Seven >>>>>
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Revolution- July 2025