COVER STORY
Having found a suitable Championship and team to race with, Hugo and his dad spent a lot of time filling in forms and researching race equipment, discovering that race suits and helmets for cars are different.“ They have different homologations,” explains Toby.“ Race suits are designed to be fire resistant and kart suits are designed to be abrasion resistant.”
Early days
Hugo did another two days of testing to improve his technique and completed“ about a million laps” on his Xbox which, which although not sim standard, meant he knew his way around the track he would be racing on by the time he arrived. He and his dad also walked the circuit the evening before to visualise the lines.
When it came to the first race day, it was all about getting in the right mindset. Having a good team around you, and plenty of support from family and friends, can be a huge benefit but it can also put a lot of pressure on a young driver’ s shoulders.
“ However much you try not to put pressure on him, he is in a machine that costs a lot of money, and he was very aware that everyone was centred around him and wanting him to do well,” acknowledges Toby.“ There is a lot of pressure when you go out on circuit for the first time and the build-up can be more challenging than the driving.
“ It was the first time he had driven at Oulton Park, and it took a lot of confidence to go out with a field full of experienced racers. He was one of only two rookies in his first session – but you are better off being one of two rookies in a field full of people that know what they are doing, rather than it being the other way around.
“ Having been in the British Kart Championship, he was a bit nervous but as he had learned how to manage those nerves he settled in well. I think one of the biggest points was the standing start because in karting, it is all rolling starts. Having never pulled away from a set of traffic lights before it was a challenge.
“ There is not really anything you can do to prepare for that, and although he qualified 17th of 25 for his two races, he was last by the first corner in both of them! In a way, though, that helped his race experience because he was then able to come through the field and he finished one race in 15th and the other in 12th.”
Will admits:“ The racing is close, for sure, but when you are used to the racing in karts it came quire naturally. One of the main challenges was adapting to driving a manual car and to the different styles of racing required, due to the massive benefit of the slipstream and having to adapt to carrying the speed through corners a lot more.”
The decision to be part of the Alpha 7 team, rather than to running as an independent, has made a major difference for Hugo. Although his dad is an experienced racer, getting on the spanners is a different game entirely, and Toby believes that having the expertise and strength in numbers offered in a team has made the investment worthwhile.
James Roberts
16
Revolution- July 2025