MOST TEENAGE boys would probably celebrate their birthday bowling but a Knowle youngster will be taking on his first saloon car championship.
Tom Justice will be heading to Pembrey Circuit in South Wales with Cursley Motorsport on June 20 and 21, for round four of the Junior Saloon Car Championship – just days after celebrating his 14th birthday, which makes him eligible to take part.
The championship is contested by some of the finest young motorsport talents in the country, aged between 14 and 17.
Tom: “I am so excited to finally get the chance to take part in the Junior Saloon Car Championship in round 4 at Pembrey, Wales.
“Having been karting since the age of 9 it’s great to get a chance to compete in a championship which has produced so many motorsport talents at all levels.
“I’m really pleased to be competing with a great team in Cursley Motorsport and can’t wait to use the next few races to get some valuable experience and compete at this level.”
In preparation for the race Tom is getting great support from Alex and Sheila at Cursley Motorsport, and will be coached by Ash Miller.
In addition Tom’s been preparing for the race with the advice and support from Alec Masson at Focused as well as getting into top physical shape with the help of at the Hampton Health and Fitness Club.
Tom’s dad Kevin said: “We’re all really excited to finally see Tom behind the wheel with Cursley Motorport at Pembrey in June.
“With this being Tom’s first race the only objective is to go out and enjoy himself, get some great experience and go from there, but we’re looking forward about watching his progression as the season develops.”
Over the past year Tom has been working with Cursley Motorsport, Orex Competition (a rival team) and MPH Karting Academy on a number of test sessions.
His first official testing session with the team as a team driver came at the technical and challenging Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire in mid-April.
Despite a couple of mechanical issues limiting Tom’s time in the car he got some practice laps in under the guidance of his coach for the day and came away with some positive feedback and development areas to work on in advance of June’s race.
Tom will be having a further all-day session at Donington Park on the week of the Pembrey race weekend to get some further time familiarising himself with the car read for his debut.
Following Pembrey in June Tom will be competing at Snetterton, Norfolk in July, the world-famous Brands Hatch in August, followed by Snetterton again in September and finishing the season at Silverstone in the championship finale in October.
All rounds will be broadcast live on the British Autombile Racing Club (BARC) Youtube channel.
