Stirling celebrates fantastic win

Carl Stirling celebrated a "fantastic" Stars of Tomorrow victory last Sunday (8 June), at Whilton Mill - a circuit he’d never even seen before Saturday morning.

Exam commitments kept the Millennium Motorsport driver from testing at the Northamptonshire track on Friday, which hampered his qualifying performance.

The 14-year old - who won the British Open Championship in March, the first driver from Northern Ireland to do so in 16 years - said: "Testing went well, although I was two tenths (of a second) off the pace and was still learning the circuit when we went out for timed qualifying."

Team boss, Dean Panrucker was a little less modest: "Carl did very well. He’d never been to the circuit before, let alone try to qualify on it. He was 8th out of 28 drivers and just three tenths off pole. That’s how close it was."

Starting from the fourth row of the grid, Carl opened his account with a fine 2nd place in the first heat. In the second race, he survived a "hairy moment" – taking to the grass at high speed to avoid a crash in front of him – to finish 5th.

These two results gave Carl a front row start, alongside pole-sitter Macaulay Walsh.

"I dropped to 3rd at the start and the two leaders quickly established a good lead. I managed to catch Alex Walker (in 2nd), passed him and then set about catching Macaulay, who was now about ten kart-lengths ahead."

In just one lap, Carl slashed Walsh’s lead from seven tenths of a second to three. But as he inched closer, new 3rd-place man Jake Dennis arrowed in.

"After five laps I was on Macaulay’s bumper, but Jake had caught me and made a move. He got past -but I did him back on the following lap."

Under braking for Christmas corner, Carl scythed past Walsh to take the lead. Leaving Dennis, Walsh and the fast-approaching Lewis Hall scrapping over 2nd place, Carl eked out a small advantage over his pursuers and held it to the chequered flag.

Afterwards, Carl couldn’t contain his delight. "This is a fantastic win for me. I’ve never raced or even tested here before, and so to win is just brilliant."

Having had a disastrous previous round at Rowrah in Cumbria, Carl wants to build on his Whilton performance.

"I came here expecting to do a damage limitation exercise after Rowrah, but the win changes things. I’m fourth in the Championship now, and really believe I can challenge to win it overall now."