Brentwood karter makes tracks in Europe

Brentwood School driver Liam McNeilly spent the summer on a European tour competing on tracks in Germany, France and Finland as he continues to make his mark in the competitive world of karting.

Last month, he competed at round 3 of the X30 European Championships at Wackersdorf, Germany, and finished the main final in 10th place out of 34 drivers. He then headed to Salbris in France for the final round, and after some issues during the qualifying heats which saw him start 24th out of 34 drivers for the final race, he finished in 18th spot. This placed Liam 15th overall in the 2019 X30 European Karting Championships out of over 80 competitors.

Liam then headed over to Finland to compete in the FIA World Karting Championships - the premier event on the karting calendar - attracting over 140 junior drivers from across the world bidding to become the 2019 World Karting Champion.

The weekend started well but the weather changed over the week and favoured the local drivers who had greater experience of the wet Alaharma circuit. Competition was extremely tough with Liam failing to make the cut - only 34 drivers lined up on the grid for the final - but the experience was invaluable. “That’s motorsport and what knocks us down makes us come back stronger,” he explained. “I am training hard ready to compete again next year.”

Thirteen-year-old Liam has now turned his attention to his next outing at Mariembourg, Belgium, at the end of October. A strong finish in Belgium could even see him crowned the 2019 X30 Benelux Karting Champion - Liam is currently 2nd in the Championship, 12 points behind the leader.