Today on Kent Sports News we are handing over the motorsport section to an up and coming racing driver.

James Black informs us about his karting career and his move into a Junior Car Racing series for 2020, once we are allowed to go racing again.

I started my Motorsport Career back in 2015, when I made my debut in the Junior Subaru Championship. I raced in the latter stages of the season, which was a tester for the next two seasons in this series.

In 2016 and 2017 the championship saw a record number of entries! I think at one point there were 34 karts on the grid, and to be a part of that was really special, and probably made me the person I am today!

2018 was also a big year, stepping up to a faster karts (The Junior Rotax) and fighting for a championship come the final round. Again this was another learning curve, physically and mentally, and to be a part of the race series was fantastic!

In 2019 we remained in Rotax and went to a different track than the usual, (I previously raced at Bayford Meadows, Lydd Kart Circuit and Buckmore Park) and we decided to race at Forest Edge.

If there’s one track that made you learn what karting is about, it’s definitely Forest! It was a brilliant experience to race there last year and I would highly recommend it, along with the other tracks which I previously mentioned.

Now 2020! This year my family and I wanted to take the big step in a Junior Car Racing Series. I took part in the 2020 JSCC Scholarship, and was announced as the runner up.

This was a tremendous thing to do and was the first step into the car racing scene. A few weeks later, we signed a deal with Westbourne Motorsport to race in the Junior Saloon Car Championship, alongside an old Junior Subaru friend, Charlie Hand. I’m super excited for this season to get going and hopefully it will soon!

I also started doing race weekend videos, documenting what happens on a typical weekend of racing. I was inspired by Andreas Bakkerud who does the same, and it’s good to see the likes of Tom Ingram to be following suit.

2020 is going to be a good year and I can’t wait for what the future has in store!

Images courtesy of Paul Babington