 At just 16 years of age, local karter Chris Law is about to take the next major step in his motor racing career. During the weekend of 31st March and 1st April, Chris will be entering his first, and the first of the 2007 Elf Renault Clio Cup Championship races, at Brands Hatch Racing Circuit in Kent, as a key part of the British Touring Car Championship support package.
Despite his youth, Chris has enjoyed tremendous success in various aspects of motorsport, ever since he slipped behind the wheel of a 50cc quad bike at the age of three.
He became a Cadet karter in 2001 and showed considerable early promise
and determination, winning several trophies. It was as a junior karter
that his talent became really evident, breaking track records; both
100cc and 125cc hill climb records; winning kart heats in both winter
and summer series, effectively dominating the Junior Class for the last
three years.
In 2004 he received the prestigious RAF Trophy, normally presented to
Kart Event Organisers not karters. This spurred him on to enter various
Kart Club meetings in the UK, going on to compete in the ‘Super 1’ and
‘Star of Tomorrow’ series. In 2006 Chris was invited to Valencia to
drive in the Formula BMW Series, gaining his ‘Single Seater National B
Licence’ at just 15, and earning an invitation to attend the
scholarship course.
Having made the decision to further Chris’s career, his father William
carefully researched the options and teams that he felt would be the
most appropriate move. The highly successful ‘Team Pyro’ was selected,
and Chris will form part of the team at the first 2007 event at Brands
Hatch. According to Team Manager, Mark Hunt, “Chris shows huge promise,
he has a clear understanding of the cars attitude at speed and his gear
changes are near faultless.” Mark went on to explain that in his first
run at the world famous Silverstone Race Circuit Chris was the fastest
Clio by a second in wet conditions, and followed that soon after by
setting a time of just .7 of a second behind the fastest car at Brands
Hatch. Team Pyro have asked former BTCC Champion and Le Mans 24-Hour
Race Winner, Chris Hodgetts to coach Chris for the 2007 season.
Chris Hodgetts says of his new recruit, “I can see within his character
and with his skill level that there is really good potential for
success at a very high level of Motorsport. To place a wise head on
very young shoulders is not easy, especially in this arena, however, I
have had the pleasure of working with many competitors who have gone
onto achieve great things in motor racing. I tend to only work with
people who I believe can succeed – Chris fits into that category.”
The Elf Renault Clio Cup Championship will stage 10 events during 2007,
nine of which will act as forerunners to the British Touring Car
Championship programme, which of course was the turning point from open
wheel to saloon car racing for local driver Andy Priaulx, ahead of his
move to the World Touring Car Championship. Andy has some encouraging
words for Chris, "Chris is embarking on a journey all too familiar and
will encounter a few problems along the way, hopefully these challenges
will strengthen his resolve to succeed and he will bring home the
spoils of his success and yet again raise the profile of Motorsport and
Guernsey. Supporting grass roots Motorsport and promotion to the
national and international scene is my focus as an Ambassador for both
Guernsey and BMW Motorsport, I wish him all the very best for the
season."
All of the cars in the Clio Cup are run to the same specifications
meaning that the difference is down to the skills and ability of the
drivers. Chris will be competing with experienced drivers some at least
twice his age. The season ends at Thruxton in October alongside the
final round of Formula Renault UK.
Commenting on Chris’s entry into the Clio Cup, Kart Captain of the
Guernsey Kart & Motor Club LBG., Dave Corson said, “Chris is an
incredible young talent and has the commitment and determination to
succeed. Not only that, but he presents himself well, communicates
clearly and is confident, and so will be a great ambassador for
Guernsey and his sponsors… if they come forward!” Mr Corson explained
that, “Even incredibly talented young drivers like Chris actually have
to pay to join a team. One season can cost between a £100,000.00 and
£125,000.00, and so any form of sponsorship is hugely beneficial to
enable a driver to offset some of those costs.”
Mr Corson was confident that Chris would find sponsorship and would be
a “credit to those sponsors, he is genuinely a good lad, who, as I
said, will be a great ambassador.”
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