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Honda Racing F1 team star Jenson Button will visit Autosport International on Saturday and will be joined by other top former karting graduates, Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard and Mark Webber.  All three Formula One stars will be paying special visits to the new Karting Show, to encourage more people to start karting. 

Speaking about his forthcoming visit, Button commented: "I am excited to be attending the Autosport International Show on Saturday.  It's been a couple of years since I was last able to visit the show so it’s great to have the chance to return and meet some of the fans whose support is so important to us throughout the year.  The show is a real ‘must-do’ for fans of all forms of motorsport and this year looks to be no exception with some fantastic racing planned for the Live Action Arena.”

Great Britain boasts some of the best motorsport talent in the world, many of who cut their teeth in the karting ranks. Scotsman Allan McNish, for example, was a multiple British and Scottish kart champion before progressing to Formula One and is currently the reigning American Le Mans Series Champion. A long-time visitor to Autosport International, McNish welcomes the fact that the profile of karting has increased to such an extent that it is now a stand alone show. 

“Karting is definitely the best way for a young person to develop the skills that are required to go on and become a professional racing driver.  It is where I, and so many motorsport champions, have learned our craft and it is only right that it deserves its place in the heart of Autosport International.  Karting is a family and fan friendly sport that gives young and older drivers the chance to experience the cut and thrust of wheel to wheel racing.  I have said this on many occasions, if I was not a professional racing driver, I would be racing karts as my sport."

Although a route to the higher echelons of motorsport, karting is also a rewarding and budget friendly sport for racers of all ages.  Whether you want to be the next British sensation or kart for fun, the UK’s largest Karting Show is the perfect place to find out how to get started in kart racing.

Expert advice will be at your fingertips, on everything from leisure karting to how to get a race licence in one easy visit.  Your first stop should be the Association of British Kart Clubs (ABkC) stand, adjacent to the Lewis Hamilton Feature, to pick up a copy of the fully updated ABkC/ArKS 2008 Start Karting brochure.  The ABkC offers free and friendly advice to guide you through the licence application process and help you to decide which class to enter and which club to join. 

Aspiring Lewis Hamilton’s will be inspired by the British Formula One sensation’s first dedicated feature at Autosport International.  Situated in the heart of the Karting Show, the Lewis Hamilton Feature will demonstrate how this remarkable 23-year-old has launched himself to the pinnacle of the sport.  Charting his progress from karting and through the formulas to a record-breaking inaugural Formula One season, the feature will reunite the star’s karts and cars for the first time. 

Lewis is still a patron of the karting championship, then known as McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future, that kick-started his career.  It is fitting, therefore, that the Lewis Hamilton Feature will be presented from the new BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Race Centre.  The series’ 2007 champions, all young drivers aged nine to 16 years, will be at the Karting Show on Saturday to collect their championship silverware and to pay a visit to their patron’s feature.

Button, Coulthard and McNish all graduated from the ranks of Super One, the UK’s largest and longest-running national kart championships.  The premier series will sport its biggest Autosport International stand to date, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and the 2007 championship drivers will also visit the show on Saturday.

The Karting Show will boast its own stage from the BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Race Centre, hosted by the voice of the BTCC and talkSPORT, Alan Hyde.  As well as the cream of British karters, young and old, the Karting Stage will welcome an array of international motorsport celebrities including Button, Coulthard, Webber, and McNish, world class sports car racer David Brabham, British fans’ favourite Johnny Herbert, and triple WTCC title winner Andy Priaulx.

As well as seeing all the karting stars and rubbing shoulders with the world’s motorsport elite, visitors can find karting championships, manufacturers and teams, all under one roof.  Expert advice and the best equipment in karting will be on offer, making the new Karting Show impossible to miss.