Whitworth student earns place at British Kart Championship

Fifteen-year-old Morgan Hudson, who lives in Rochdale and attends Whitworth Community High School, competed in the Junior Rotax race at Three Sisters Circuit in Wigan, finishing 13th out of 75 racers.

Tearing around the tarmac at speeds of up to 76mph earned Morgan a place in the championships after taking an extended break from the sport.

Morgan in his kart (Image: Catherine Smyth)

He said: “I have been karting since I was four – then I would be driving at speeds of 30-40mph.

“I had a break for the last four years, so this was my first time back in a race, but I am now through to the British Kart Championships, which starts in the next few months, and takes place at races at circuits all over the country for the next year.”

Morgan has racing in his family, with older brother Lewis Brown, 25, assistant manager of Morgan’s kart provider Team SPR, and dad Richard as a mechanic.

Morgan added: “We have 11 other drivers in the team and they come from all over the country. I have had some crashes, but never really hurt myself.

“In the race at Wigan, I did 76mph down the back straight. My kart goes about three times as fast as an indoor kart.

“As my older brother runs the team, I would like to become a mechanic and maybe one day run my own team.”

He also hopes to qualify to race in Valencia and Dubai in the summer.

Three other students at Whitworth also won through to compete for school in the local heat of the British Schools’ Karting Championships.

The team of 14-year-olds Max Smith and Charlie Palliser and Josh Craggs, 15, competed at TeamSport Go-Karting in Trafford.

Five schools took part and the three drivers from Whitworth were put into different races after first completing 12 minutes of practice.

Max, Josh, Charlie, and Morgan (Image: Catherine Smyth)

At speeds of up to 40mph, Max and Charlie finished their races in second place, while Josh was fourth meaning the school team came second overall.

Charlie said: “It was very good fun. We beat the competition and I was just a couple of tenths of a second off the winner.”

Max said: “It was a bit tense. We went down to the track before the race so that we could do some practice and get used to the circuit.”

Josh said: “I was in pole position at the start, but it was very competitive and there was a guy who was at the very back and he passed everyone on the grid and ended up first. I learnt that I need to defend more.”

In March, the team will now compete in the local heat at Trafford, hoping to get through to the regional round and possibly the national final in Warrington in June.

Morgan also attended Trafford to support the school team in the competition.