James aims to bounce-back in Wales

After a not so Super 1 weekend in the British Championship at Buckmore Park (22 June), 100cc’s Mini Max star, James Appleton is keen to return to the podium this Sunday at Llandow, in South Wales.

The Q8 Oils and Accident Exchange-backed youngster returns to the Stars of Tomorrow series, but admits it’ll be tough.

James won the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the Championship, but had to fight his back through the field for 10th place when the series’ visited Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire. Although he scored vital points and is now 3rd in the table, just 18 points off the lead.

He said, “We were a little off the pace at Buckmore, but I think we’ll have that sorted in time for Llandow.”

James has raced and won at the Welsh venue before – when he was in the Cadet class – and thinks that his track knowledge will help.

“I represented England in the Internations (an annual competition between teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) Championship last year and we won. The (racing) lines are different in a Mini Max kart, but it won’t take me too long to learn them. Llandow’s a good circuit but has a lot of kerbs – which you need to be careful of – you can really feel it in your chest when you go over them.”

He added with a cheeky grin, “It’s a difficult place in the wet and it’ll probably rain on Sunday – you know what Wales is like!”

The NJR driver also believes that the fight to win the title will be tough all season, as he is being closely matched by his team-mate Jake Dalton and rivals Matt Parry and Callum Bowyer.

“The top 5 drivers in the Championship will all be close and quick. The local drivers will also be competitive, so it’s going to be exciting. I want to be first but a top five finish would be good and a top three would be really good!”

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