Robert overcame adversity last weekend (16th July) in the Qualifier for the European Junior Kart Championship to get through to the final round in Belgium in September. The event took place at the Braga circuit in Portugal and featured the top under-15 drivers in the west of Europe, including Irish, British, Spanish and French competitors. Over 80 drivers were entered, competing for just 27 places in the Final and all had to cope with temperatures in the mid-forties.

Robert, who drives a Tonykart for Team Simpson International, had three good finishes in his four heat races, but in the other his engine failed so spectacularly it couldn’t be repaired, leaving him to race in the two main races on his spare.

In the first race, Robert skillfully avoided the inevitable first-corner pileups, only to find his spare engine was 6 tenths of a second slower than the other one. Finishing him 14th would have guaranteed a place in the Final in Belgium but he could only finish 22nd and had to keep pushing in the second race.

The team ran the engine on the stand before the race and didn’t think it would last one lap, but luckily Robert was able to nurse it home to finish 20th - giving him an average finishing position inside the all-important top 27.

Team boss Michael Simpson said of his 14-year-old driver: “He didn’t put a wheel wrong all weekend and considering the equipment problems he was a star.”

Robert will be out next in the British Kart Championship on July 30th.

Robert is competing at Braga, Portugal this weekend for one of 72 places in the European Junior Championship final in Belgium in September. Below is one of the first photos from the first practice day:

Photo from Chris Walker