Vernon will return to the series driving for Championship winning squad Hillspeed, after topping the time sheets following a test with the squad at Silverstone over a week ago.

“The test day we had on Friday was very valuable” commented Pittard. “We were able to really get to grips with the car, the track and the new paddle shift which had been put in for the weekend – the car felt fast and I was very comfortable with the track.”

A reasonably overcast Saturday morning welcomed David and the Strata 21 team as they entered qualifying, with David taking to the track in a bid to put the Porsche 911 GT3 car on class pole.

“Qualifying was very good for us. Adam put the car on Pole position with a very quick lap. I was frustrated not to have matched him but posted a time just 3 tenths shy. The time was also good enough for 15th overall in the race with a couple of class 3 cars in between us and our nearest rivals. Our problem was that the car was wearing its rear tyres out rapidly and would look like we would have to make 3 changes during the race. As a result it was decided that we should change the rear suspension set up to sacrifice a bit of speed to try and make the tyres last longer during the race”

Despite the set up amendments to compensate there was still concern surrounding the rate of tyre wear the car was sustaining, requiring the Letchworth young gun to find the ultimate balance between outright pace and managing the life in the tyres as the race commenced.

“I started the car in the 3 hour race and made a good start, however I was boxed in through the first few corners as I concentrated on staying out of trouble and looking to pick up any positions where I could.”

After starting the race using the newly installed paddle shift system it wasn’t long till Pittard had to revert back to the original sequential shift, following a failure of the system on exiting the Agostini hairpin that cost him the lead.

“The paddles wouldn’t let me shift out of 1st gear. I quickly reverted to using the sequential shift but the delay meant I lost P1 in our class. “

Cautious of not over working the tyres David slowly built into a rhythm and began to gain on the Lotus ahead of him, managing to real in the leader and scythe up the inside to get back into P1 at the Agostini hairpin, only to lose it again on the next lap when giving a position back to a class 3 following a yellow flag sector.

With the bit between his teeth Pittard preceded to hunt down the lead Lotus once again. Sensing his chance as they approached the back of some slower class 3 cars he made his move, managing to pass not only the Lotus down the back straight, but both class 3 cars around the outside of the notorious Coram Curve in one sublime move.

“I saw the Lotus was being held up behind some class 3 cars which allowed me to catch back up again. In one lap I managed to pass the Lotus down the Back straight and then passed both class 3 cars around the outside at Coram giving us a good buffer to second.”

Almost immediately after he had retaken the lead the Safety Car was called out, bunching the pack back up and making the move around Coram even more critical by providing the safety of 2 slower cars between himself and the pursuing Lotus.

At the restart Pittard took full advantage immediately stretching a lead out over the Lotus which grew to an impressive 20 seconds before a second Safety Car emerged, once again backing up the pack. This time however Pittard was without the luxury of slower cars separating him from P2, sticking the Lotus right on the rear bumper of his Strata21 run Porsche. Despite his lack of experience and young age, David kept a strong head and maturely backed the pack up to allow himself to get the jump on the Lotus as the lights went green once again.

“At the re start I left a big gap ahead of me to the safety car chain and just going into Coram I bolted and caught the safety car chain exiting Russells, instantly giving me a 5 second advantage as we crossed the start finish line to go racing ! I then had 4 laps to push as hard as I could to build as big lead as I could over the Lotus before handing over the lead to Morgan racer Tom Jones”

As the driver change took place drama ensued as it was found that the rear left tyre had sustained a slow puncture, requiring an unscheduled change from the Strata21 pit crew.

“As I got out the team were checking the tyre pressures. It was quickly apparent that we had sustained a slow puncture in the rear left. Steve, Jon, Matt and Jack did a brilliant job to get the car up on the air jacks and change the tyre as quickly as possible to get the car back out again.”

Unfortunately, despite the lightning quick stop from the team the car, now in the hands of Tom Jones, rejoined the track having lost the lead and running in 3rd place.

“Tom drove solidly throughout his stint” reflected David “despite receiving a bit of contact from a passing BMW! He pitted the car in 2nd place after stops, with the Lotus and BMW having only made 1 stop so far compared to our 2.”

After a routine pit stop Adam Sharp now took to the track and immediately set out to catch the lead BMW, with the Lotus having now also encountered problems during its pit stop. As Adam reeled in the lead BMW and with time still remaining on the race clock, the Strata21 team looked set to challenge for the win before disaster struck in the form of a drive shaft failure, prematurely ending what would have been the team and David’s first Britcar win in 2012.

“We were just under a lap down with an hour top go. Adam had just set the fastest lap in class by over 1.5 seconds to try and close the gap on the BMW. Throughout his stint he lapped 3-5 seconds quicker than the leader bringing down the gap, however with 20 mins to go a rear right driveshaft let go ending our chances.”

However, despite the mechanical failure and due to the excellent pace maintained throughout the race by Pittard and his team mates the Strata21 Porsche maintained a classified 4th position, going someway to reward the efforts from the weekend.

“With not long remaining in the race we all watching the timing screens as we dropped to 3rd, with a big gap to 4th. We were all hoping that is where we would remain but the 4th placed car overtook us on the last lap, therefore completing 1 more lap than us! It was a shame we weren’t on the podium, but importantly we scored valuable championship points and fastest lap points from the weekend.”

“Massive thanks to Strata Motorsport for a brilliant car and team to get us on the podium, with a 2 hour race next at Brands Hatch Indy we shall be on for the win as the pace is clearly in the car.”

Despite the team only acquiring the car a week prior and the drivers not even having seen it until the Friday night, David was confident that he could reward the Strata 21 team with a solid performance at Donington circuit. 

As qualifying approached it was decided that team mate Adam Sharpe, being the more experienced of the driver line up, would qualify first and perform all the system checks on the newly acquired Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. After confirming all was OK, Sharpe preceded to set a solid ‘banker lap’ before coming in to the pits to hand over to David’s second team mate Tom Jones to complete his 15mins. As the session drew to a close it was the turn of Pittard, who took to the car like a duck to water, and preceded to set a time that qualified him an incredible 2nd, just 0.1 second of pole position.

“It was awesome to get back into the Porsche again after such a long time out of the seat. I had a massive grin on my face from the moment I pulled away -  I’d forgotten how fast that car is!”

“Once I got comfortable with the car I decided to go for a lap, and managed to put in a time good enough to qualify the car in 2nd in class, just 0.1 second of pole. It was a really positive start to the day!”

With qualifying completed it was now down to David to familiarise himself with endurance race strategy and driver change procedures, something he had yet to experience in his short race career to date.

“During the break between qualifying and the race we sat down and devised our strategy. From this we decided to stick with the same driver order as we did for qualifying, and then set about practicing pit stop driver changes, which was another new feature to some of us in the team!”

As the race start time approached the track remained dry, and as the green lights went out team mate Adam Sharpe proceeded to take the class lead as the pack headed into turn 1, setting the Strata21 team up with the perfect start to their Britcar campaign.

“Adam started the race really well immediately getting into the class lead as well a gaining 3 places over all, putting a gap between himself and second place which really helped when the first safety car came out”

After a good stint and with the race timer counting down, the car was called in to the pits from the lead and it was the turn of Morgan racer Tom Jones to take to the track, just as the weather looked to be turning for the worse.

“Tom had a tough stint as it showered a lot throughout, coupled with a few safety cars which also would have upset his flow. However he drove solidly in very tricky conditions, which at times looked almost bad enough for wets!”

As Tom completed his stint and made his way to the pits from a solid second place it was finally David’s turn to face the tough conditions, and following a excellent driver change and quick fuel he headed out onto the track to commence his first ever Britcar race.

“We decided to triple stint the tires as the damp conditions hadn’t taken much life out of them. When I started my stint it was very wet still so after the adrenalin of jumping in the car quickly and getting out on track asap, it was a case of keeping it calm and getting use to the car in the wet conditions”

“I got my head down knowing that we had pitted in second place and the Lotus we were racing only had to make 1 stop, however we had a good race and weren’t too far behind.”

Driving with immense maturity and good pace, there was still one last new experience to come for the young Brunel University student when again the safety car was called out, bunching the pack back up.

“My stint was broken up by another Safety car. There was some confusion when they waved me and a few other cars past to make up a lap which I thought at the time was a good thing, however the leader pitted which meant everyone was waved past, levelling things out again”

“However when the leader joined the track I was 3rd in the safety car train, the 2 cars in front were waved past on the back straight and then I was waved past on the start finish straight, I tried to catch the back of the safety car train up again before the pack was released however I couldn’t catch up in time”

With the safety car now in and the cars again under race conditions, Pittard was unable to claw back any of the time lost to the lead Lotus. Undeterred however, he set about reeling in the cars in front in a bid to put pressure on the leader.

“I continued to push throughout the last 10mins catching and passing a class 3 car for 8th overall. Steve then informed me that I was a long way from the car ahead and pulling away from the car behind, so we decided to settle in to a good rhythm and bring the car home in second.”

As the chequered flag dropped Pittard brought the Strata21 Porsche home in a fantastic second place on both the cars and importantly David’s Britcar debut.

“As I crossed the line I was extremely pleased! It’s a great result to build on, and I can’t wait until Snetterton 300 on the 12th of May, a massive thanks to Strata21, Strata Motorsport, My Dad, Podium PR, and everyone that supported me in my first weekend!”

Pittard who’s first taste of GT racing came when he stormed his way up the timing sheets at the Porsche Carrera Cup test at the end of last season, will once again be taking to the wheel of the German sports car marque, this time cutting his teeth on the endurance racing scene in the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship.

“I am really excited to finally confirm my racing plans for this season” said Pittard. “It has seemed so long since I have even used my race gear in anger!” David’s last time out was testing Formula Renault 2.0ltr with  Manor Competition courtesy of  the Henry Surtees Foundation.

“The Britcar British Endurance Championship is the perfect step in my career, introducing me to the new challenges of endurance racing where I hope to make my name in the future, and to compete in a Porsche is ideal considering Porsche’s huge endurance racing pedigree”

David who will head into this weekend having had no testing, hopes that despite the lack of experience he will do his team mates, which include Adam Sharp (of former Le Mans and V8 Super Car fame) and the support of Strata21 proud.

“It will be a steep learning curve as our plans to compete in Britcar turned around only last week meaning the only time I will have in the car with be a shakedown and into qualifying.“

”However with such experienced team mates I will be looking to learn as much as I can as quick as I can and by the end of the 3 hour race I hope to be bang on the pace with Adam”.

David’s last experience of Donington Park yielded a great result for the Brunel University student, wining in front of the World Touring Car crowd as he drove to glory in Sports 2000.

“The weather has yet to make its mind up for race day which will make it interesting, but I look forward to the challenge and can’t wait to get started”

END

Copyright free picture attached for editorial use.

The Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship takes place on April the 21st at Donington Park. For tickets and further information on the

Championship please visit www.britcar24hr.co.uk

David is seeking additional sponsorship for his 2012 Championship campaign. Any companies or individuals wishing to support a British rising star should contact David direct on +(44)790 380 9212

Keep up to date with all of David’s racing at www.pittardm-sport.webs.com

Follow him on twitter @pittardmsport & facebook/pittardmsport

Having captained his Brunel University Team to its best ever result of 10th place in the 9 round championship, David then set his sights on the coveted drivers title which entailed a gruelling 2 heats with the top drivers progressing to the A final.

“The BUKC is an awesome way to keep myself kart fit and race fit over the winter” said David. “There are a lot of quick drivers who compete in the championship and its great to keep my head in the game before the season starts. The majority of the championship is a team championship in which you compete for your university team, however the event culminates in the individual Drivers Championship.”

With the team events completed, and the grid positions for the heats drawn, David found himself starting a lowly 35th for race one meaning he would need to use all of his race craft and speed if he was going to qualify for the final.

“In my first heat, following an up and down race I managed to make up 30 places over the course of the 13 lap race to finish 5th. This meant I headed in to the second heat starting on pole and had a much quieter race – winning by 4 seconds!”

However it wasn’t all celebrations as his heat results meant he would start in second place for the final, lining him up on the wrong side of the grid and directly in the firing line at the treacherous Buckmore Park hairpins. As the grid lined up for the final David knew he would have to keep his head and use all of his experience to get through the first few laps unscathed.

“I kept to my game plan through the first hair pins dropping as low as 5th but finishing the first lap 3rd, knowing that I had to pace to win. As soon as I caught the leaders I took them straight away and set out to put some distance between me and 2nd place.”

With his head down and clear track ahead of him, David set about putting in some blindingly quick sector times to stretch his lead out even further and ensure there was enough of a gap to manage any back markers that may have hampered his progress.

I was convinced someone was right on my bumper so I was flat out the whole race! When I looked over my shoulder on the final lap I had over a 3 second lead. It was great to dominate the series and has left me on a high for the start of the racing season. I can’t wait to get out there!”

David will be announcing the latest addition to his 2012 race calendar in the next few days, along with the launch of his brand new website.

David is seeking additional sponsorship for his 2012 Championship campaign.  Any companies or individuals wishing to support a British rising star should contact David direct on +(44)790 380 9212

Keep up to date with all of David’s racing at www.pittardm-sport.webs.com ~ Follow him on twitter @pittardmsport & facebook/pittardmsport

Looking to follow in the footsteps of former FKS Cadet Champions and current Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Paul Di Resta, the existing crop of young talent were left chilled and slightly damp after a weekend of decidedly mixed weather but were warmed by the welcome they received by the host club, who had completely re-laid the paddock since the last FKS event at Kimbolton and even provided a free Hog Roast for everyone on Saturday evening.

MSA British Cadet Championship 

Living up to its reputation as one of the most competitive championships in the world the combined winning margins of the two finals was three hundredths of a second as both races left everyone in the paddock guessing right up until the final  metres.

Round one saw a maiden FKS victory for Enaam Ahmed, who enjoyed a perfect day as he set overall pole position in timed qualifying, won both his heat races and then held off a determined challenge from Lewis Taylor to win the final by one hundredth of a second.

Josh Smith completed the podium, having fought back from 19th on the opening lap following a first corner crash. B Final winner Zak Fulk forged his way through the field from 27^th on the grid to 5^th while the only other driver to win a race all day, heat two winner Alex McRoberts, was 20^th.

Sunday’s final was run on a damp but drying track but the tricky conditions didn’t stop Dean Macdonald from making an inspired last corner move to snatch the win away from Smith by two hundredths of a second.

Macdonald’s win was especially sweet following a controversial black flag in Saturday’s race that left him 25^th while for Smith; the best result of his career was tempered by the fact that he had been so close to a first win. Earlier Smith had won both his heats and led the 15-lap final virtually from the start until Macdonald made his decisive move.

Round one winner Ahmed was fastest in qualifying and won the third heat but fell back to 11^th in the final as Fulk completed a career best weekend in third spot. After problems in the heats McRoberts won the B Final and rose to 9^th in the main event.

Visit www.formulakartstars.com for all the official news and results as well as to download the 2012 Series Guide.

The young budding race star, who is looking to make the step up to Porsche Carrera Cup GB this year following a successful test with Team Parker Racing at the end of 2011, completed his weekend with a guest appearance on the Formula One Management supported Formula Kart Stars stage being interviewed by Championship commentator Henry Beaudette.

“To kick off the year at the Autosport show was great!” commented David. “I was originally down to visit the show on Saturday and Sunday to help promote Brunel University, however on the Thursday I got a message saying that a space had freed up in the Celebrity Kart race and jumped at the opportunity. I drove to Birmingham as quick as I could only to find that the space had been taken! Over all it wasn’t a wasted journey as I stayed around to watch which was seriously good entertainment!”

Heading into the weekend David managed to combine his promotional duties for Brunel University with some for his 2012 race season:

“On the Saturday I was invited up onto the Formula Kart Stars stage as a ‘series old boy’ where I was interviewed by commentator Henry Beaudette. We talked about my racing in FKS and how it helped develop me as a driver, before chatting about my recent racing and plans for 2012.”

“It was really great to go back to my roots and meet some of the new drivers. It was a real pleasure being up on stage in front of people to talk about my career and I would like to thank FKS for having me.”

David’s appearance on the Formula Kart Stars stage was complimented with an interview from BTCC Crazy where he further discussed his 2011 & 2012 seasons.

“The show was very packed for me. I also met up with other journalists asking about the season ahead and my off season antics, including Formula Renault and Porshe Carrera Cup tests. The show was a great success and I managed to make some good contacts for the season ahead which all go towards helping my ambitions to get to the next level and succeed!”

Looking ahead to the new season, the second year Brunel University Engineering student is looking to dove-tail his Porsche campaign with a return to Sports 2000, hoping to  settle some unfinished business from 2011 which saw him narrowly miss out on the Championship title.

“I’m very much looking forward to returning to Sports 2000 and this time hope to come away with the Championship title. The team worked so hard last year and we were let down by a few mechanical failures beyond our control. This year I hope to repay everyone’s efforts by taking the title.”

David’s first race of the season in Sports 2000 is at Silverstone on the 14th/15th April. His first Porsche Carrera Cup race, supporting the British Touring Car Championship is at Brands Hatch on the 1st of April.

These articles are written and supplied by you the competitor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Championship.

Arriving at a cold but bright Silverstone Circuit David was focused and ready to take advantage of the fabulous opportunity that awaited him, and the chance to walk in Lewis Hamilton’s footsteps by testing with the 2008 Formula One World Champion’s old team.

With the track still damp, the team opted for wet tyres for the first session and following a quick seat fit and briefing the race ace from Letchworth set out for his first few sighting laps of the new Silverstone Stowe complex.

“Getting out in the car for the first time was a brilliant experience. I expected it to be something special but the pure grip levels were something else!” said the Hertfordshire youngster. “As the track dried and my confidence built up I started to push harder and harder into the corners and it was clear that it wouldn’t be long before we needed to switch to slicks.”

With the track drying ever faster it wasn’t long before the team called the Letchworth youngster into the pits and David got the chance he had been waiting for – to test the awesome aerodynamics and full braking force of the 210bhp, 7 speed paddle shift Formula Renault on slick tyres.

After a sighting lap to assess the true track conditions, David set about displaying immense maturity despite his lack of experience, skilfully bringing his tyres up to temperature before setting about cementing some very creditable lap times.

“The car was awesome in the first few sessions on wets, but it was something else on slicks! It was crazy how little time you spent in the corners. You break so late and slow the car down so fast, turn it in and before you know it your back on the power and accelerating to the next corner, the car was an absolute pleasure to drive!”

With detailed debriefing in the pits between sessions, and armed with pointers from Manor Competition team principle Tony Shaw, David soon improved further on his pace, finishing up with a lap time that would have tested even a seasoned Formula Renault competitor.

“By the end of the day I felt most comfortable with the car and felt I put in some really positive runs and tried to implement all of Tony’s advise to go as fast as I could.” Said the Brunel University student.

“I learned so much from Tony about the specific driving techniques for the Formula Renault. He was absolutely brilliant at looking through the data and telling me how to improve, so easy to talk to and knew exactly where I was going wrong, and how I could improve.”

Commenting on David’s performance from the day, Manor Competition Team Principle Tony Shaw said:

“I have to say that we have been really rather astounded by David’s performance today both on track and whilst going through and discussing data.”

“His ability to apply changes to his style (which was pretty good anyway) to adapt to the extra grip and down force of the Renault was plain to see and not something that is very often seen these days.”

“Although it is difficult to know exactly what the pace is round there (Stowe Circuit) I think we all agree that he would be somewhere near the pace of a seasoned runner in this car.”

Reflecting on what had been an extremely successful day David added:

“I can’t thank everyone enough for making all of this happen. It has literally been a dream come true. Huge thanks to Tony and his team at Manor Competition for all their help and time, John Surtees for arranging this test and the Henry Surtees Trophy event for giving young drivers like myself a chance to impress, Bill Williams for coming to support me during the day, Roy Powell for all his photography and finally my Mum and Dad for supporting me throughout the season as well as at Silverstone. It has been the perfect end to the racing year and I can’t wait for 2012 already!

“I met Jenson Button and he was really laid back, a really nice guy,” commented Ticktum afterwards. “The FKS title is the biggest championship I’ve won in karting. It was my toughest year in karting and will probably one of my toughest ever.”

Ticktum, White, Ilott and Singleton may have been representing the best of Formula Kart Stars in 2011 but there were many connections back to the earlier days of the Formula One Management backed championship.

Former series driver Oliver Rowland won the prestigious Autosport Young Driver of the Year award and multiple former FKS champion Di Resta was named Rookie of the Year. The late Martin Hines, one of the founders of the FKS championship in 1996 when it was known as Champions of the Future, was also posthumously honoured with one of his Superkarts on display.

“To be a part of one of the most important nights of the year in our sport is a tremendous honour,” stated FKS Championship Director Carolynn Hoy. “It’s a fantastic reward for all the hard work our champions put in over the course of the year and, of course, they get to meet many of their idols.

“But what our current drivers may not realise is that many of the major players in our industry are here and their names will be remembered by those players as they continue up the motorsport ladder.”

All four 2011 Champions will officially receive their unique Formula Kart Stars steering wheel trophies and TAG Heuer watches at the full FKS Presentation ceremony at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham on Saturday January 14^th next year.

With registrations already flooding in for the upcoming season, which begins on Easter weekend next April (6^th-8^th) at Kimbolton, Formula Kart Stars used the UK’s only dedicated karting show to unveil the newly liveried Education Bus and meet with competitors new and old in the hospitality area.

After taking more than a dozen new registrations over the course of the two day show championship director Carolynn Hoy was buoyant about the prospects for next season.

“The MSA British Cadet Championship grid is already well over fifty per cent full,” said Hoy, before leaving the arena to join the 2011 Formula Kart Stars Champions at the Autosport Awards in London. “As usual there is already a strong contingent of returning drivers and plenty of new faces and we’re expecting to reach our maximum grid of 56 before very long. British Cadet karting is the envy of the world and I’m certain that 2012 will see that trend continue.

“I’m also very pleased with our numbers in Mini Max where we are two thirds of the way towards a full grid,” continued Hoy, who is still working on negotiations with Duck and Weave Productions to resume their award-winning television coverage of the championship. “We are over half way towards a full grid of Junior Rotax drivers and interest levels are very high in Cadet Honda and Senior Rotax.”

In addition to the above classes, FKS has also applied to run a KF3 class in 2012 although Hoy conceded that getting the required number of entries to run a competitive season-long championship was proving challenging.

“I would dearly love to see the KF3 class return on a full-time basis,” said Hoy. “There is interest there from the drivers but with such a packed European schedule many of their teams already have very busy schedules.”

Providing the backdrop to the Formula Kart Stars showpiece was Boston College’s Education Bus, now resplendent in full FKS livery courtesy of AST Signs and throughout the weekend many drivers and their parents took the opportunity to take a guided tour of the learning facilities available to all FKS drivers in 2012.

“Perhaps the most satisfying part of the weekend for me was seeing the reactions of the parents when we showed them the interior of the learning bus,” concluded Hoy. “It looks fantastic from the outside thanks to its new graphics kit but it is what happens inside that matters and the response we’ve had from all parents, especially those whose children are entering our championship for the first time was unanimously positive.”

To learn more about Formula Kart Stars and to download registration forms for 2012 please visit www.formulakartstars.com