大象传媒

Karting is where the majority of professional racing drivers begin their career, starting to learn their racing craft from a young age.

British Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson all debuted at the wheel of a kart.

But arguably the greatest British driver in the sport of Karting is Mark Litchfield from Rocester in Staffordshire 鈥� a four time senior UK Champion.听

Honours and History

Mark announced his arrival on the Karting scene in 2001. Aged 18 he finished a credible third in the British Formula A Championships, a feat he repeated 12 months later, and bettered by 1 place in 2003.

But it was in 2004 that he lived up to his true potential, winning the Formula A title by 24 points from his nearest rivals. He finished at the front of the field five times throughout that season, and grabbed podium finishes another three times.

From then on there was no stopping him 鈥� Litchfield made it back to back titles in 2005 and made Karting history in 2006 when he became the first ever driver to win the Super 1 Formula A Championship three times in a row.

The historic win came at the Rowrah circuit in Cumbria, when 2 second places got him enough points (480 points) to re-write the history books.

He told reporters afterwards 鈥淎ll year there have been times when I thought I wasn't going to do it, but my saving grace has been reliability and consistency.鈥�

鈥淚 have had 100 per cent reliability and I've had consistently good results. Winning races is really nice, but I'd rather win no races and win the championship."

Comeback king

In 2007, Litchfield lost his title to long-time karting colleague Chris Rogers from Hertfordshire, but revenge was sweet a year later when he snatched it back from him.

A race win at Whilton Mill in Buckinghamshire with 3 rounds left secured the championship, and his place among the most successful UK kart racers ever.

In 2009, Litchfield found himself in a three way tie going into the final round of the UK Championship, with also Ben Cooper, and Robert Foster-Jones able to take the title with 2 wins at the Fulbeck course in Lincolnshire.

After one of the most exciting heats in Karting history, Foster-Jones took the title with a display of aggressive and determined driving that Litchfield himself would have been proud of.

Not to be left empty handed in the silverware department that season, Lichfield did win the Kartmasters KF2 event, but his driving force for 2010 will be his desire to win back his British Championship crown.