THREE students from Yarm School have channelled their inner Lewis Hamiltons by winning the National Final of the British Schools Karting Championship (BSKC) in Warrington.

Speedy students Callum Sanderson, Oscar Buckley and Alexander Walton saw off 137 other teams on their way to first place on the podium.

BSKC is a team-based karting sport, which was this year hosted exclusively at TeamSport indoor karting venues across the UK.

The Yarm School Team A trained alongside Team B, Felix Buckley, Alfie King and Luke Walton, and raced against each other at each of the local, regional and national venues to learn the track, learn how and where to overtake, how to block and the optimal racing line, to reduce lap times.

Although Team B missed out on a place in the national finals, after being knocked out in a regional final in Newcastle, their practice was invaluable to the boys on team A, who eventually brought home the gold.

Huw Williams, headmaster at Yarm School, said: “Huge congratulations to both of our Yarm School karting teams, who have been incredibly successful at this year’s BSKC, with the support of the committed parents who helped them train and reach all of the events."

“Competitive kart racing requires dedication, teamwork and motivation, all of which our drivers have demonstrated in spades. I’m delighted that their efforts paid off with a stunning victory in the National Competition at the first attempt!”

Alexander Walton said: "We are absolutely thrilled to be National Champions! We all enjoyed training and preparing for the races, and I am really proud of both of our teams getting so far on what was our first attempt at a National Karting Competition."

“It was thanks to the hard work and support of everyone involved in each team, our parents and teachers, that we won. We're looking forward to racing again next year!"

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