Callum Bradshaw has become the eighteenth British driver to win the famous Trofeo Andrea Margutti event after fending off 31 of the World’s best drivers at the South Garda Karting track to take his first win in the OK class since joining the CRG Factory Team. It is a win that has seen Callum take a huge step forward and sees him join a famous list of previous winners, most of which have gone on to become professional racing drivers.
Heading into the event Callum had come off the back of a string of bad luck which had seen him stand 23rd in the WSK Super Master Series Championship after three rounds. Given his credentials which includes Callum becoming the first British Champion in the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy he was certainly a little bit disappointed with how things had started.
But last weekend marked the turning point in Callum’s 2017 season and with one WSK Super Master Series round left before the CIK-FIA European Championship gets underway timing couldn’t be more perfect!
Callum had been quickest in practice beating the likes of Tom Joyner, Lorenzo Travisanutto, Fin Kenneally and Felice Tiene. He was starting to prove he can be a serious contender in that upcoming CIK-FIA championship.
Callum got his weekend underway with 5th in qualifying practice before two solid heats put him 3rd on the grid for the Pre-Final. Callum drove that interrupted race with great maturity to work his way up to Travisnutto before passing the Italian with just one lap to go.
That put Callum on pole for the final which he went on to win by half a second over Travisanutto and former CIK-FIA European Champion, Fin Kenneally. It’s Callum’s first win with the CRG Factory Team and one that saw months of hard work finally pay off in style.
As previously mentioned, Callum is the eighteenth different Brit to win the event and joins a list that includes:
Oliver Oakes
Jon Lancaster
Ben Hanley
Jack Harvey
Will Stevens
James Calado
Jack Hawksworth
Tom Joyner
Over the last 28 years the event has been one by some big names in Motorsport and more than not winners have gone on to have a very successful career in Motorsport. Some of the previous winners of the event include:
Giancarlo Fisichella
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Robert Kubica
Sebastian Buemi
Jules Bianchi
Charles Pic
Daniil Kvyat
Lance Stroll
Esteban Ocon
On winning the event Callum commented: “I’m so happy to get my first win with the CRG team after a lot of hard work over the last couple of months! Overall it was a really strong weekend from me and the team. I felt really good with the new Le-cont tyre and with the kart right from the start of practice. We showed great speed to win the Pre-Final and Final which gave me the win. I’d like to thank everyone at CRG, my mechanic and my family for all the support!”
Callum won a lot of prizes is a result for winning the event which included an Intrepid chassis, kit bag, cleaning products and some special cheese and ham. Callum decided to give the cheese and ham to the team boss, he gave the kit bag to the team data manager and gave the cleaning products to one of the Dad’s in the Mini class.
Callum will next be out for the last round of the WSK Super Master Series next weekend at Sarno, Italy. This win has seen him make a huge step forward and the confidence gained will make him the one to watch at that event!
