Aberdeen’s Alex Hawcutt has enhanced his blossoming reputation by becoming a Scottish karting champion.
The 12-year-old, a pupil at Portlethen Academy, raced to victory at the Scottish Rotax MiniMax Karting Championships earlier this month.
Alex started karting at the age of seven and raced in the cadet series until the end of last year.
He moved up to the more powerful Rotax class earlier this year and has already chalked up some notable successes.
Due to Covid restrictions and his father Mike’s work commitments, Alex had five months out of karting before starting the new series at the end of May.
In his three races to date, he won a round at the East of Scotland Kart Club in Crail, finished second at the Grampian Kart Club in Banff and then won the Scottish Championships, which was hosted by East of Scotland.
Alex qualified on pole and led from start to finish to become the Scottish champion in an impressive display.
He said: “I was delighted to win the Scottish Rotax MiniMax.
“In the future I would love to become a Formula 1 driver.
“I would like to make my way through F4, F3 and F2 and get a good seat.
“The drivers I look up to are Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
“I love competing. On the starting grid it is a feeling of nerves because you are hoping to get a good start.
“Once I am racing that disappears and I am just full of focus on the track.”
Alex, who is a member of the Grampian Kart Club in Banff and the East of Scotland Kart Club in Crail, has also travelled across the UK to compete in the British National Cadet Championships.
He said: “I try to get better by studying videos of faster drivers and we also walk around the tracks we are not familiar with.
“Sometimes I draw out tracks and mark out reference points for me to remember during the race, especially in England at tracks I haven’t raced on before.”
He will be next in action in round two of the Scottish Super Series at the East of Scotland Kart Club on August 1 before round three in Golspie on August 29.
