Formula Kart Stars was a British-based karting championship, which was supported by Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management Ltd, 2008 Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton and Lewis’ father Anthony Hamilton.What is FKS, What is Formula Kart Stars from Official Formula Kart Stars Website.
The championship ceased operation in May 2016 FKS in administration Kartlink articleEcclestone disappointed as Karting plans break down article from the Times shortly after the first round of the 2016 season.
the championship organisers and officials tried to manipulate the results of the cadet championship in 2003. This was in vain though.
Champions of the Future In 1995 McLaren Formula One team boss Ron Dennis, Mercedes Motorsport chief Norbert Haug and Zip Kart owner Martin Hines formed the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future Series with the aim of bringing karting to a wider audience and providing young British talent with a clear path towards the upper echelons of motorsport and in particular, Formula One.
Early days
In the series’ first season noted touring car specialists BHP produced the television coverage, which was screened on ITV in many of their UK regions with disc jockey and motorsport fan David ‘Kid’ Jensen presenting the programmes. The Championship ran classes for Cadet Comer, Junior Yamaha and Formula Intercontinental A. Champions in the inaugural season were Lewis Hamilton (Cadet), Andrew Delahunty (Yamaha) and Gary Paffett (Intercontinental).
With the class champions getting an invite to the prestigious Autosport Awards Show in London at the end of the year, a young Hamilton took the opportunity to introduce himself to McLaren boss Dennis, a meeting that was the catalyst for McLaren's subsequent signing of Hamilton in 1998 and their continuing relationship thereafter.
Thanks to the involvement of Dennis, Haug and Hines and the terrestrial television coverage the championship was able to attract sponsorship from Highland Spring, TAG Heuer and Mobil 1.
Buoyed by the success of the first season 1997 saw Champions of the Future visit Buckmore Park in Kent, Larkhall in Scotland, Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland, PF International in Lincolnshire and Warden Law in Sunderland. The Royal Automobile Club (RAC), then the governing body in British Karting, also awarded CoF the RAC British Cadet Championship title, a title it retains to the present day.
The links with Formula 1 remained with McLaren Mercedes sponsoring the Formula Yamaha class while computer games company Psygnosis and Mobil 1 sponsored the Cadet and Formula Intercontinental classes respectively.
After finishing third in the inaugural season, Scotsman Paul di Resta became the 1997 RAC British Cadet Champion,1997 RAC British Cadet Champion Paul Di Resta , About Paul Di Resta, Official Website. beating a field that included James Sutton, Martin Plowman, Oliver Oakes, Craig Dolby, Paul Fowles and Scott Mansell.
Delahunty returned to try to defend his Yamaha title but failed to crack the top ten as Hamilton claimed his second Champions of the Future crown in two years. Hamilton's class rivals included Christian Bakkerud, Joey Foster, Alex Lloyd, Nathan Freke, Ben Hanley and Susie Stoddart.
Stefan Hodgetts, son of former British Touring Car Champion Chris Hodgetts, won the Formula Intercontinental title, narrowly beating Jamie Green and Oliver Jarvis with Luke Hines, Tom Ferrier, Mike Conway, Adam Carroll and Ryan Dalziel all in the top ten in the final standings.
In 1998 Martyn Burridge joined the series as Championship Director with Pat Connolly acting as Championship co-ordinator. ITV continued to broadcast the races, which were now generating several million viewers with ‘Kid’ Jensen still presenting and the always excitable Keith Heuwen on commentary duties.
The coverage was also picked up internationally by NBC's Superchannel and Fox TV while British newspaper The Sun also covered the championship. All the 1997 circuits remained with Rowrah in Cumbria and Rye House in Hoddesdon being added to the calendar.
The RAC Cadet Championship was disputed by the likes of Oakes, Plowman, Dolby, Bradley Ellis, Will Bratt and Oliver Turvey but was won by Adam King. Di Resta moved up from Cadet to Junior Yamaha and came 3rd overall in the championship with Chaz Small 2nd. Despite stiff competition from Rodolfo González, Joey Foster, Alex Mortimer and Sam Bird, Adrian Estasy won the championship, leading the points throughout the whole series.
Formula Intercontinental had by now been re-christened as Junior Intercontinental A (JICA) and counted Hamilton, Bakkerud and Lloyd amongst its number. Fraser Sheader won the title.
Off track changes
1999 saw several significant milestones off the track as Carolynn Hoy, an ex Zip Kart teammate of Hines, former British Karting Championship runner-up and sister-in-law to 1991 British Touring Car Champion Will Hoy joined the Championship as the Championship Director, assuming a role that she retains to the present day. Nigel Edwards, who would serve as the chief Clerk of the Course for the next decade, also joined the series in 1999.
New venues in 1999 included Kimbolton in St Neots and Three Sisters in Wigan at the expense of Warden Law, Rowrah and Rye House as Champions of the Future began its traditional six weekend championship format.
Model car manufacturers Mattel Hot Wheels joined the Cadet Championship as title sponsor for a season that saw future British GT Champion Ellis emerge victorious against a field that also included Plowman, Oakes, Turvey, Bratt, Dolby, Alexander Sims, Riki Christodoulou, Adam Christodoulou and Daniel Rowbottom
The Mobil 1 Junior Yamaha class and the McLaren Mercedes JICA Championship completed the list of 1999 classes with Ian Johnstone triumphant in Yamaha and Russell Parkes winning JICA ahead of Hamilton, Bakkerud, González, di Resta and Pippa Mann.
Enter Rotax
The dawn of the new millennium saw Champions of the Future add a fourth class to its roster with the still-in-its-infancy Junior Rotax joining the established classes.
Having finished sixth in 1999 Jeremy Metcalfe beat a Cadet field that included the Christodoulou cousins, Rowbottom, James Tucker, Stefan Wilson, Dolby, James Calado, Jon Lancaster and Sims.
Reigning Cadet Champion Ellis won the Junior Yamaha division at his first attempt, beating Plowman and Turvey en route to the title while di Resta claimed the JICA title.
Duncan Tappy was among the leading contenders in the inaugural Junior Rotax Champions of the Future season but the title eventually went to Nicky Mitchell.
The 2001 season opened at Paul Fletcher International in Grantham and took in visits to Kimbolton, Larkhall, Buckmore Park, Three Sisters, Rowrah and for the first time, Whilton Mill in Daventry. The Cadet championship was now given the MSA British Formula Cadet title with the Motorsport Association of Great Britain taking over from the RAC.MSA British Cadet Championship , MSA Championship listings.
Calado became MSA British Cadet Champion against a strong field that included Adam Christodoulou, Daniel Rowbottom, Jordan Oakes, Henry Surtees, Alex Brundle, Lewis Williamson, Richard Bradley and Nigel Moore. Christodoulou and Oakes claimed second and third places overall
The Yamaha class was beginning to wane in popularity but still provided a quality field including Simon Walker-Hansell, Jonathan Walker, Ed Hoy and Jack Linfoot although with Rotax now taking a firm foothold on the British karting scene the class’ days were numbered. Jack Anderson would be crowned as the final Junior Yamaha champion in series history.
Di Resta claimed his fourth Champions of the Future title in five years as he claimed JICA honours against the likes of González, Turvey, Sims, Dolby, Ellis and Oliver Oakes.
Inaugural champion Mitchell returned to defend his Junior Rotax title and the class’ growing popularity was highlighted by the calibre of drivers heading down to the Rotax route with Callum MacLeod, Yelmer Buurman, Jason Parrott and Viktor Jensen all competing. Darren Burke beat them all to the title however, followed by James Clink and Adam Wright.
In 2002 the British Racing Drivers Club, then chaired by Martin Brundle, became involved with the Championship for the first time, although it retained its Champions of the Future moniker for a seventh year. Mini Max, a further restricted version of Junior Rotax for drivers aged eleven and upwards, made its debut with the Yamaha class finally disappearing. The series also took in its first visit to the venerable Clay Pigeon circuit in Dorset which, at 815-metres, was the shortest circuit ever to host a CoF event.
After finishing twelfth in 2001 James Bradshaw became the 2002 MSA British Cadet Champion, beating Scott Jenkins and Daniel Smith. The field also included Moore, Surtees, Ollie Millroy, Harry Tincknell, Oliver Rowland, Jake Packun, Dean Stoneman, Bradley, Max Chilton and Will Stevens.
Adam Christodoulou became the inaugural Mini Max champion, beating Ian Beaumont and Daniel Borton while Daryl McDonald won Junior Rotax, out-pointing Turvey and David Bellchambers in a class that also included Jay Bridger, Tom Onslow-Cole.
Although grid numbers were beginning to dwindle it was clear that JICA still attracted a host of top drivers as judged by a grid that included eventual champion Sims, Bratt, Lancaster, Rowbottom, Ellis, Riki Christodoulou, Oakes and Plowman.
BRDC stars of tomorrow
In 2003 two of the most significant milestones in the history of the championship occurred. Firstly the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) both endorsed and took a role in running the championship although Carolynn Hoy remained as Director of the Championship and retained ownership of the company. The Championship was renamed BRDC Stars of Tomorrow.
Secondly the Championship added a gearbox class to its roster for the first time, running a Junior Gearbox class that was keenly supported by Hoy, a former gearbox kart driver herself. Another off-track development was the departure of long-standing competition secretary Pat Connolly and the arrival of Marion Fell from the Cumbria Kart Club.
The ‘Stars’ calendar also expanded to eight weekends with a first trip to the South Wales circuit of Llandow and a return to Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland for the first time since 1999. Only seven weekends eventually ran with the late cancellation of the proposed final round at a purpose-built circuit at the site of the historic Brooklands circuit in Surrey.
Each class now boasted its own ‘class sponsor; usually a current British motorsports personality and/or a former series driver. The sponsors would provide an end of season prize in their class for one specially selected driver per round, usually decided by which individual gained the most places from their starting position in each race in their class during the course of each round. In 2003 the class sponsors were Jason Plato (Cadet), Lewis Hamilton (Mini Max), Dan Eaves (Junior Gearbox) and Richard Burns (Junior Max).
In addition to the Fairmont scholarship, which had been running for several years, 2003 also saw the beginning of the Will Hoy Scholarship award in memory of the late former British Touring Car Champion, who died from a brain tumour in December 2002. The winner of the scholarship would win a fully funded drive in the following year's Renault Clio Cup UK Championship. The Championship's inaugural Junior Gearbox Champion, former Fairmont Scholarship winner Daryl McDonald, was the first recipient of the Will Hoy Hard Charger Award.
McDonald's Junior Gearbox success came against a strong field of drivers including Jason Dredge, Oliver Turvey, Karl Moon and Jack Anderson.