LUKE HUGHES

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March 2008
FRONT ROW GRID POSITION & PODIUM FINISH AT GYG

At GYG they are running timed qualifying for the races. Luke was fastest for every lap until the last 2 laps when he got blocked behind slower karts and lost pole position. Even so, a front row start in second place was a dream come true on only his 3rd outing.

Heat 1 saw Luke finish in 2nd place and closing the leader down. Heat 2 saw Luke drop to 3rd at the first corner and then get involved in a good battle with Liam Kelly for second place but Luke lost out and finished 3rd.

Luke was grided up in P2 for the final but again losing out to Kelly in the first corner and followed him home in 3rd place.

February 2008
WET HEAT COSTS LUKE AT WIGAN

Before the first heat at Wigan there had been a light shower and unfortunately Luke had not run in the wet on his new kart and only had brand new wets. The track only required worn intermediates and with too much grip, Luke found himself 2 seconds off the pace finishing a lowly 14th. In heat 2 Luke started last and, now on slicks, was much quicker finishing in 3rd place giving him a 7th place start in the final.

With some good times and closing the leaders down Luke managed to finish in an encouraging 5th place.

January 2008
STRONG RESULT ON MINIMAX DEBUT

Luke made his first appearance in Minimax after moving up from Cadets. After testing all day Friday and Saturday to gain experience in his new kart, Luke was surprisingly on the pace almost immediately. With good heat finishes Luke was grid up on P4 for the final, going into the first corner Luke missed his braking point and made contact with the kart in front. This put paid to a good finish coming out of the first corner Luke was down in 19th place but with strong lap times managed to pull himself back to 8th place.

December 2007
MOVE TO MINIMAX FOR 2008

Undecided what to do for 2008, Luke has been out testing in other classes including Jnr TKM, Mini Max and KF3.

It was a big decision, but Luke has decided to move up to Juniors and race in Mini Max for 2008 until he is old enough to race KF3 when he reaches 12.

Luke has chosen to race a Tony Kart EVX-X with an engine prepared by JC Tuned of Bristol.

Whilst it will be a shame not to finish his Cadet career, Luke will gain a lot of experience racing in Juniors. He would also like to thank Sean Pitts of Pitts Racing who gave Luke fantastic engines in 2007.

November 2007
LUKE LOOKS AT WHILTON MILL FOR 2008

We travelled to Whilton Mill Club Championship as it is a round of the British Championships for 2008 and a circuit Luke has not been to. Good finishes saw Luke grided up on P3 for the final. At the start Luke got the jump into 2nd but contact up the top of the circuit saw Luke drop to 10th place. By the flag he had made his way to 6th place.

October 2007
LUKE RETAINS MOTORS TV CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

The last round of the Motors TV championship was held at the new Hooton Park Circuit on the Wirral. Saturday's race was a bit tricky for Luke as our new slick tyres didn't arrived until lunchtime and Luke had to start the race on unscrubbed tyres.

Struggling with lack of grip for most of the race, Luke only managed 4th place just behind Tom Reed.

In the Sunday race, Luke only need to qualify in the top six to take the championship. By qualifying in 2nd Luke had done enough to retain his title. We made the decision not to race in the final in case of a judicial against Luke that would cost him the championship.

Then, right at the last minute, Luke decided to race and donned his race suit and helmet. He just got to the grid as the pack had left, catching the pack on the formation lap Luke took up his position at the back. By lap 6, Luke had cut his way through to the front and took the flag for the final win of Motors 2007 - retaining his championship title in some style.

LIGHTS TO FLAG WIN AT WIGAN

Luke made a rare return to Wigan for Round 10 of the club championship. He recorded good heat wins and started on pole position in the final. He stayed at the front until end and took a lights to flag victory.

September 2007
DOUBLE WIN FOR LUKE AT LYDD

A long trip down to Lydd on the Kent coast for the penultimate rounds of the Motors TV championship. Luke was on the pace from the start, posting fastest times with his good friend Ashley Whitman. With Whitman holding a 2 point lead in the standings over Luke, at the start of the Saturday race, Luke got away from the back and soon made his way to the front.

At half distance Steve Hanford passed Luke but Luke just sat on his bumper taking a breather. On the last lap Hanford defended for his life, but on the last corner he just left enough of a gap and in went Luke for a fantastic win. Luke now had a 12 point lead in the championship.

Sunday's race was a repeat of the day before. Luke broke to the front by lap two and quickly started to push away. Hanford and Tom Reed managed to keep in touch and Hanford slip streamed past Luke on lap 6 the three of them pulled over 7 secs on the rest of the pack.

Again on the last lap with Hanford, Luke and Reed bumper to bumper, there was no way Luke was settling for 2nd. Hanford made a carbon copy mistake with three corners to go and through went Luke dragging Reed with him Luke took the flag and another fantastic win stretching his championship lead to 24 points.

WEATHER DAMPENS SEASON FINISH

The last round of the British Championship was held at Wigan, Luke's home track. It was not a good weekend for Luke though. Changeable weather on Saturday saw him struggling with handling problems which resulted in him only managing to finish 10th.

In the 2nd race, the weather was horrendous with heavy rain throughout the day. Again, Luke suffering with brake problems only managing to finish 15th.

At the end of a long championship, Luke was ranked number 6 in the British Cadet Championship. After a up and down season, we would have been happy to have finished in the Top 20. In Luke's first year at the top level, we were over the moon to to finish 6th overall.

August 2007
PODIUM PLACE FOR LUKE IN BELGIUM

Luke's first time racing in Europe. We arrived at the track on the Wednesday before as there was two days testing prior to the race.

He took delivery of a new Zip Storm bought by his sponsor Global Tiles for the meeting. Rain started to fall through the early hours of Thursday so it was full wet set up for most of the day. By late afternoon the track was dry. Finding the pace very quickly, Luke was enjoying himself learning the new track. Friday testing saw temperatures of 36 degs and with a good chassis set up Luke was one of the front runners.

On Saturday, an 8th, 5th and a 4th gave Luke grid 6 for the A Final. A good tussle with the pack saw positions changing every lap. Luke took the flag in 6th place. Sunday saw the temperature rising to over 40 degrees. With good heat finishes a (3rd, 4th & 4th ) Luke was on grid 5 for the A Final. What a battle this was! He got up to 3rd at the first corner before being demoted down to 8th but picked his way through the field again. On the last lap of the 12 lap race Luke was in 5th place and a good overtaking manoeuvre put him up to 3rd which he then held to the flag for his first podium in Europe.

Luke receives his new Zip Storm from sponsor Global Tiles

July 2007
TYRE CHOICE COST LUKE AT LLANDOW

Producing good heat results saw Luke at the sharp end in the A final. It had rained heavy all day but for the final there was a drying line around the track as we went to the grid on wet tyres. Luke wanted to change to slicks but dad advised against it as most of the field were on wets. Luke was knocked off at the start but managed to get back up to 11th place. As it was the championship leader started 18th on the grid on slicks and went on to win.

June 2007
LUKE RETURNS TO THREE SISTERS

Luke had a rare outing at 3 Sisters in Wigan in June 2007 on a weekend free from national meetings. Luke was looking to add the prestigious gold cup to his 3 championships and the winter cup wins.

Torrential rain held off the start till lunch time so all the heats were cancelled. So time qualifying sorted the grid for the pre-final. Luke could only manage 13th but finished 6th in the race, so he was through to the main final.

Starting in 6th it was a quick change to slicks last minute. This proved to be a bad choice as all slick shod karts struggled and lost ground. The race was red flagged on lap 2 and the restart put back till the end of the day. Again starting 6th, Luke quickly moved to 4th place were he ran for the rest of the race to take the flag some distance behind the winner.

LUKE TEAMS UP WITH NORCROS ADHESIVES GROUP

Luke would like to welcome a new corporate partner to join him in his quest to reach the highest level he can in motorsport.

Welcome Norcros Adhesives Group, who join Global Tiles and Higgins Rally School in support for 2007/2008 season.

LUKE CUTS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD TO FOUR POINTS

Luke's home track and being the club champion he was favourite to take the spoils. Testing his new kart and last years chassis Luke opted to race last years kart. On Saturday, Luke was 2nd in timed qualifying 1 tenth behind championship leader Ashley Whiteman. A flying start soon saw Luke leading the race until contact from behind on the last lap dropped Luke to 2nd place for the flag. On Sunday, Luke qualified fastest and was looking good for the race. At the start Luke was cutting through the pack then started to slow and dropped down the field just managing to hold onto 4th place. On inspection of his kart in Parc Ferme it was discovered that the brake was stuck on. The saving grace was that Luke beat Ashley on both days reducing his 22 point lead down to 4 points.

LUKE MISSES OUT AT LARKHALL

Luke had decide that he was going to race his old zip kart for the rest of the championship. Onto round 4, in Luke first 2 heats he managed to finish in the top 10 but the 3rd heat was a disaster. A big shunt saw his kart badly damaged and was forced to retire. This put Luke in the B final for the first time in his career with badly bruised ribs. He could only manage 9th and, with only the top 4 being promoted to the A final, it was a early bath for Luke.

May 2007
RACE ABANDONED AT SHENNINGTON

On to round 3 the heavens had opened during the night and the racing looked like it might be called off but the heats got under way Luke had fantastic finishes in all of his heats winning heat 3 from last on the grid this was enough to make sure Luke started the final at the front but unfortunately the weather worsened and mid afternoon it was abandoned for safety reasons.

April 2007
CRASH DAMAGE SLOWS LUKE AT KIMBOLTON

First round of the British championships 2007 Luke did well in all of his heats on sat to put his kart 6th on the grid for the final unfortunately he was on the outside of the grid and into the first corner he got held out and dropped down the field before climbing back up to 10th place, again doing very well in his heats on Sunday saw Luke 4th on the grid with good pace. A pile up in the first corner eliminated a lot of the front runners Luke manage to keep going but with a damaged kart only managed to finish 24th.

LUKE MOVES TO SECOND IN CHAMPIONSHIP AT ROWRAH

Onto rounds 4 & 5 of the Motors TV Championship. Luke was again struggling in timed qualifying on his new Arrow Chassis. Luke's mechanics changed just about everything on the kart to try to get on the pace for the race but Luke could only manage 5th on both days but due to some exclusions Luke was promoted to 4th on Saturday and 3rd on Sunday, but it was enough to move up to 2nd in the championship.

February 2007
WEATHER SLOWS LUKE AT LLANDOW

Going into the opening round of the Motors TV championship as the current champion Luke was one of the favourites to do well, unfortunaly with chainable weather Luke was not able to qualify at the front only managing 6th fastest on both days, a 3rd and 6th in the races was a slight disappointment but there was still along way to go.

LUKE WINS WINTER CUP

Luke made it four today by winning the Winter Cup to add to his 3 championships from 2006. Qualifying 4th on the grid in timed practice, Luke took victory in the first race and was running second in the second race until a slight bit of contact - due to being on slicks as the rain started to come down - saw Luke spun around, eventually finishing 9th. Grided 5th for the 20 lap pre-final, Luke came home in 4th place struggling with too much grip and a wrong gear choice.

In the 25-lap final, Luke immediately went into second place and was happy to sit in the train of karts which was running bumper to bumper for the whole race. The win was anyone's. Not wanting to lead to early Luke left it till the last lap to make a move. Unfortunately he did so under a yellow flag and had to give the place back, going into the final turn Luke got up the inside of the leader and took a delightful win on his new Arrow Kart.

LUKE SIGNS FOR WALKER RACING WITH FULL FACTORY SUPPORT FROM ARROW

During 2006, Walker Racing had been keeping a close eye on the talents in the Cadet class for 8 to 13 year olds. They already had good representation on the adult circuit but felt it was time to seriously pursue the cadet scene which would then escalate to the juniors.

It was not an easy task. Neil Walker, Team Owner, kept a close eye on the Motors TV Challenge. At a very early stage he realised the complete potential of Luke Hughes - always enthusiastic, excellent presentation and the true grit determination to win. Neil had made his choice and it was up to him to convince Luke and his father, Tony, that a works team drive with Walker Racing together with the Arrow chassis and full factory support was the winning combination to consider for 2007.

It was not an easy persuader for Neil Walker. Luke had already had a fantastic Motors TV win in August, immediately followed the next day with another win in the club championship. Neil persuaded the Hughes team to test drive the new cadet chassis which was to be launched in early 2007. It was agreed and Luke continued to dominate whilst Walker Racing were in constant contact, although so were many other teams who had also spotted young Luke. By the end of the year, Luke had accolades including Wigan Cadet Champion, Glan Y Gors Cadet Champion and, the most important of all, the Motors TV Cadet Champion.

In early 2007, after Luke had tested other products, Neil as sole importer of the Australian Arrow chassis was confident. Luke tested the kart on the 4th February and the word "fantastic" was used. Luke was very close to his own lap record on a first drive in a cold February - an excellent starting point! The deal was done and the official signing took take place at the 1st Round of the Motors TV Challenge - what better way to start but where he was first spotted? Neil was very grateful to the Motor TV Challenge linked to the presence of television it enabled Neil to source and seal his new team driver. Welcome Luke Hughes!
Statement From Walker Racing

Visit the Walker Racing web site

January 2007
LUKE HUGHES STARTS 2007 WITH A WIN

Luke kick-started his 2007 season off with a fine win at Shennington on 21st January finishing 2nd in Heat 1 and winning Heat 2. He therefore claimed pole for the final which he won from Brett Wykes and Julian Davies.

HUGHES ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR 2007

In 2007 Luke will be contesting the British Championships, Super 1, Motors TV Championship and a package is being put together to compete in the Mini ROK Championship in Italy. We are currently testing various 2007 karts to decide which chassis to run with next year.

December 2006
LUKE CROWNED TRIPLE CHAMPION
In September, Luke became the youngest cadet driver at MBKC to win the championship Luke's season has be very consistent scoring high in the points for most of the year, giving him a massive points lead and allowing him to drop the last two rounds to take his first championship.

The following month, Luke secured the Cadet Championship at the Glan Y Gors circuit in North Wales again with a large points lead due to his consistent race finishes and allowing him to drop the final round to become the first cadet to do the double and still only nine years old.

November saw Luke go into the last round of the televised Motors TV championship 6 points behind championship leader Danny Sweeney. However, Luke was never going to concede the title whistle he had a mathematical chance and finishing 3rd in the race giving him the championship. Unbelievably that made Luke a triple champion in only his 2nd year of kart racing.

Read the report from the final round of the Motors TV Kart Series

Watch the Motors TV coverage of the race

September 2006
HUGHES SELECTED FOR WELSH NATIONAL KART TEAM IN 2007
Luke was selected to race for Wales in the Inter-National championship at Llandow in South Wales. He qualified at the front with good heat results and grid position for the final, but a rare mechanical failure saw him grind to a halt on the formation lap putting paid to what looked like a being promising race.

Despite this disappointment, Luke has already been asked to compete for the Welsh National Kart Team in 2007.

HUGHES LEADS THREE CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH SIX RACES LEFT
At this stage of the year, Luke has got only 2 races left in each of the 3 championships he is competing in and holds comfortable leads at 3 Sisters and GYG. Only a disaster will stop Luke taking the titles - a fantastic achievement for someone still only 9 years old.

In the Motors TV Championship, Luke has won 2 out of the last 3 races and was 2nd at the last round to become the Championship Leader by one point. The final two races of the season will decide the title.

You can read more about Luke Hughes in the round 7 report from the Motors TV Championship here

May 2006
HUGHES EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AND SMASHES LAP RECORD
A bright sunny day at GYG and Luke took wins in the first two heats and 3rd in heat three despite starting from the back. The results meant he started from pole for the final. Just as we were ready to go to the grid it started to spit with rain and the race started with most drivers on slicks although some had changed to a wet gearing. We had gambled on the rain stopping and got off to a good start with Luke in a steady lead. With four laps to go the rain was coming down harder at the top of the track, it was now getting very slippery and difficult. The two karts behind on wet gearing caught Luke on the last lap. Danny Sweeney slipped by coming out of the top corner and Luke passed him back at the bottom of the hill. It looked like he had done enough to take the flag, but Danny (the mugger) slipped by coming into the last corner his wet gearing just giving him the drive to the flag.

Pole and 2nd place was enough to extend Lukes lead in the championship and he also smashed the lap record in heat 2 - 49.973 seconds - beating the previous record of 50.05 seconds set by Luke himself in October 2005.

April 2006
THE FAST AND THE FRUSTRATING FOR HUGHES IN APRIL
Round 2 of the UK Challenge was held on a hot sunny day at 3 Sisters in Wigan. Luke started on the back row due to the reverse grid format after his 2nd place last month. As the lights went green, Luke got off to a flyer but then lost ground almost immediately as he was coming round to the line at the end of the first lap. Luke pulled on to the grass frantically trying to fix a throttle problem, but his efforts were to no avail. The main shaft had failed - a sad end to a promising race.

So it was on to Round 5 of the MBKC race on the following Sunday and Luke was desperate to put the disappointment of Saturday behind him. A 4th and 6th in the heats saw Luke start 6th for the final on a grid of 34 karts. Another flyer saw him into the first corner in 4th place holding this for at least half the race so as not to get to the front too early. With five laps to go, a nine kart train had broken away from the rest of the field. Luke went up to 2nd, dropped back down the field before making his way back up to 2nd. Luke and the other leaders swapped places so many times no one knew who would win. Going to the flag, four karts had manage to pull away by a couple of lengths, four a breast to the line only 0.078 separated them with Luke taking 3rd behind winner Ethan Patterson and second-placed James McClay. Luke has now moved up to 3rd in the Championship.

March 2006
CONSISTENT HUGHES IMPRESSES AT UK CHALLENGE
Luke takes 2nd in a dead heat in the first round of the UK Challenge held at 3 Sisters Race Track. Drawing grid positions from a hat for the first round Luke pulled grid 12 and then got a flyer at the start and went round the outside in the first corner and straight up to third place by the end of lap 1, firmly in the tow of the 1st and 2nd place karts.

Hard on the brakes into the hairpin Luke slipped by Josh Fry and James McLay to take a lead which he held for 13 laps. Getting his engine a little hot in the closing stages, Luke was down on power and the lead he had was decreasing rapidly. On the penultimate lap, Luke caught a couple of back markers and got held up enough for the pack to close onto his bumper, losing the lead for a couple of corners Luke fought back to the front and held on to it till the last corner. A frantic battle to the finishing line saw the timing machine record a dead heat with Luke tied with Dan Sweeny from Stockport. The decision came down to the lap scorers who had Sweeny ahead by an inch. Luke will now have to start on the back row of the grid for the next round in April as the rounds have a reverse grid format.

Each round is being filmed and will be shown on Motors TV starting on April 10th at 7pm.


February 2006
HUGHES STORMS THROUGH THE FIELD AT MBKC
After starting on P12 for the final at MBKC on the 26th February, Luke came through a very strong field to finish third overall setting a lap time of 51.98, the fastest lap of the race was 51.82.


February 2006
FIRST PODIUM OF 2006 FOR HUGHES
Luke raced at the Winter Cup held at Glan Y Gors in torrential rain on Sunday 12th of February 2006, finished 2nd in both heats and started 2nd on the grid for the final. After overcoming carburettor problems and dropping back down the field early in the race, the 9-year old kart racer managed to fight back to 2nd place, finishing just 6 seconds behind close friend Liam Kelly who had started on pole after winning both heats. Luke collected a trophy and sprayed the champagne to mark his first podium finish of 2006.


LUKE WINS CADET DRIVER OF THE YEAR 2005 TITLE
At the annual awards ceremony for MBKC held at the Park Hall Hotel in Camelot, Luke Hughes collected his awards for 8th place in the Three Sisters Championship and 2nd place in the GYG Cchampionship - a fantastic result for his 1st full season.

Much to Luke's delight at the end of the awards he was also presented with the prestigious Cadet Driver Of The Year 2005 trophy for his results and commitment to the sport. The award totally took us all by surprise. Along with the trophy, Luke was presented with a fantastic framed montage of his first year of racing supplied by Paul and Yvonne Longley, the official photographers of the race meetings.


GLOBAL TILES OF COLWYN BAY SPONSORS LUKE
Luke would like to announce that he has agreed a new sponsorship deal with Global Tiles Ltd. of Colwyn Bay. Managing Director, Mr. David Parish, has been been watching Luke race for the last few months and contacted him in early January. Global Tiles Ltd. has agreed to sponsor Luke for the rest of the year as he competes in the British Championships and 3 rounds in Europe.

December 2005
SECOND OVERALL AND NEW LAP RECORD FOR HUGHES
Colwyn Bay's Luke Hughes has finished as vice champion at Glan Y Gors karting circuit in North Wales and set a blistering new fastest lap at the circuit in the final. After qualifying for poll in the last race by dominating the heats, Luke drove clear of the field, winning the final race of the year by over 5.5 seconds and smashing his own lap record twice - once in the qualifying heats and again in the final. The result meant that the nine year old finished second overall in the GYG Championship in his first year in the sport - beaten only by the champion who is a final year cadet with significantly more experience.

The young racer will be competing in the British Championships in 2006 and has just signed a deal to use engines prepared by Soixante Racing.

July 2005
FIRST OUTRIGHT WIN FOR HUGHES
Young kart racing star Luke Hughes recorded his first outright win in a competitive race on July 17th at Glan Y Gors Park circuit in North Wales. The eight year old from Colwyn Bay has impressed continually since his debut novice race in October 2004 and, after a series of novice class victories and a string of podium finishes, he notched up his first win in style. As well as taking his place on the top step, Luke also recorded the fastest lap in the final - an impressive 50.32 second lap on a circuit where the lap record is 50.19.

Luke would like to thank David Higgins, Team LHR & Paul Longley for their ongoing support