12th Grand Final
After winning Final 1 and seeing his main championship rival Jamie Caroline excluded, Daniel Ticktum knew that only a freak set of results next time out could deprive him of the title.
Theoretically, Caroline could become champion provided that he managed to win Final 2 from the back and Ticktum finished no higher than 13th. Anything less than a win for Jamie and the title would be Daniel’s regardless of his finishing position. You wouldn’t have found anyone in the paddock prepared to bet money on that actually happening. Much to everyone’s surprise, Ticktum actually came home in 13th spot and Caroline produced the drive of his young life to win this one. Unfortunately for Jamie, Ryan Anderton’s subsequent exclusion elevated Daniel to 12th place, sufficient for him to win the championship by a single point.
Thus, Daniel joins Lewis Hamilton, Adam King, James Bradshaw, Sam Jenkins and Roy Johnson as the only drivers to have won both S1 and Formula Kart Stars titles in Cadets. Hamilton claimed his S1 crown in 1995 but was beaten the following year by Chris Rogers. However, Lewis did manage a 1996 title win in Champions of the Future (forerunner of Formula Kart Stars). Hamilton was succeeded by Paul Di Resta as the 1997 C.O.F winner and it should come as no surprise that both of these drivers have carved out successful F1 careers. Today, there are six national championships for Cadets and this figure excludes competitions such as NKF and NKRA. Alongside Ticktum’s double title wins, Jack Young is the Honda champion with Billy Monger, Alex Sedgwick and Sam Faulkner all claiming Super Cadet, V TP and Easykart crowns respectively. Of these, a neutral observer might single out Ticktum as the one most likely to achieve future success as his titles are, without doubt, the most prestigious.
Karting Magazine December 2011