Show me the money: The giant leap from karting to cars(4)

Positive news then that Alan is confidant TKM can provide a long-term solution to those wanting to race at a professional level on a budget, with expectations for “a strong future” based around simply keeping “the heart of the class exactly as it has always been.” Alternative classes that use the TKM engine such as the arrive and drive Championship, Club100, and low cost owner-driver Clubman Championship, also ensure racers on very limited budgets with varying experience levels can enjoy the scream of a TKM engine without breaking the bank.

So problem solved; TKM has the answer. Not exactly. TKM is certainly an important class not just in karting, but also British motorsport as a whole. It provides racers with the chance to race wheel-to-wheel with top-level drivers, all under a fairly controlled budget. But unfortunately it does not provide an answer for drivers hoping to race for a living.

This problem and its lack of publicity was recently emphasised during a BBC F1 broadcast when 1996 F1 World Champion, Damon Hill, said that the current motorsport system in Europe was effective at filtering down the talent to the very best. To some respects this is true, as there is no doubting that the drivers currently at the top of motorsport are all very good. But it is no doubt a massive shame that even someone as in touch with motorsport as an F1 World Champion, would be so unaware of the unfortunate truth: that as well as filtering out the less talented, motorsport is doing just as good a job of filtering out the less rich.