Callum's route to GT racing stemmed from a hugely successful stint in karting where he competed in the junior and senior Rotax classes. He was a regular attendee at the Clay Pigeon Club in Dorset, as well as multiple other tracks across the UK, including driving in the British Championships.
Find out more about Callum's journey in racing below. For videos on Callum's progress throughout the season, check out his YouTube channel.
The journey to racing started by complete chance back in 2016. At that time Callum had been swimming competitively for a little while at a Bristol based swimming club, and showing great potential. Swimming was his Dad's sport so made sense for him to follow suit. However a friends 10th birthday party at the local indoor karting track would change things very quickly!
Callum enjoyed driving around the indoor track so much, he asked to go back, which his dad tentatively returned him to, a few weeks later. A poster on the wall advertising a junior indoor championship was on full display and an eager Callum asked if he could do it. Callum was then in his first race whizzing around an indoor track on a cold winters morning. As the chequered flag flew, Callum came home in first place, and therefore cemented his new passion - with swimming very quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Lessons at the indoor track, more races, led to the suggestion of outdoor karting from the staff, something Callum and his Dad knew nothing about. Llandow in South Wales was the next destination for a look around, and a chance to join their Junior driving school. Junior Pro-Kart was the carriage of choice and Callum was shortly competing in his first championship, finishing second.
The next step was in the much faster Junior Rotax class and Clay Pigeon raceway in Dorset, the location, and karting 'home' for the next few years. As Callum learned the new kart, track, he evolved from non-licensed racing into fully Motorsport UK affiliated races. In the Junior class he competed at multiple events, the most coveted of which was the British Championships where his best race saw him finish 11th in the A Final against World class competition.
Callum's eagerness to learn and race meant his Dad employed the services of a talented driver coach and mechanic full-time by the name of Kieran Shanks - himself a top level racer. Between Callum and Kieran they set off visiting most of the UK kart tracks, practicing and racing, but learning at every step. As the race craft improved so did the finishing places.
As the Global lockdown of 2020 occurred, the karting stopped for everyone, somewhat thwarting his progress. At the age of 14 and with lockdown easing it was decided to enter Callum into the much more competitive Senior Rotax class, meaning a quicker kart and significantly more experienced drivers to race. Progress was temporarily paused once again during the second half of 2021 due to an injury sustained at home. But coming back even stronger at the start of 2022 saw Callum master the Senior Rotax class, and podiums became a regular occurrence...
In July 2022, he was running second in the illustrious National Kart Championship, when a test day in a Ginetta GT Academy car at Blyton Park was organised to test his skills. Immediately the racing car bug bit and overnight he hung up his karting boots, and traded them for fully fledged racing car ones instead, and whilst not an easy decision - it was certainly an exciting one.
Under the close, watchful eye, of his driver coach and world renowned racing driver Jon Lancaster, they both have worked extremely hard to hone Callum's natural talent whilst building an incredible bond.
In co-ordination with multiple teams, at various race tracks across the country under the guidance of his Jon, Callum set out refining his skills behind the wheel of a race car. The aim of the latter months of 2022 was to prepare for the 2023 race season in a Ginetta, as options existed in various classes, given their racing pedigree. As December 2022 arrived and Callum hit 16, it was also announced by Ginetta they would be launching a brand new race series called the "GT Pro", and as the ink dried on the application form for this new season he was confirmed as the youngest driver in a grid of experienced car racers, making the challenge ahead an invigorating one for sure.
Callum excelled beyond expectations. He finished as the vice-champion, securing multiple podiums at every race weekend, including several wins.
This year as one of the youngest drivers to ever compete in the prestigious 2024 British GT Championship, Callum has joined the RaceLab team. Driving the McLaren Artura GT4, Callum will compete in a race series that is renowned the World over as one of the most competitive of its type, featuring a significant amount of factory drivers.
British GT is among the world's biggest domestic GT championships. Its multi-class racing format, featuring GT3 and GT4 cars, offers an opportunity for existing professionals to excel, youngsters to develop, and amateurs to win outright. SRO's world-renowned Balance of Performance rules prevent any single manufacturer from dominating, regardless of a car's inherent capabilities, thus placing greater emphasis on driver talent.
You can watch Callum live online or on Sky Sports F1, where extensive coverage and a strong media presence offer our partners excellent exposure.
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