LOCAL businesses are helping Warrington youngster Luca Narraway live life in the fast lane.
Now Luca who started karting in 2018 aged just 5 years old, is on the lookout for more sponsorship as he sets his sights on racing in Europe later this year.
He has already secured the backing of Warrington businesses Real5networking, Radio Warrington and the Staffing Experts.
His dad Lee made the mistake of taking him to drive a kart for his 5th birthday and karting has taken over all family life from that moment on much to the dismay of his mother, Kathryn.
Luca took to the sport very quickly and was on the podium for his first 11 races driving in the COMER C50 Bambino class.
In 2019 Luca went National and competed in the Bambino Karting Championship IAME Class and then again in 2020 when Luca was the winner of the inaugural Superone/BKC IAME Bambino race held at Clay Pigeon in Dorchester, he also qualified on Pole for all but one of that season’s races and narrowly missed out on winning the championship.
In 2021 Luca moved into the Cadet class for ages 8-12 and competed in the LGM championship gaining a second place heat in round 2 at PFI.
2022 saw Luca move into the British Karting Championship, this was a big step and provided him with a real challenge as this is the highest level of Karting in the UK. He also competed in Cheshire Kart Club Northwest Championship which he won by winning 5 out of 6 rounds.
For 2023 Luca will again be competing in the WERA Tools British Championship and he has moved in to the new intermediate IAME Waterswift class for 10-13 year olds.
The British Championships take place at 5 outdoor race circuits around the UK, Larkhall in Scotland, GYG in Wales, PFI in Lincolnshire, Rowrah in Cumbria and Shennington in Oxfordshire.
The commitment that Luca has to give to compete in this demanding sport is huge, he trains on a pro level simulator at home every day, works with a sport psychologist and is in the Kart 3 weekends out of 4 rain or shine (and sometimes snow)
Luca is a Warrington Boy, proud of the town and looking for more Warrington business to partner with him on his journey – His family want to take the message to the rest of the UK that Warrington is a great place to do business and the Town is vibrant, modern place that supports the development of local children in sport.
The sport is expensive, and the family typically spend between £15,000 and £25,000 a season depending on how many rounds they compete in and they are also looking to race in Europe later this year.
They are looking for partners to help with these costs. Team fees, tyres and parts form the biggest expenses. With accommodation and fuel being the other main costs.
• Spares & consumables – £2,400
• Entry fee’s – £3,600
• Hotels – £1,300
• Team Fee’s – £3,500
• Tyres – £3,600
• Chassis – £1,000
• Race suit – £600
• Testing and practice – £2,000
• Engine – £3,000
• Engine Rebuilds – £1,000
• Total – £22,000
Meanwhile Luca has also been invited to join the Young Racing Drivers academy which is run by Jamie Horner, the brother of Christian Horner of Red Bull, this would provide Luca with the best training and coaching available at their state of the art facility in the Cotswolds. The YRDA are a feeder to the Red Bull Junior program so this would put him right in the shop window so to speak.
Any amount of support helps and some of Luca’s school mates have contributed a little which was amazing. He even took his kart into school and drove around the playground to give them a flavour of what he does.
Luca has been on Warrington Radio a couple of times and has a good social media brand with thousands of followers on linkedin, Instagram and facebook
The sponsors have generated over £60,000 in the last twelve months from posts associated with Luca.
If you or your business would like to help Luca, please visit https://gofund.me/42b115ab