PHOTOS:
Determined Ryan Edwards takes a corner...
...and punches the air as he crosses the finishing line in first place
 
Ryan Edwards is rapidly making a name for himself in the world of karting, with his cool driving skills and his ability to analyse conditions and distances giving him an edge over most other 14 year olds who are involved in this mechanical sport where speed is of the essence.
 
Ryan hails from Haverfordwest and started his karting adventure at the age of 10, after watching a race at Llandow in Cowbridge, near Cardiff. Once Ryan, mum and dad saw the competition, they all had the bug and were hooked! His dad Alex thought back to when Ryan started driving a pedal kart at the age of three round the yard like a mad man, but at the same time, avoiding every obstacle and showing great skill, and Team Edwards was perhaps already up and running!
 

Alex starts Ryan’s story

 
We let Alex take up the story:

“We started to make enquiries in December 2009 at Llandow Kart Club’s ‘Racing Academy’, which is a racing school held over six weekends, or more if required, to learn the skills to pass an ARKS (Association of Racing Kart Schools) test and obtain a racing licence. Ryan showed early promise and really shone amongst his peers.
 
“Within four lessons, it was decided to buy Ryan his own kart and everything else needed to race so we bought a second hand kart on eBay and went to Dunkerswell, Nigel Mansell's racetrack in Exeter, to pick it up and pay. We realised straight away that it was too small, and were lucky the chap understood it was not suitable, so we were not out of pocket!
 

An interesting baptism

 
“Fortunately, there was a huge plus side because the staff at Dunkerswell allowed Ryan to have a drive on the track in one of their spare karts. We were delighted that the journey was not made for nothing, and Ryan put a helmet on and set off, on a track he couldn't see, and had no idea what lay beyond the 25 metres visibility afforded by monsoon rain, bouncing a good six inches off the track as he drove away.
 
“Within seconds we lost sight of Ryan in the rain. We could hear him and others racing round and every minute or so, got a brief sight of them, but it was worrying for Ryan as he didn't know the circuit and drove round and round until he eventually found the exit on to the pit lane. The funny thing was, he would have never found the exit unless the marshals had flagged him down and opened up some barriers to get him off the track. He loved it!
 

A gleaming new kart and an ordeal

 
“The journey home was sad, however, because we had no kart. We were desperate to find a good one, and we couldn't wait any longer. We ordered a brand new cadet kart from Beyford Meadows in Sittingbourne, Kent. It was beautiful, with gleaming graphics, sparkly new engine, and brand new tyres. It was a shame to put it on the track it was that nice to look at!

“Once Ryan had been fitted into his seat and adjustments made, it was time to get a feel of the kart; we were very excited and couldn't wait to get on to the circuit!
 
“When Ryan approached the pit lane there was a sudden realisation that we were sharing the track with the full racing grid when we had thought we would have the track to ourselves, but we were wrong! Ryan had to share the track with the full grid of about 30 experienced drivers.
 

Pushed from pillar to post in his new machine

 
Ryan had only driven corporate 'arrive and drive' karts until now, and we feared for Ryan's safety but he wasn’t fazed at all, despite  being passed, pushed, and shoved from all directions before spinning off on to the grass numerous times.
 
“He had been thrown in at the deep end and when Ryan eventually returned, the beautiful kart looked like it had been to hell and back. The tyres were scuffed badly and looking like they were ruined, the side pods were covered in rubber from other kart tyres making contact, and some of the graphics were destroyed. Welcome to karting!”
 

Nice way to gain his licence

 
Now armed with a competitive kart, they couldn't compete until Ryan had a licence, and one day whilst at Llandow practicing, the father of a competitor asked Alex "Have you applied for his ARKS test yet". It turned out that the man was the father of the lad that Ryan was following around, and was only two-tenths of a second a lap slower. The lad was amongst the leaders of the Llandow championship!
 
So the family decided to apply, and waited patiently for a date. As it turned out, Ryan had to share the track with a couple of senior drivers, one who was in his 40's, on a very quick kart. During the test, Alex told Ryan, "don't get in anybody's way and concentrate on consistent lap times and good lines, (which were part of the criteria).
 
Ryan acknowledged his words, but clearly didn't listen because he got fed up after a lap stuck behind the senior driver and overtook him through a corner! Alex naturally thought Edwards Junior had blown it but the examiner called the drivers in when he thought he had seen enough evidence of driving standards and called Ryan over to speak to him personally.  Ryan thought he was to receive a telling off but the examiner said,

“Well done! That was a nice clean manoeuvre you pulled off, when you overtook that kart. If you pass the written test, you will receive a licence.
 

A dream comes true

 
Ryan soon got his confidence and became very competitive, very quickly. In his five races as a novice he won the award as best novice three times, although there were drivers much more experienced, yet Ryan could race the best of them. His first race without novice plates came in December 2010, when the driving conditions were frosty and very slippery, Ryan's favourite, and he won the Celtic Challenge, to everyone's surprise. It had been a dream that one day we would receive a trophy for finishing in the top three and now all that has been surpassed!