‘I cannot describe with words what I feel when I race’

Between Wednesday 30th September and Sunday 4th October the T4 Nations Cup will be staged at the International Kartodromo Lucas Guerrero in Valencia. The event is a big deal indeed for those involved in the sport of karting. It’s also an event that attracts many of the best drivers in Europe, if not the world – and among them will be Meath teenager Adrian Giel.

From Bettystown, Adrian’s career in the world of karting could be described as meteoric. The 14-year-old only started out in the sport two years ago yet already he was proved himself one of the best young drivers in Ireland in his category, a fact underlined with the way he has qualified for Valencia, the picturesque Spanish city that is located on the shores of the Mediterranean. It’s a big event in a sport that the teenager simply loves.

“My dream is to become an FI driver,” explained Adrian who is a member of the Wexford-based PBR team. “I cannot describe with words what I feel when I race!”

Young Adrian’s credentials as a driver were, this year, road-tested at various events throughout Ireland in recent months in the Tillotson T4 championship including the track in Athboy. Other race meetings took place in Wexford and Cork and in Collon in the Wee County.

Along the way the youngster – who is a student at Educate Together in Drogheda – amassed enough wins to put him on the verge of winning the Irish T4 title but in the final round at he was denied the title by a piece of downright bad luck.

He was disqualified on a technicality even though he didn’t do anything wrong. At the first corner his kart was struck by another kart, as some crowding took place, with the collision damaging the air filter in his vehicle - and while the title proved elusive it still didn’t prevent him from qualifying for the Nations Cup in Valencia. His consistent, high-class performances in earlier rounds ensured that was the case.

As is usually the way at racing events in Ireland, Adrian will be supported in Valencia by members of his family including his parents Martha and Jack (both of Polish extraction) who have, along with other family members, backed their son, and his love of racing, all the way in a sport that can be very expensive, especially at a high level.

That’s way, as Martha points out, the family are seeking sponsors to help to deal with the costs that can run into a very substantial sum of money indeed in order to keep the show on the road. Even the cost of new tyres, or a helmet, can be eye-watering.

“We have to pay to a new set of tyres for every race, well you don’t have to, but to deliver good results you need good tyres, and it costs €400 for a new set,” she explains to illustrate her point. A new kart, she adds, the kind needed for racing, costs around £6,000 while there are other formidable expenses involved in maintaining the machine and getting it transported from one venue to another.

The Giel family feel, because of Adrian’s love of the sport, the sacrifices are worthwhile. It is a sport that, Martha adds, teaches resilience as demonstrated in the heartbreaking way Adrian missed out on the Irish title, a setback he simply took on board and moved on.

“Karting is the kind of sport that really shapes Adrian’s personality. After the last round he was so close to being champion of Ireland, he was fighting to the end of the final race and he was so happy and then he was disqualified. If that was me I would sit in the corner and cry but he held his head up.”

Martha and her family are simply eager to do all they can to give Adrian every chance to fulfil his ambitions; to go as far in motorsport as he can go. Already, as Martha Giel points out, he has travelled far in a short space of time. “He just goes to racing events and wins. That suggests he has the talent and what’s amazing because he’s competing against drivers who have lots of experience, lots of money and lots of training. Adrian doesn’t get any training.”

Now picturesque Valencia, in sunny Spain, beckons for a young Meath driver and his family who has overcome the odds.

· Those wishing to sponsor Adrian Giel can contact Martha Giel on (083) 0263361.