Club100 Racing Ltd Bon Accord House Eurolink Commercial Park Sittingbourne Kent OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE ME10 3SJ
Niki Richardson Announced as Club100’s New Chief Clerk of the Course
For nearly 20 years to club members Niki Richardson has been a fixture of Club100 Racing weekends as a calm, diligent, easy going “lets get Niki in it” kart tester equally admired for his prodigious kart control and sound coaching advice.
With the retirement of the much loved and respected Chief Clerk Russ Pittingale, Club100 Managing Director John Vigor was left with a pair of larger than life shoes and some bad hats to be filled. Fortunately he did not need a direct replacement, he had something else in mind, engaging the quiet ‘seen and done it’ assurance and judgement in karting matters of Niki Richardson.
He was named after Niki Lauda, his helmet colours are a tribute to his father’s favourite, a racing legend, Gilles Villeneuve. His own career is steeped in what may one day be seen as the last great era for British motor racing drivers of the late 1980s & early 1990s. And it reads like who’s who of top UK driving talent. He began karting at Tilbury and Rye House, often under the guidance of the late Dan Wheldon, 2 time Indy500 winner. His karting career began in earnest in 1990 when he won 5 out of 6 races as well as taking part in the televised Gulf Oil Super Prix. The following year, he became a works driver in the Super One Cadet championship and finished behind 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and 2014 World Endurance Champion Anthony Davidson. He became Southern Area champion that same year beating Indycar driver Jay Howard to the title. 1992 was a breakthrough year that saw him finish runner up in the Super One series and take numerous other titles including the British Cadet O Plate.
He became a works driver for Wright Kart and Jenson’s dad John Button’s Rocket Engines. He got his first taste of driving coaching, we are not allowed to say by royal appointment, for Princes William and Harry - giving the future King some tuition.
The following year Niki once again finished runner up in the Super 1 Cadet series beating future McLaren F1 test driver and 2006 DTM Champion Gary Paffett, Indycar & Toyota WEC driver Mike Conway, BTCC’s Luke Hines and Daniel Welch. He continued tearing up the club scene, winning numerous titles and prestigious events including the 1993 Silverstone Kart Grand Prix beating 2000 World Karting Champion Colin Brown, and the Meccano kart Super Prix. At the end of 1993 he became a works driver for karting legend Martin Hines’ Zip Kart and in 1994 finally won the British Super One Championship beating future double Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, fellow F1 star Paul di Resta and Audi WEC works driver Oliver Jarvis amongst others without even having to contest the final round of the season such was his dominance. He won the O Plate title, Silverstone Kart Grand Prix for a second time and was an Autosport Award Winner.
It’s the unfortunate truth of motorsport that despite the exceptional talent and hard work of Niki and his family he would not be given an opportunity to progress through single seaters to Formula 1, it also requires luck and money. It was not even a question of taking a wrong turn, or missing the turn when it was there. The turn did not present itself. It is the measure of the man he has become, and the grounding and love of his family that there is no hint of bitterness toward the sport, what might have beens, not even trading on old friendships to get into Silverstone test days, which he would attend religiously where drivers he used to beat were running in F1. He still loves motor racing. He is a huge fan.
And one day should that “pure racer” Lewis Hamilton emulate or exceed his boyhood hero’s record, three time world champion Ayrton Senna and a movie is made about his racing life, he may yet repeat this published quote - “Dad would find where Niki was braking and he would walk a few metres later and make me brake there, and that’s how I became a late braker. Eventually I realised I could brake even later than everyone else.” And if he does it may yet prove to be Niki’s own ‘there was a man called Full-er-ton’ moment. But he’ll probably shrug and laugh it off. John Vigor, Club100 Managing Director - “He has a growing coaching and development business Niki Richardson Driver Development built on a lifetime of experience and he enjoys the universal respect of customers, colleagues, competitors, friends & family.
Club100 Racing is proud to announce Niki Richardson as our 2015 Chief Clerk of the Course.”