ALEX TOTH - JONES

Who is …Alex Toth-Jones – Senior Rotax Kart Racer with Griffin Racing.

 I used to watch the Grand Prix with my Grandad when I was little and loved everything about cars and racing. By the time I was 11 I’d decided I wanted to be a racing driver and started working out how I could make that happen.
 I persuaded my Dad and Grandad to take me to the indoor track at Pole Position in Leeds. I think they wondered if this would get it out of my system, but it didn’t. Next came outdoor karting and my dad hired a kart from Tockwith race track. This is when I noticed that he had the racing bug just as badly as I do. He sold his motorbike and bought me my first kart and we would practice at Tockwith until I was ready to take my ARKS test.

photo courtesy of www.picturesports.co.uk

 The differences between and great racers is slim, but those few tenths are vital. If I was going to make a career from racing I needed to know if I had the required talent. Desire will carry you a long way, but when you get there you need to know you can deliver. So Dad and I decided to race at PF International in the Trent Valley Kart Club Championship, reasoning that if I could race competitively there I wasn’t wasting my time and Dad’s money.
 My first ever race was in Junior Max April 2010 Summer Championship. Sadly my Grandad died of a brain tumour before he could see my first real race.
 In my first full year as a Rookie in Junior Max I came 9th in the championship and took 2nd place Rookie. Dad was preparing the kart and making the changes, working from the back of van and with a gazebo from the local DIY shop. Yet despite our shoe string budget and limited experience we were able to attract some sponsors and with their help put together enough funding to join Griffin Racing and expand the number of tracks we raced at.

photo courtesy of www.picturesports.co.uk

 In 2013, as soon as I turned 16 we made the jump to Senior Max, the class I’m racing in today and staying with Griffin Racing who provide a excellence team environment for us to work in.
 2013 was a real turning point for me. At the British Kart GP after 4 days of qualifying races, heats and fighting may way through to the B Final, the Pre Final and to the A Final, I was awarded the Spirit of Kartmasters at the British Kart GP, by the club for my efforts.
 If getting to the Kartmaster final against the best karters in the UK wasn’t enough, I was also chosen by the MSA to be part of their Academy driver excellence programme, AASE. As well as it being a fantastic honour, being selected gives me access to some of the best coaches in motorsport.

photo courtesy of www.picturesports.co.uk

 Funding karting is always a challenge. Dad is my mechanic and Mum is my marketing department and has developed some great relationships. Stepping on to the next level needs an increase in the budget and we are always keen to investigate how we can help companies expand through cross marketing, advertising and partnership.
 The roadmap for the next few years is to move in to Formula Ford or BRDC F4.
 If you would like to contact Alex please do so though his web site. www.alextothjonesracing.co.uk

Twitter @AlexTJRacing
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ALEX TOTH-JONES

ALEX TOTH-JONES
Setting off to PFI Trent Valley Kart Club for winter champs - Full grids and looking like a wet weekend - looking forward to it. PF International Kart Circuit

ALEX TOTH-JONES

ALEX TOTH - JONES
Hi . I'm Alex Toth-Jones and I race karts!
My passion is racing, I love everything about it!

I've been racing karts since I was 12.
I currently race in the Senior Max Rotax class.
My main club is Trent Valley Kart club at PFi in Grantham
but I also race at 3 sisters in Wigan as well.
I currently run with a race team called Griffin Racing based in Warrington.
In my first year at PFi I came 12th in the championship as a novice driver and took a few novice trophies over the year.
In 2011 I finished 9th and took 2nd Rookie in the Junior Max championship. 
I was heading for 6th place overall in the championship but towards the end of the season I had some pretty disastrous race meetings most of which were out of my control!
I’ve since moved up a class to Senior Max and I'm halfway through my first year and so far it's going well I stand 10^th in the championship and looking forward to some more trophy's in 2013! 
My next race is the big race of the year Kartmasters the British Kart Grand Prix held at PFi in Grantham 1^st August – 4^th August. It’s massive and all the top drivers around the world attend with the main races being televised on either Sky Sports or Motors TV.
You’ve got to be light and extremely fit to be a karter as the lighter you are the faster you go and racing a kart like formula 1 needs a lot of strength and stamina not to mention concentration. We get up to speeds of 75mph on a small track with up to 40 karts on track at once.
My dream is to move onto professional car racing such as touring cars or even F1.
Karting is a very expensive hobby and so I rely on sponsors to help me fund my racing. I’m always looking for more sponsors and offer great advertising packages.
I’m also racing at Pole Position in Leeds at the end of November for the 24hr Ginetta karting challenge for Children in need with the Adaptive Control race team raising as much money for charity as well as trying to win the race of course!

I write a regular race blog which is published on my web site www.alextothjonesracing.co.uk if you want to hear more about my progress and you can follow me on twitter @AlexTJRacing