For Fenn Chapman, karting is more than a hobby. It’s a way of overcoming the challenges he faces in everyday life. He and his father were one of the few “lads and dads” duos that entered the SuperOne cup last year, and stole the hearts of the nation on Channel 4’s “Britain’s fastest kids” documentary. But, with a tight budget, Fenn might not be racing for much longer.
Fenn started racing at five, after being diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum.
“I went online and found out when he could start driving,” his father, Fenn Snr, said. “I found out he could start driving a bambino from five. He was four and a half. I bought a kart for him, I put it in the garage, and that was his fifth birthday present. And we started karting from there.”
Unlike many young racers, Fenn doesn’t come from a racing background. Competitive karting was a new world for the Chapmans.
“I found it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to us,” said Fenn Snr. “Incredible. It wasn’t strange. It was the best thing that ever happened.”
But karting is expensive. With the abundance of professional teams pushing up the costs, it’s impossible for Fenn and his family to keep going on their tight budget. Though there are plenty of people looking to help novice drivers and their parents, that comes at a price, and there isn’t much financial support available.
“You have to go and get people to help you,” Fenn Snr said. “You have to make people want to help you. There’s millions of people in the world and karting’s a competitive thing. And we’re all competing against each other at the end of the day.”
But, since the Channel 4 documentary was broadcast, the Chapmans have gained a lot of support
“There’s been a lot of support since we went on air, from individual members of the public and people from within the motorsport world have started to come forward to try and help find sponsors for Fenn and help spread the word.”
Hi Guys! hope you are all well! Thanks so much for watching the show ! it was a great experience for us. so glad you enjoyed it. Ta,
— Fenn Chapman (@FennChapman) November 20, 2016
A Go Fund Me account has been set up for Fenn to help raise the funds needed for him to compete in the British Cadet Kart Championship next season. Until the funding is raised, there’s not much young Fenn can do but watch his heroes in Formula One preparing for their 2017 season. But his father is busy.
“We’re hoping that we can use this as a force for good, to try and raise awareness of autism and also the power of karting,” he said. “And how amazing and positive karting can be… Something great has happened to us and it’s only been because of people’s reactions to us and I just feel like we should be doing something to try and spread that goodness around.”
Fenn Snr is now in the process of starting up a charitable project to help disadvantaged kids have a go in a kart.
Image credit: FennChapman.com
