Young James moving in right direction

JAMES Kelly from Ballinascorney will compete in the final round of the Rally Sport Association Northern Ireland Winter Championship on Saturday.

The Antrim based event is the final round in the winter series and James, at 13 years of age is currently leading the Junior class with 1 round remaining.

The Junior class caters for drivers between the ages of 12 to 17 in 1000cc cars.

James drives a left-hand drive Peugeot 107 with a full roll cage, competition seats and six-point safety harness.

All junior drivers must have a co-driver and this responsibility is shared between his father Jason Kelly and grandfather John Kelly.

This class has an average of 25 entries per event and competition is fierce with young drivers from all over the country battling for the top spot.

James with one of his trophies Photo by Philip Stewart

His fast pace, consistency and fearless determination has allowed James to take three wins, one 3rd place and two 5th place finishes to date in this championship leaving him with a 23 point lead over his nearest rival, but with points still up for grabs in the final round it’s all still to play for.

He started competing in March 2023 at the age of 12, although he was one of the youngest in the junior class he quickly established himself as one of the front runners, scoring a podium in one of his first outings of the 2023 Summer Championship.

James has two busy weekends ahead as he is also competing in the Rally Sport Association Pallas Winter Series, this championship is based in Tynagh in Galway.

This championship consists of four-rounds, of the three rounds that have been completed to date he has won 2 and came 2nd in the other, he leads this championship by 1 point with the last round on the March 24.