Holybourne's Noah Wolfe won the WERA Tools British KZ2 title at Silverstone on 10 October, a month after turning 17, the youngest driver ever to take it.

A 17-year-old from Holybourne, the village on the eastern edge of Alton, has become the youngest driver ever to win the WERA Tools British KZ2 Championship.

Noah Wolfe took the title on Saturday 10 October at the new Silverstone Kart Circuit, just over a month after his 17th birthday, his team said in a press release sent to Petersfield Online.

It is his second WERA Tools British Championship title. His team puts his record at 35 combined championship titles and podium finishes across the UK and Europe.

Not your average go-kart

KZ2 is a gearbox class, and the team stresses that these machines are very different from recreational go-karts. According to the release, the karts run highly tuned 125cc two-stroke engines with six-speed gearboxes. They go from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds and reach speeds approaching 100 mph, depending on the circuit and the gearing.

The published British Kart Championships class information quoted in the release puts it slightly more cautiously: 0 to 60 in under three seconds and top speeds over 90 mph.

At Silverstone, the team says, Noah made more than 38 gear changes on a lap lasting about 54 seconds. That is a gear change roughly every second and a half, for the length of a race.

A racing driver seen from the front in a white helmet with yellow and black markings, a Wera visor strip and a mirrored pink and orange visor, hands on a kart steering wheel.
Noah Wolfe in his helmet at the wheel of his kart. Photo: Parallel, supplied by Noah Wolfe Racing.

Racing since he was six

Noah started racing at six. For the past four years he has been a factory driver for the Italian kart manufacturer BirelART, racing at circuits across Europe in both direct-drive and gearbox karting. His results include a double Kartmasters title, which the team describes as historic.

The team says the British title matters more because KZ2 grids regularly include drivers considerably older and more experienced than him.

In the release, Noah said:

“Becoming KZ2 British Champion is something I’ve worked towards, and to achieve it at just 17 makes it even more special.

“I’ve been racing since I was six, and so much hard work has gone into getting to this point. There have been some incredible highs and some difficult moments along the way, but that’s what makes winning something like this mean so much.

“I couldn’t have done it without my family, my team Jade Racing, BirelART, my sponsors and everyone who has supported me over the years.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved, but I still have so much more I want to accomplish.”

Reflecting on the weekend, he added: “What a journey, what a season, and what a team effort. None of this happens alone, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has been part of it. A massive thank you to everyone who has backed me, believed in me and helped make this possible.”

Cars next

The team says plans are being drawn up for him to test racing cars during 2027, alongside his karting, with the aim of a professional career in international motorsport.

His season and results are posted on Instagram at @noahwolferacing.

If your club, school or team in the Petersfield, Alton or Bordon area has a result to share, email the newsdesk with the details and a photograph.