Rookie gives the old hands something to think about in KZ2.

He may be only 15 but Hugo is a big guy for his age. That may be good for impressing the girls but his size proved to be quite a handicap last year in the Junior kart class. For 2007 Hugo and his family decided to make the big jump up to the 125cc/gearbox class, which is more suitable for someone of his size. Hugo has remained faithful to Birel for his chassis, staying with Jana racing and mechanic Benjamin Moine for the season. He did a lot of training at the start of the season in order to get used to the beast, burning the rubber on the Lonato track after the Winter Cup, and in regional races in Valence, Brignoles and Varennes. He strung together the results quickly enough for the decision to be made to go for something more ambitious.

Hugo spends most of his time motor racing, but he does find time for life away from the kart track. He enjoys seeing friends in Paris and keeps up his studies via e-learning courses online. Remote learning is not a cop-out – there is no time for surfing! Hugo Valente’s mother Claudie – the self-appointed leader of his fan club – is not unhappy with her son’s progress. The start of the season was encouraging in that the performance levels were definitely there, although Hugo lacked the race experience to get a result in the FFSA Grand Prix races in Essay and Varennes. But the WSK race Salbris marked a turning point. Hhe was 4th fastest in the time trials and came 5th and 6th in the heats. He went on to take 7th place in Race 1 and 8th in Race 2. Although the driver was not entirely satisfied with these results, they do augur well for the future.

In Salbris again a fortnight later for the 3rd FFSA Grand Prix, Hugo tried out a new front-wheel disk-brake arrangement on his Birel KF1. The weather was changeable on the Saturday and it poured with rain on the Sunday. After being 2nd fastest in his group during timed qualifying he went on to come 7th, 2nd and 1st in his three heats. These consistently good results earned him 3rd spot on the pre-final starting grid. An error in race strategy put paid to his chances of shining and he had to make do with 8th place. He got away to an excellent start in the final and was lying 3rd after three laps. In front of him, Thomas Mich opened up a big lead, with Enzo Zéférini on his tail. And that’s the way the leader-board stayed until the chequered flag. So a joyful Hugo climbed onto the 3rd rung of the podium on his 15th birthday! The Valente family went wild in the stands, which were duly decked out for the occasion.

Less than a week later the 2nd round of the European Championships were held in Varennes. This time Hugo found himself in the company of some of the best drivers in the world. Not intimidated in the least, young Hugo made his presence felt right from open practice and went on to clock very good times: He was 2nd fastest in of a field of 60 international class drivers. The excitement was mounting in the Valente clan ! The kart went like a dream during the qualifying heats and Hugo strung together some great drives worthy of an old hand. Racing with such regularity took him inevitably into 3rd place in race 1. Once the stress of the start was behind him he drove a perfectly-managed race – 4th in the race and the best placed Frenchman! After having driven so well – luck didn’t come into it – it’s for sure the other drivers now view him differently. And they are mighty wary! Maybe that explains why he got attacked in a manner barely within the rules in race 2. He got pushed off the track once in the long fast curve just before the start of the timed section. Until that point he’d been lying second and because of that incident he lost twelve places. He fought his way back up to 7th before once again being forced off the track and this time having to abandon the race. It was a huge disappointment, of course. But it was a major consolation to see Hugo battling out with the best of them and holding his ground.