Tom Crawley Racing

Race Academy Advanced 1 June 2026 - BIKC Qualifying session 1 - Teamsport Reading

Its been a while since Toms last Race Academy session but with British Indoor Karting Championship 2026 qualifying now open and spaces on events where you can set a time already booked it was worth a try!

Rusty at driving the shorter track (it's been about 6 months since the last time), plus this being only his 3rd time having to pass the cadets while in a junior kart, Tom was keen to see what he could do.

The first 15 min session was pure time setting - and a tight battle ensued as everyone struggled to get space. Narrowly missing out on the best time by 0.083 seconds Tom figured P2 wasn't a bad start and he'd try and improve further in the second session.

Checking in for session 2 we were surprised to find out it was going to be a race, and a rolling start which Tom is less familiar with. Fortunately his quick reactions paid off, getting a good run allowing him to make his move on the 3rd lap, pulling off a strong overtake into the hairpin to take the lead. From there he defended hard, making his way through the cadets without losing position holding onto it for the rest of the race to take the win.

Chalking up another victory against some solid competitors was great but the constant defending and passing cadets meant his lap times were possibly marginally slower giving him a target to beat in his next session, and for now he's got another 1st place trophy 🏆 for the growing collection 😂

He was also delighted to find he was back on track with Charlie - and they BOTH took first for their categories so shared the top step on the podium! Congrats on a great drive Charlie!

Qualifying - P2🥈
Race - P1🥇

Morning practice done….time for a quick debrief before the junior light regional race this afternoon for Round 2 of .kartingleague. Can’t wait! Update to follow soon 🏎️🏎️🏎️

Grid Series - the penultimate round...

Round 5 of Grid Series meant the competition is heating up and with one round to go things were bound to get interesting!

As always practice was first up and Tom set the pace with a P1 finish. Then it was onto the first of 3 heats. Start positions were announced (evened out so everyone has roughly the same average) and Tom lucked out with a 6h, 15th and 7th place start - far from ideal but he was up for the challenge!

Heat 1:
A great start from the off, Tom appeared on his first lap having already made up some places, passing us for the first time jn 4th. He then used the remaining # # minutes to move through the field and into 1st where he passed the chequered flag for the win!
P6 > P1

Heat 2:
A tougher challenge this time, Tom had only two competitors behind him for his 15th place start. That aside he moved swiftly through the field, making a respectable 9 overtakes to finish 7th on the tail of the kart in front as they crossed the line.
P15 > P7

Heat 3:
Starting 7th, Tom had worked hard to make clean passes against challenging competitors putting him up to 4th however an overzealous nudge on the final corner unfortunately dropped him to 7th as he crossed the line, but this was changed to 6th after penalties had been applied.
P7 > P6

The Final:
The combination of his heat results put Tom 2nd on the grid for the Final. He challenged Alex up front for much of the race matching his lap times and the pair of them pulled a lead on those behind, with Tom ultimately retaining 2nd place and earning another trophy for the collection!
P2>P2

Congratulations to on 1st and on 3rd!

With one round to go in June set to decide the fate of the championship, why not give Tom a follow and find out how he gets on!

Practice: P1🥇
Heat 1: P1🥇
Heat 2: P7
Heat 3: P6
FINAL: P2 🥈

Round 1 - a Race Review from top to bottom and everything inbetween!
On what felt like the coldest day on record, Sun 10 May, FAT Karting League's Junior Light Championship 2026 got underway!

The day began with morning practice thanks to our kind sponsors Brackenwood Windows & Niche Cover. With a very cold track we were warned practice would be challenging, especially on cold tyres!
P1 - 2nd 🥈
P2 - 3rd 🥉
P3 - 3rd 🥉
P4 - 1st 🥇

Then the real fun began. The first afternoon session, pre race practice, went really well with Tom finishing P1.

Quali was next - the temperature dropped, and after starting high on the leaderboard, Tom found the limit and met the barrier. With time counting down, Tom had a real challenge ahead struggling with the kart, yellows or caught in traffic every lap bar the last, where he popped into P4. Afterwards, we discovered he'd bent the rear axle, hence the sudden drop in pace. Unfortunately, he'd also dislodged the nose cone, resulting in deletion of his fast lap, dropping him to 16th.

Pre Final - Tom was determined to regain position- starting well progressing from 16th to 9th on the first lap! Sadly, lap 2 exiting Bruno, Tom was collected by an out of control kart, snapping the track rod and popping the tyre - DNF.

Amazingly, the FAT Team got it repaired for the Final, but warned it wouldn't be fast or easy to control, but if he wanted to try he could. Due to the DNF he was starting 24 out of 25. As the lights went out Tom made an epic start, flying past two karts before he'd even crossed the start line! By turn two, he'd made up 15 places to reach 9th and despite the kart visibly bumping and pulling he held it to the end to take his first points of the season, and at a pace not too far off the leaders, what a result. While not the points hoped for based on the earlier pace, a good lesson in recovery and a fab day with friends old and new!

Congratulations to Kieran on his first win and to Jack and Leo on 2nd & 3rd respectively.

Practice – 1st 🥇
Qualifying – 16th (fastest lap P4 was deleted due to drop nose cone)
Pre-Final – 16th > 9th >DNF (non fault)
Final – 24th > 8th (promoted from 9th)

This weekend sees the start of the 2026 FAT Karting League Junior Light Regional Championship at Shennington, and Tom can’t wait!

As well as thanking all his supporters on here, we’d also like to give a big shout out to three new sponsors who have helped make this possible - , Niche Cover and Big Picture Creative

These companies are keen to support Tom following his progress so far, and having seen how his approach of not giving up, always giving his best and striving to improve fits with their own ethos of delivering excellent results, something we’re hoping Tom can achieve this year too!

Brackenwood and Niche Cover's support has enabled Tom to take part in extra testing sessions and Brackenwood have also created a special page on their website about Toms story so far and how they’re supporting him - check it out via the link below! Oh, and if you’re in the market for some new windows, doors or a conservatory, we can personally recommend them having used them ourselves!

Big Picture Creative have supported Tom by providing him with a website, graphics and a professional level sponsorship document free of charge - you can check out their design services too if you’d like support for your driver or your business!

Thanks to them all for their support.

www.tomcrawleyracing.co.uk
brackenwood.com/tom-crawley/

🏎

Surprise guest drive for Stalloni Campioni at Castle Coombe as part of the SRK Championship!

With a quieter weekend on the cards, Tom was privileged to receive a last minute invite to stand in for a Stalloni Campioni team driver in the SRK championship! Heading to Castle Coombe there were a few nerves, other drivers had already completed several rounds and were familiar with the track, Tom had neither of those to his advantage!

He was welcomed by the team & coach and given advice and tactics on what to expect on the track walk. A narrower track and with heats of 6 drivers, Tom quickly realised that passing would be tricky, especially on heats where he was allocated a grid slot further back. The first heat saw Tom struggling with his pedal on arrival at the grid, and consequently he was slow to start as he was trying to sort it out when the lights went green - disappointed he battled on and managed to maintain 4th (his starting position).

Heat 2 saw Tom start dead last, but make it through the traffic to take 4th - learning that racing in SRK required him to put aside the 'no contact' rules he's learnt in FAT Karting League to a slightly more aggressive (but not unfair) style - the only way to make a pass on the narrow Castle Coombe track.

Heat 3 - Tom started pole, and maintained it throughout the heat despite some hot competition, taking first place at the flag and leading to a tense wait to find out if he'd done enough to make it to either pole for the B final, or even better into the A Final on his first visit!

Final - A Final it was! Tom started 7th with the winner of the B final lining up behind him. Having showed competitive pace with the 6th fastest lap of the day out of the 24 competitors he took 6th place in the A Final as the chequered flag went down - not bad for his first outing!

Heat 1 - 4th > 4th
Heat 2 - 6th > 4th
Heat 3 - 1st > 1st 🥇
A Final - 7th > 6th

Thanks to for the seat & to coach Zack for the advice! Great day, supporting , & helping secure points for team Stalloni Campioni

FAT Karting League - Pre-season
testing: Shenington, Sun 22nd March

Having had only one half day practice in the wet in a
junior kart before, Sunday was time for Tom to get to
grips with the how the kart handles in the dry and this
time with a far more experienced field!

First thing Tom took it steady, learning new grip levels,
new lines and handling and generally finding his pace,
setting a new PB each session to finish 5th of 18
drivers by the end of the morning with a respectable
time.

After a quick refuel over lunch, Tom was back out -
and battling with the Junior Heavy competitors from
last year! Out on track battle with Finn Dunleavy was a
great watch, with both of them driving fairly
throughout, ending with Tom in P2 and as fastest junior
light of the session.

Session 2 saw Tom on track with Will Sparrow - and
clearly enjoying it! Again lots of overtakes between
them and clean driving, with Will pipping Tom to P3 by
a mere 0.03 seconds but Tom happy with P4 and
another PB

P3 - In this session Tom just focussed on honing his
lines, getting the most of the kart, and ultimately set
his fastest time of the day

P4 - A last minute change of kart meant Tom was out
on cold tyres with everyone else on warm, clearly
struggling for grip. The addition of multiple yellows
around the track meant he struggled to warm them,
but these things happen. A bit disappointed to end
the day that way but he's planning to come back
committed to improving further next time!

The highlight - realising he was fastest Junior light of
the whole weekend with 49.63 in the third afternoon
session!

And to top it off, he was thrilled to meet Anthony
Davidson and his son - a fantastic end to a great day
doing what he loves most!

Morning:
P11
P9
P10
P5

Afternoon:
P2 🥈
P4
P2 🥈
P13 (kart swap/cold tyres/yellows)
kartingleague