Karting to cars
The step up
Zak turned 16 in September 2026. Next stop: senior car racing.
Karting to cars
The next chapter
Straight into
senior cars
Most drivers leaving karting spend a season or two in junior car racing first, with junior championships and long testing programmes to ease them in. Zak isn't doing any of that. He stayed in Junior Rotax karting until he turned 16, building years of racecraft, and goes straight into senior car racing. One big step up instead of two.
In the MINI Challenge he'll be the new kid: 16, fresh out of karting and expected to be the youngest driver on the grid, up against older, seasoned drivers with years of car racing behind them. It's the steepest learning curve he could have picked, and Zak picked it on purpose.
16
Years old in his first car season
0
Junior car seasons
1
Big step, straight to senior
01
June 2026
First time in a car
A Fiesta ST race car at Blyton Park, around 90mph first time out, with coaching from Olly Allen Racing. Episode 1 of the vlog.
02
November 2026
ARDS race licence
Training and test at Anglesey Circuit, the step every new racer has to take.
03
2027
MINI Challenge ClubSport
A full season with Daniel Truman Racing. One big step up instead of two.
Karts to cars
Out of the kart,
into the MINI
One walk across the paddock. Zak steps out of his X-Kart and straight into the Daniel Truman Racing MINI he'll race in 2027.
This is where the karting chapter closes and the car racing one begins. Follow every step on YouTube.
Test day
First time in a race car
Onboard at Blyton Park, with Zak at the wheel of the Fiesta ST and Olly Allen of Olly Allen Racing coaching him from the passenger seat. First time out in a race car, and already up to around 90mph. A huge thank you to Olly for his coaching and for getting Zak up to speed so quickly.
ARDS race licence
ARDS day at Anglesey
November 2026, Anglesey Circuit. A briefing with Olly Allen, laps in the Olly Allen Racing Fiesta ST, the classroom session, then out in the Clio. Every new racer has to pass the ARDS test before they can get a race licence.
2027 calendar
Five rounds,
one big year
Zak's first season in the MINI Challenge ClubSport with Daniel Truman Racing. Come and watch, or add a weekend to your calendar so you don't miss it.
1
Round 1
Brands Hatch
Indy
3–4 Apr 2027
Brands Hatch, Fawkham, Kent
Add to calendar2
Round 2
Snetterton
300
1–2 May 2027
Snetterton Circuit, Norfolk
Add to calendar3
Round 3
Pembrey
26–27 Jun 2027
Pembrey Circuit, Carmarthenshire
Add to calendar4
Round 4
Donington Park
National
7–8 Aug 2027
Donington Park, Derbyshire
Add to calendar5
Round 5
Thruxton
28–29 Aug 2027
Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire
Add to calendar
Dates from the official MINI Challenge ClubSport calendar. Subject to change.
DTR
Zak's 2027 team
Racing with
the champions
Zak didn't go looking for a seat. Daniel Truman Racing, the reigning MINI Challenge ClubSport Cooper Class champions, offered him one. The champions chose a 16-year-old straight out of karting to race for them in 2027.
Dan started out at 11 in rental karting, winning two Daytona Milton Keynes titles and racing Club100 Elite. He made the jump to cars through the Team HARD Scholarship, set up his own independent team in 2023 and won the title two years later. He's made exactly the step Zak is about to make, and he saw something in Zak worth backing.
0
Race wins
In car racing
0
Podiums
0
Years racing
Since karting at 11
1995
Cooper Class champions
MINI Challenge ClubSport
The DTR story
2022
Team HARD Scholarship
Earned a Britcar Trophy drive and a podium on debut in class, plus a place in the Team HARD Drivers Academy.
2023
DTR is born
Dan launched his own independent team in the MINI Challenge ClubSport Cooper Class. Debut season: 5 wins, 14 podiums, 2 poles, and vice champion by just three points.
2024
Runner-up again
Second in the Cooper Class, and the team kept building.
2025
Champions
A dominant title-winning season: 11 wins and 13 podiums from 15 races.
2026
Still winning
Pole position at Thruxton, then two wins and a second from the three races.
Dan's own goal is the British Touring Car Championship. In 2027, the champions' car has a 16-year-old straight out of karting in it, hand-picked by the team and expected to be the youngest driver on the grid.