WHEN she met promising young motorcycle racer Ben Gautrey at Cadwell Park in 2011 at a British Superbike Championship meeting, where her mum Laura was working for his Gearlink and MWR Kawasaki team, little did Megan Stephenson, from Bedale, realise what an impact it would have on her early life.

Sadly, that August bank holiday weekend, 18-year-old Ben crashed and was involved in a multiple machine collision which saw him succumb to his injuries, despite the best efforts of the BSB medical team.

Determined to keep the memory of one of Britain’s emerging talents alive, his family set up the Benjamin Gautrey Foundation (BGF) to help young people achieve their dreams in sport. Despite only knowing him for a very short period, since 2011 Megan and her mum, as well as father Justin, have helped raise lots of money for the charity through various fundraising events.

Megan, now aged 11, has been racing karts for a couple of years and has quickly progressed through the ranks. With each level comes more expense in competing and, while the performance level of the machinery needs to be the best, so too does the safety equipment.

After being encouraged to do so, earlier this year Megan applied to the Benjamin Gautrey Foundation for a grant to get her the best safety gear that she needed to race. The grant was approved and, thanks to the foundation, she was able to get a new Arai helmet and a new Freem race suit in her ST Racing Team colours.

Ben did not just race bikes, but also won awards for gymnastics and played competitive football. He was a keen cyclist and also played cricket and golf before he started winning in motorcycle racing. Similarly, Megan also excels at other sports, including cricket, netball, rugby and cross-country, as well as playing in goal for the school football team.

Megan said: “No matter what sport Ben did, he always gave 100 per cent and never gave up, and I race with that attitude as well. I am proud to have the BGF supporting me and I have Ben’s name on my kart. Hopefully, I can win some trophies for him and do the foundation proud. I am having a charity fundraising night in September in aid of the BGF to say thanks for their support whilst making plans for the 2016 season.”

Meanwhile, Megan was in action at the Three Sisters circuit in Wigan last weekend, where she was competing in the third round of the NKF championship for her ST Racing Team. It was her first NKF race since moving up a class to Mini Max, where she was driving an adult-sized kart with a restricted 125cc Rotax engine that reaches speeds of around 70mph.

Practice on Friday and Saturday showed she was soon at home in the class and making good progress as her lap times were consistently good and just four tenths of a second off the fastest driver on track. However, despite her optimism during practice, Sunday’s race day turned out to be a disappointment for the youngster. The first race was wet and she started out really well and was in the running during the first half of the race. However, it then started drying very quickly, which meant the treaded wet weather tyres she was racing on soon became unsuitable and she dropped down the order.

Any hopes of improvements for race two were dashed when, despite another strong performance in the early stages, another competitor collided with Megan, damaging her kart, and the impact saw her sustain a foot injury which led to retirement. With her kart repaired and despite her injury, Megan got a great start from towards the back of the grid in race three before claiming a battling midfield place at the flag, setting some fast lap times in the process.

She was optimistic going into the all-important final, but the race was aborted when someone crashed on the formation lap, which meant the drivers had to stop out on the far side of the track while the incident was dealt with. After a lengthy delay, the drivers were told to reform, but Megan’s luck was compounded for the day when her starter motor failed, meaning she couldn’t restart the kart and was forced to sit it out.

Despite the disappointments of the day, Megan showed really good speed on her debut in the class and is looking forward to her next outing at Rowrah, in Cumbria, next weekend, following some tests earlier this week.

CROFT Circuit is revving up to host its biggest event of the year later this month when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship visits Yorkshire on Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28, marking the halfway stage of the 2015 BTCC calendar at the North-East’s premier motor sport venue.

The stars of Britain’s premier motor racing championship will be back again at Croft, along with the supporting cast, and there are discounted advance tickets still available for qualifying day, race day or throughout the weekend.

Special offers see advance adult admission on the Saturday costing just £11, meaning a saving of £2 on the gate price. A £4 saving of £24 can be had on the Sunday, and weekend tickets are still available priced at £33. The rates have been held the same as last season and it is hoped a bumper crowd will be in attendance to see the likes of defending champion Colin Turkington, Andrew Jordan, Andy Priaulx and Newcastle-born Jason Plato.

All accompanied children aged 15 and under are admitted free and all car parking is also free. Tickets can be purchased by calling 01325 721815 or online at www.croftcircuit.co.uk.