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Cameron Sale placed in the top five of the nation’s biggest indoor karting competition
Cameron Sale, a third-year Business Management student in Abertay’s School of Business, Law and Social Sciences, placed in the top five of the nation’s biggest indoor karting competition.
The British Indoor Karting Championship (BIKC) is the biggest tournament for indoor karting in the country with over 100 of the UK’s top racers taking part. The championship was held in December 2021 and Cameron managed to finish fifth in the ‘lightweight’ section despite never competing professionally before.
Cameron began racing when he was five years old as it was his father’s hobby. Although he has been karting from a young age, he never participated in any competitions and always viewed it as a fun pastime rather than a future career prospect. He fell out of racing when he went off to boarding school largely as a result of there being no nearby tracks.
It wasn’t until 2021 during his second year of university that he started racing again at the local track in Dundee. The coming months saw Cameron spend more time at the indoor track and he started progressing and performing better in races. The marshals at the centre informed him that the BIKC was coming up and encouraged him to apply.
Cameron said:
“I’ve surprised even myself with how quickly I’ve taken to racing after not doing it for many years. I’m a keen runner and have competed professionally both nationally and internationally but unfortunately, I have a long-term injury that prevents me from running. I guess you could say that racing came along at the right time and has been a great outlet for my competitive nature!”
Cameron successfully made it through the local finals of the BIKC and progressed to the regional finals which are composed of all the karting centres in Scotland. He finished the regionals in first place which guaranteed him entry to the national finals in Warrington on 4-5 December 2021.
At the finals, Cameron said he felt a bit out of place and overwhelmed as all the other competitors seemed like they had been competing professionally for years. He said:
“I definitely felt like an amateur at the finals. It was really nerve-wracking as I had never competed in such a large-scale event. All of the other competitors had sponsored suits and kits whilst I had a rental suit and had a second-hand helmet that I bought from eBay. Despite initially feeling out of place, I progressed to the semi-finals, eventually finishing fifth overall in the Grand Final. I was absolutely delighted as I had no expectations of even placing. I definitely want to go back to BIKC and win a medal.”
There is a clear link between Cameron’s passion for motorsport and his academic work. For the final individual report assessment of the ‘Business and Environmental Sustainability: Reaching net-zero’ (BMT311) module, his project focused on the environmental impact of Formula One and how racing can be more sustainable. Looking ahead to his dissertation project, Cameron said it will also likely involve motorsports.
Angus Brodie, Teaching Fellow at Abertay, taught the BMT311 module. He said:
“At Abertay students are encouraged and supported to pursue their passions to ensure their full potential is realised. I am delighted at Cameron's success at the BIKC and the way he linked his motorsport passion to his BMT311 final coursework.”
Reflecting on his time at Abertay, Cameron has really valued the ability to combine his studies with his passion for motorsports. He said it’s incredibly important for students to pursue extracurricular activities during their studies as they can new professional connections and learn transferrable skills to take into their careers.
Cameron credits his lecturers at Abertay with encouraging him to enter the BIKC and says he was appreciative of their support. He added that he was never made to feel that his passion would interfere with his studies, rather the opposite. He said he was encouraged to “grab every opportunity” by his module leaders.
