Promoted: Introducing Mini Challenge star Reece Barr

One karting graduate currently making a big reputation for himself in car racing is Mini Challenge JCW star Reece Barr. A multiple karting champion in Ireland, Barr has relocated to the UK mainland as he attempts to carve himself a career in tin-top racing.

And judging by his early results, the 16-year-old from Donegal has quite a future ahead of him. He took just two rounds to visit the top step of the podium and has firmly established himself within the championship's leading pack.

Having taken titles in the 2013 All-Ireland karting championships, Barr tackled the 2014 British Super One competition before putting his racing on hold in 2015 to complete his exams. In 2016 he took delivery of his JCW, and opted to join the burgeoning Mini Challenge Championship for this year.

"We looked at a number of options after finishing karting - including single-seaters, but the issue there was the uncertainty around this form of racing at the moment," says Barr.

"We looked at, and tested, both the FIA Formula 4 and BRDC Formula 4 [before it was upgraded to F3 for 2016]. The cars were fun but the long-term budgeting was uncertain and due to that you never knew what you'd be doing the next year as the step in cost between formulas is so high. The Mini Challenge ticked a lot of boxes as it's well-placed on the British GT package, the cars are great and it's very competitive."

Barr used the summer of 2016 to test the JCW to acclimatise to the car before making his competitive debut in that year's season finale at Snetterton. He says that the extra mileage, and his experience of sampling single-seaters, helped him adjust to life in car racing.

"I knew I'd need the mileage to adapt to the car, but from the first moment I went out in the JCW I was never uncomfortable with it," says Barr. "A lot of the adaption was technical stuff, like the cornering technique.

"In a kart you go into a corner as fast as possible and pick up the throttle as soon as possible as it has so much grip. In the JCW it's about bleeding off the brake at the right time and picking the throttle up and controlling the weight transfer to help you carry speed.

"Testing the single-seaters helped as it showed me that when cornering with aero it encourages you to push more and more to the limit. When you remove the aero and rely on mechanical grip, having that mentality helps you to keep pushing to avoid under-driving."

Barr's talent also brought him to the attention of the Andy Priaulx Sports Management team, overseen by the triple World Touring Car champion. Barr joined the APSM Elite Driver Support Programme to further his development. Barr's results this term have been impressive.

In the ultra-tight JCW field, Barr took his breakthrough victory in just his fourth race - ­at Rockingham - and led the championship after the first two weekends. Only a driveshaft failure during round three at Snetterton and an engine issue at Silverstone toppled Barr from the top of the championship, but his results so far have led to increased targets.

"In truth the target for this year was to fight for podiums and maybe nick a win toward the end of the year, so to have achieved that goal already is amazing," adds Barr. "The plan now is to maintain this momentum for the rest of the year and push for a top finish in the championship and push for the rookie title.

"I'm fully focused on this year and achieving the best I can; I have a great chance to show what I can do in the JCW and I'll be pushing hard."

Pics by Mark Campbell/CarScene and Jakob Ebrey.