Autosport International is always a great way to kick off the new racing season. This year’s show was no exception and helped me to get back in the swing of things.

I’ve been part of the show since I was a young karter, not just as a driver but also supporting my Dad, Martin Hines, who has always exhibited with either ZipKart or Grand Prix Racewear.

The first big event after the winter break, there’s always a lot of gossip and rumours circulating. With the change in sportscar regulations this year, there are a lot of teams still talking to drivers and getting their plans in place.

You’ve got to be seen to be at the show. I was at the NEC for all four days, working from the Grand Prix Racewear stand, conducting various interviews on show stages and talking about my plans for 2011.

This season is still a bit up in the air but I’ve got quite a lot of interest across quite a few categories. Obviously it’s important to make sure we are looking in the right direction and at the right deal. We’re mainly looking at the big categories of FIA GT1, the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series and also BTCC.

To have so many options on the table is quite rare. It’s a nice situation to have so many parties interested in me being in the car but we’ll have to see how things work out. It won’t be long before we need to make that crucial decision.

The few weeks following the show are always the prime time for deals to be signed. It’s all down to negotiation now. I have a couple of tests lined up and we’ll see how I get on and decide from there.

While at the show I got my first track action of the season by supporting David Brabham’s Celebrity Karting Challenge. It’s something I always like doing and it was great fun again this year.

I was racing alongside old friends Bradley Ellis, who was of course a fellow Zip Young Gun from years past, and Alex Mortimer. We had a strong line-up and had a great laugh while raising money for charity.

One of the beneficiary charities for this year’s Racing4Charity activities at the show was the Starlight Children’s Foundation. I lost my sister, Kelly, when she was just 13 years-old and I suffered from various serious health issues throughout my childhood, so supporting sick children is a cause close to my heart.

I’ll be looking at closer charity working this year and how I can help more. I understand the total raised by Racing4Charity for the various charities was around £42,000, which is absolutely brilliant.

While at Autosport International I also appeared on the Formula Kart Stars Karting Stage. The championship is one I follow closely, as of course Formula Kart Stars evolved from the Champions of the Future series my father created.

It was great to chat to stage host Alan Hyde. I enjoyed spending time on the stand and seeing the 2010 award presentations. I make a point of trying to get to Stars rounds throughout the season and watching the upcoming drivers when I’m not racing myself. It’s always nice to revisit my karting roots and I’m always happy to give my advice to young drivers on how to progress through the sport.

We also unveiled the Zip Young Guns line up for 2011, which includes KF3 hot shots such as Ben Barnicoat, Roy Johnson and Ricky Collard, who is the son of one of my BTCC rivals, Rob Collard, and Sam Webster. It’s a strong line-up and we’ve got a big force behind the team ready to get some great results this season.

It was also great to experience the GPR stand so busy at the show. I really enjoy that side of the business, meeting new customers and helping them to get the right race wear needed for the coming season. It’s nice to interact with drivers across the different levels of racing. You get to meet so many different and interesting people doing all kinds of different stuff.

I look forward to returning to Autosport International in 2012 after another amazing racing season, so keep checking back to the website to hear more on my 2011 plans.

Luke

www.lukehines.com
Twitter @LukeHines

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