Cunningham seeks Indy 500 drive

Wade Cunningham with his 2005 Infiniti Pro Series winner's trophy.

When, as a 19-year-old, you've joined a line-up of world champions including Michael Schumacher on stage in Monte Carlo, trying to build a career in motorsport away from the bright lights must seem rather an anticlimax.

Aucklander Wade Cunningham knows the feeling only too well.

In 2003 he surprised everyone by winning the world karting championship and New Zealanders were reminded of the glory days when Denny Hulme was world Formula One champion.

Last year Cunningham won the Infiniti Pro series, which is the proving ground for the Indy Racing League, where Scott Dixon plies his trade. His success was duly noted but there were no banners in the street when he came home to St Heliers for a Christmas break.

As the 21-year-old packed his gear to return to icy Indianapolis last week to prepare for another season in Infiniti Pro, his burning ambition to succeed in his chosen sport was clear to see. And he was refreshingly frank about how that world karting title had affected him.

"There is a period after something like that when even if you go on in motorsport and you win, it's not the same.

"The world championship is still more special to me than what I won last year, although what I won last year is better for my career. I think the only thing that would be better than the world championship is the Indy 500."

That best-known of American races dominates his thinking and the prospect of getting a start this season makes all the hard work worthwhile. And it is hard. His racing cycle flies out with him and there will be 10 weeks of tough training before the first race of the season on March 26.

"I train at PitFit Training in Indianapolis with Jim Leo and Jason Smith. Jason is a professional cyclist and Jim is at the forefront of motorsports training. There's a lot of things involved: reaction, balance, core work, race simulation - all the things you need for racing.

"I can honestly say I was the fittest driver in the series last year and it clearly paid off."

Cunningham has the perfect build for a karter, standing 163cm and weighing less than 60kg when he is race fit. Many of those who race cars at the top level are similarly compact, making them a good fit for modern machinery.

The Cunninghams were not a motorsport family until Wade, older brother Aarron and younger brother Mitchell peeked through the fence at the karters on the Mt Wellington track near their father's business on the outskirts of Panmure.

All three boys have taken to the sport in a big way and the St Heliers house bears witness to their prowess. Mitchell has followed Wade into the Italian team that won the world title.

Wade combined tennis and soccer with karting at King's School and College before karting took over completely in the fourth form. He quit school before the seventh form to race for the CRG team based at Desenzano del Garda on Lake Garda in northern Italy.

The team manufactured their own chassis and engines and the Kiwi teenager lived in a one-bedroom apartment above the factory. The world championship came in his second year and he is happy to replay the tape that will forever be available in his mind.

"We definitely weren't favourites to win. We'd developed quite good gear from July onwards, reasonable engines and a very good chassis. Bridgestone came out with a very wide front tyre that suited our karts because I suffered from understeer a lot of the time. Everything just came together.

"It wasn't an easy weekend by any means. The championships were at Sarno, near Naples, in southern Italy.

"We qualified 13th out of a hundred and something. I think I had a fifth and a fourth, a third and a second, something like that. I started sixth in the pre-final and got hit off at the first corner and had to come back through the field and that gave me a lot of confidence because I finished sixth and I passed 10 or 12 karts.

"We had the right setup in the final and we were fast from lap three onwards. I got through to second place and then I inherited the lead. The leader seized maybe 10 car lengths in front of me and I just pulled away from the field from then on and won by about four seconds."

Headlines at home, an airport welcome and later the glamorous night in Monte Carlo where world motorsport honoured its champions.

Karting success does not guarantee results in the move up to cars but it certainly helps.

"I was 10 years old when I first raced a kart but I didn't really become super serious until I was 13 when the CIK classes came to NZ. The top category is the 100cc, about 34/35 horsepower with a top speed of around 140km/h.

"The sensations you feel in a kart are much more direct. You're sitting in a fibreglass seat, which is very tight. There's no suspension so you feel the tyres a lot more, the rims flex, the engine twists, the crank twists. So everything works together as a giant spring and you have to learn how to feel various things. The instant feedback you get from a kart is much more than you get from a racecar.

"What you learn from a kart helps you later on. In karting you do the setup by the seat of your pants; in cars there is extensive data logging and two engineers but you still have to give feedback so they know what they're looking at.

"Karting is still very open. Chassis, engine, tyre manufacturers still compete. Carburettor manufacturers, gearbox manufacturers, everyone competes. You learn a lot because you're constantly developing and you change a lot. In Europe there are 100 other competitors who want the same thing as you and that makes you very hungry.

"You look at drivers from top-level karting. They can usually miss the first couple of steps in motorsport, say like Formula Ford and Formula Renault."

Cunningham's first car-racing was in Formula Ford 2000 in the United States followed by a limited programme in the inaugural Toyota series back home.

He had three test days before racing at Sebring in the Formula Ford. He qualified on pole but admits there were some situations were he struggled with racing in traffic and drafting and he finished third in the race.

Why did he opt for the United States instead of continuing in Europe, where his karting exploits had won him a reputation?

"The path to the top in Europe is very long. Racing in karts in Europe for two years I saw the resources that some people have to get there and the number of steps involved.

"Most people start in Formula Renault and they might go from that to the World Series by Renault and then they might get a drive in GP2. Then you're trying to get into Formula One.

"The cheapest rung in Europe costs the same as the last rung in America. There is a lot of prize money in America that Europe doesn't have. That makes it a lot more affordable and that in turn gives you a greater chance of success in America, I think."

Winning the Infiniti Pro series at the first attempt was not really part of the two-year plan to make it into the IRL. His only win was in the last race and this season he feels it is more important to win more races even if he doesn't take the championship again with the Toronto-based Brian Stewart Racing team.

His other target for the year is to get a drive in the Indy 500, something which he believes is achievable.

"If you finish the race and you don't crash the car, everyone walks away with more money than what they started with. So you just need to be able to convince someone that you're a safe bet. I did pretty well last year with 13 top-five finishes. I had one DNF which I think was totally unavoidable. I think that record should be in my favour."

Cunningham's eyes light up at any mention of the Indy 500 and, while Formula One is not outside his dreams, drinking the winner's traditional bottle of milk on the podium at Indianapolis would replace the karting highlight tape.

Is he obsessed with racing cars? - "It definitely dominates, maybe because I'm so driven to get there. Maybe once I do it won't be as bad. Racing is pretty much my life."

Does he like milk? - "I'm sure I can learn to."

THE PROFILE

2005 Infiniti Pro Series: Champion with one win, seven seconds and two thirds.

2004 US Formula Ford 2000: Rising Star of the Year, fifth overall, seven podium finishes.

2003 FIA World Karting Champion.

CIK Trophy of New Zealand champion.

Finalist Halberg Sportsman of the Year.

New Zealand Herald Young Sports Award.