In 1995 McLaren Formula One team boss Ron Dennis, Mercedes Motorsport chief Norbert Haug and Zip Kart owner Martin Hines formed the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future Series with the aim of bringing karting to a wider audience and providing young British talent with a clear path towards the upper echelons of motorsport and in particular, Formula One.
In the series’ first season noted touring car specialists BHP produced the television coverage, which was screened on ITV in many of their UK regions with disc jockey and motorsport fan David ‘Kid’ Jensen presenting the programmes.
Thanks to the involvement of Dennis, Haug and Hines and the terrestrial television coverage the championship was able to attract sponsorship from Highland Spring, TAG Heuer and Mobil 1.
Buoyed by the success of the first season 1997 saw Champions of the Future visit Buckmore Park in Kent, Larkhall in Scotland, Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland, PF International in Lincolnshire and Warden Law in Sunderland.
Hamilton's class rivals included Christian Bakkerud, Joey Foster, Alex Lloyd, Nathan Freke, Ben Hanley and Susie Stoddart.
ITV continued to broadcast the races, which were now generating several million viewers with ‘Kid’ Jensen still presenting and the always excitable Keith Heuwen on commentary duties.
The RAC Cadet Championship was disputed by the likes of Oakes, Plowman, Dolby, Bradley Ellis, Will Bratt and Oliver Turvey but was won by Adam King.
Despite stiff competition from Rodolfo González, Joey Foster, Alex Mortimer and Sam Bird, Adrian Estasy won the championship, leading the points throughout the whole series.
New venues in 1999 included Kimbolton in St Neots and Three Sisters in Wigan at the expense of Warden Law, Rowrah and Rye House as Champions of the Future began its traditional six weekend championship format.
Model car manufacturers Mattel Hot Wheels joined the Cadet Championship as title sponsor for a season that saw future British GT Champion Ellis emerge victorious against a field that also included Plowman, Oakes, Turvey, Bratt, Dolby, Alexander Sims, Riki Christodoulou, Adam Christodoulou and Daniel Rowbottom The Mobil 1 Junior Yamaha class and the McLaren Mercedes JICA Championship completed the list of 1999 classes with Ian Johnstone triumphant in Yamaha and Russell Parkes winning JICA ahead of Hamilton, Bakkerud, González, di Resta and Pippa Mann.
The 2001 season opened at Paul Fletcher International in Grantham and took in visits to Kimbolton, Larkhall, Buckmore Park, Three Sisters, Rowrah and for the first time, Whilton Mill in Daventry.
[5] Calado became MSA British Cadet Champion against a strong field that included Adam Christodoulou, Daniel Rowbottom, Jordan Oakes, Henry Surtees, Alex Brundle, Lewis Williamson, Richard Bradley and Nigel Moore.
In 2002 the British Racing Drivers Club, then chaired by Martin Brundle, became involved with the Championship for the first time, although it retained its Champions of the Future moniker for a seventh year.
Mini Max, a further restricted version of Junior Rotax for drivers aged eleven and upwards, made its debut with the Yamaha class finally disappearing.
The field also included Moore, Surtees, Ollie Millroy, Harry Tincknell, Oliver Rowland, Jake Packun, Dean Stoneman, Bradley, Max Chilton and Will Stevens.
Adam Christodoulou became the inaugural Mini Max champion, beating Ian Beaumont and Daniel Borton while Daryl McDonald won Junior Rotax, out-pointing Turvey and David Bellchambers in a class that also included Jay Bridger, Tom Onslow-Cole.
The Championship's inaugural Junior Gearbox Champion, former Fairmont Scholarship winner Daryl McDonald, was the first recipient of the Will Hoy Hard Charger Award.
McDonald's Junior Gearbox success came against a strong field of drivers including Jason Dredge, Oliver Turvey, Karl Moon and Jack Anderson.
Controversy surrounded the MSA British Cadet Champion, won provisionally by Anthony Moss although it wasn't until late in 2004 that the standings were made official.
Other Cadets in 2003 included Rowland, Scott Jenkins, Jack Harvey, Stevens, Sarah Moore, Nic Cristofaro, Max Goff and Alice Powell.
Callum MacLeod, Sam Tordoff, Dan Rowbottom, Sean Huyton and Matthew Hamilton were among Christodoulou's main rivals although his triumphs were later tainted by revelations of engine tampering.
The Championship visited the Lydd circuit in Kent for the first (and only) time and expanded its educational and environmental roles with development of electric karts and the introduction of road shows and static displays all across the country.
Sam Jenkins, whose elder brother Scott had come close to winning the MSA title several times, took the coveted number one plate in Cadet while Devon Modell triumphed in Mini Max.
Nigel Moore beat a small but select JICA field that also included Matt Bell, Jordan Lennox-Lamb, Alice Powell, Will Stevens, Scott Jenkins and Oliver Rowland.
However they were all beaten by Mark Fell, who won the Will Hoy Scholarship and a drive in the 2006 Renault Clio Cup There were further significant changes for the 2006 season as all classes reverted to the traditional three heats and a final format and several years of timed qualifying in Junior Rotax and Gearbox.
A major milestone was also reached when the championship was granted permission to run one of its rounds at the Genk circuit in Belgium in what was initially a three-year deal but which has continued to the present day.
Brett Wykes became the 2007 MSA British Cadet Champion ahead of Alex Albon and Hazz Truelove while Ashley Sutton dominated a strong Mini Max field that also included Matthew Parry, Jordan King and Patryk Szczerbinski, all of whom would graduate into single seater racing within a couple of years.
Other contenders during the year included Luke Wright, Dino Zamparelli and Sarah Moore, whose elder brother Nigel used his BRDC Scholarship to dominate the Ginetta Junior Championship.
The Championship also visited Rowrah, Whilton Mill, Llandow, Genk and Shenington during the year with supporting displays at local Sainsbury's stores in the buildup to each event.
Callum Bowyer, who finished fifth in 2007, won the Mini Max title despite fierce competition from the likes of Matt Parry, Jody Fannin and Jordan King.