Easykart 2009 Roundup - 20.12.2009

John’s first season in the UK Easykart Championship has drawn to a close with a nail-biting final round Ellough Park in Suffolk, where just a handful of points separated him from qualifying for the World Finals in Siena, Italy.

Despite having to make the adjustment from TKM 4-Stroke at the beginning of the season, as well as struggling with a tight budget, John put in some great performances over the year and placed 8th overall in the 40-strong field.

Qualifying was the scene of most of the difficulties, with several mechanical problems often forcing John to the back of the grid early on in the weekend. Thanks to his noted racecraft, however, the results still came and there is a strong base to build on in 2010.

Round 4 at Teesside Autodrome

Given the level competitiveness at the front of the Easykart grid, John was pushed down to 9th position in qualifying, despite recording a time just 0.17 seconds off pole position.

After a solid start to the pre-final an unnecessary nudge from a competitor sent John back down to 11th. A strong recovery got him back to 9th by the flag and the progress continued in the final, where John spent much of the race in 7th. Unfortunately the tyres couldn’t hold up and dropped him back to 10th in the final few laps.

Round 5 at Rye House

The Rye House weekend was a difficult one, not least because of the tricky wet/dry conditions. John qualified 11th for the pre-final, but was left stranded on the dummy-grid after a starter-motor failure.

Starting on the back row of the 28-strong grid for the final, the only way was up. A chaotic opening few laps saw John leap in to 20th position and he was able to maintain the momentum for much of the race, eventually finishing in 13th.

Round 6 at Rowrah

John qualified 12th for the first round of the Rowrah double header and maintained position in the main pack for much of the pre-final. Unfortunately he was collected by a recovering Owen Jenman in the closing stages and fell to 21st.

It was from here that the familiar racecraft could be put to good use and a classy drive resulted in 10th place in the final.

Round 7 at Rowrah

The heavens opened for the second round at Rowrah, which suited John well, with 6th place in qualifying 1. A small setup change for qualifying 2 didn’t help improve the time, but the foundations of a strong meeting were in place.

Unfortunately, before the setup could be reset, the racing had to be cancelled due to the weather. The results from qualifying would stand for the meeting.

Round 8 at Ellough Park

It was on Saturday in Beccles that 2009 Easykart Champion Terry Langley tested John’s kart and couldn’t find any extra time, providing a level of reassurance ahead of an important weekend.

With a World Final place still up for grabs, John converted a slightly disappointing 13th in qualifying into 5th position in the pre-final, thanks to some attrition and mega overtaking.

The final was always going to be difficult, with several front-runners having qualified further down the field. Despite this, John spent the early stages of the race in 4th and held on for 7th at the finish.