Jonathan Walker’s two second-place finishes in the 3rd round of the British Super 1 kart Championship at Rowrah in the Lake District over the weekend (14/15 June), have moved the Blackburn racer into 4th place in the title hunt.
The 19-year old had gone into the weekend well prepared, after spending several days testing at the Cumbrian track.
However, Jonathan felt that his kart’s handling could have been better during Timed Qualifying. He said, “I couldn’t get the kart to ‘come on’ in the allocated time. It was taking about eight laps for the chassis and tyre set-up to work at the optimum level, by which time the chequered flag was coming out.”
Nevertheless, he recorded the 5th fastest time to give himself a third row start for his first race.
Encountering “no real dramas” Jonathan scored a 4th and then a 2nd place, to put himself 3rd on the grid for the first final.
“I got shunted at the start and dropped to 5th” he explained. “I got back onto the circuit and picked my way back up the order and ended up in 2nd at the (chequered) flag. I was catching the leader quite quickly, so it was a good sign for the next race.”
Starting alongside the first final winner and three-time British Champion Mark Litchfield, Jonny managed to get into the lead going into the tricky first corner.
“I tried to get away because I know Mark is so good early on in a race, but it was the other way round - he passed me and started to pull away.”
Pushing at ten tenths, Jonathan knew he’d have to work hard to stay in front of the pack before his kart started to perform. Midway through the race, it finally began to handle in the way he wanted, and he soon found himself reeling in Litchfield.
“It (the kart) was suddenly really fast, and I was gaining on Mark bit by bit. I think I would’ve passed him with three or four more laps. To be honest, Mark drove impeccably and I don’t think we could’ve done much better. To finish second in both finals was a fair result in many ways.”
Buoyed by his performance, Jonathan’s next race will be the second round of the European Championship at Mariembourg in Belgium (28/28 June). It is a circuit that Jonathan knows well and likes.
“I’ve gone very well there in the past. My first priority is to qualify for the main final (having come through the qualifying heats) and then go for a top 15. That may sound a modest objective but at this level, the European races are brutal.”
To keep you up to date with his racing career, Jonathan has an excellent website –www.jonathanwalkerracing.com |
