Milton Keynes-based youngster up at the front in nearly every race
Samuel Oram-Jones put in a strong performance in the second round of the 2012 WSK Euro Series at Val d’Argenton in France last weekend and left with another pre-final top-five finish under his belt.
Sammy, who has progressed to KF3 this year - the highest level of karting for 13-16 year-olds - went into the weekend with his confidence high, and despite having to learn the track, he was one of the quickest in practice and was at the top end of the times throughout in his Millennium Motorsport-run kart.
The Milton Keynes-based youngster was targeting a place in the superpole in qualifying, but unfortunately got held up on his best lap. He still did enough though to be placed 20th out of the 58 competitors and was well positioned going into the four heats.
Indeed he ended up taking a fourth, a seventh and two tenths in his heats and was pleased with his form.
“I was happy with my pace in practice,” Sammy said. “Qualifying then went pretty well and although we had to settle for 20th, after I got blocked on my quickest lap, it was still a solid session and it meant we started quite far up the grid for the heats and could get some good results.
“It was a bit messy at the start in two of the heats where I finished tenth, but the other two went more smoothly.”
In the pre-final, Sammy was right up at the front and matched the fifth place he achieved at Sarno last month, earning him another eight valuable points and increasing his tally in the WSK Euro Series to 16. Unfortunately the final didn’t go so well, however, and after being deliberately knocked off at the start the 14-year-old finished 20th.
“In the final I made it through the first corner, but in the second I got hit along with another driver in front of me,” Sammy explained. “That dropped me back and well we were still quick, we were battling throughout and so it was hard to set really good times.
“The result from the pre-final though, was very encouraging. We had good pace to be up at the front and got a good result.
“Overall it was a positive weekend. We were up in the thick of it in nearly every race we were in, which is good, especially as this was my first time at this track.
“A big thank-you to Millennium too - they have really helped me to do well in the WSK rounds we have had so far. We were happy with the equipment all weekend. It was very good.”
Sammy now heads to Whilton Mill this coming weekend for the second round of the Super One MSA TKM Series (May 12-13). He then has a bit of a break, before going to La Conca in Italy next month for the third and penultimate round in the 2012 WSK Euro Series (June 23-24).
“I am hoping to do well at Whilton Mill,” Sammy continued. “I know the track very, very well and I will be going for a top-three in both finals.”
Sammy’s father and manager, Emil, meanwhile felt his son had done a good job at Val d’Argenton.
“Sammy got some really strong results and he was never outside the top-ten in his heats,” Emil added. “He had the pace and was constantly fast, even though the track was new to him.
“He drove really well and it was just unfortunate he got knocked off in the final. It was obviously only his second ever WSK meeting though, and I was happy with his progress.
“He still has a lot to learn. But given it is our first season racing against the best in Europe, many of whom have been racing at this level for a couple of years, I think to be 14th in the WSK Euro Series Championship standings at this stage is a good achievement.”
