Jack Hawksworth is effusive about the prospect of a ‘fresh start’ as he returns to the team for whom he originally competed two years ago – and revved up to take on the crème de la crème of international opposition in 2010 to prove himself as one of the very best in the world.
After joining Italian outfit Energy Corse for 2009, Jack endured what was very much a season of two halves, with a sensational start seeing him triumph on the Florida Winter Tour in Miami, lift the laurels in the 20th edition of the prestigious Trofeo Margutti in Italy and finish a close second in the opening meeting on the hotly-fought WSK International Series schedule at Sarno.
Unfortunately, that challenge then faded due to a mixture of reliability issues, errors and sheer bad luck – and the Cullingworth ace admits that were he to have the year over again, he would take a rather different approach to it.
“Things didn’t really work out with Energy quite as we had planned and we didn’t get the results we had hoped for,” he candidly confessed. “The main reason was that I didn’t feel 100 per cent comfortable with the chassis, and as a team I just don’t think we gelled all that well. They’ve got some good guys there and I got on well with them, but I simply don’t think we worked well enough together – our working methods were just too different from one another.
“I’d like to thank them for all the help and support they gave me over the year – we had some good times, I’ve made some good friends in the team and I wish them all the best for 2010 – but hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? I should really have stayed with PDB for a second year to build the relationship a bit more.
“I don’t regret going to Energy, but when you have a run of bad results and don’t stand on the podium for a while because things just aren’t going your way, your confidence does drop – and once you’re in a rut, it’s quite hard to get out of it again. I can’t deny that I’m not happy with how the year went.”
Be that as it may, Jack is now incontrovertibly looking ahead rather than behind, and after the option arose to rejoin PDB Racing – with whom he successfully competed on the European scene in 2008 – he needed little convincing. An extremely positive first test followed at Genk in Belgium, and the 18-year-old can scarcely contain his enthusiasm about both the Maddox chassis and all-new IAME engines the Dutch-based operation will run next year in KZ1 – the top tier of international gearbox karting – in the CIK-FIA World Cup, CIK-FIA European Championship, WSK and DKM German Championship.
“I went over to visit the factory a few times, and it just seemed like a really good opportunity to work with them again,” explained the former Junior Max European Champion, Junior Max World Vice-Champion and British ICC Vice-Champion of his return to familiar surroundings. “It’s good to be going back, and I’m looking forward to working with everyone again and rebuilding a strong relationship with the team.
“We already know each other and I’m good friends with quite a lot of the guys there – there are a couple of new faces, but it’s pretty much the same people as when I was last there – so it isn’t like it’s a step into the unknown, and that will hopefully help us to gel quickly again.
“The test went really well. The kart felt really good, and it seems to suit my driving style. I tend to like a kart with more rear-end grip, and with the Energy the balance was more towards the front. It only took me a couple of sessions to get used to the Maddox, and I was soon really comfortable on it – I felt like I could have driven it all day!
“It sounds like a really good project with IAME bringing out the new KZ engine, and I’m really looking forward to working with them. I’ve not really met any of the guys from IAME yet, but they’ve been one of the best engine manufacturers in karting for so long, and now they’re producing an engine for KZ I’m sure it will be really good. They certainly don’t do things by half measures!
“Teams like Intrepid and CRG have extremely strong engines, so we are going to have to work exceptionally hard to be anywhere near them – but I’m convinced we can do it. We need to get results from the beginning right to the end – that’s how championships are won – and I want to go out and do as well as possible.
“We need to be really consistent, keep working hard throughout the year and try to be on the podium all the way through – but it’s a fresh start, I’m in really good shape and my confidence is back up again. The team has a lot of experience, technical expertise and potential, and I’m sure we’ll be fighting at the front and a serious contender in all the races – I’m raring to go!”
