Jay Goodwin was one of the leading contenders throughout the 2010 curtain-raiser for Formula Kart Stars (FKS) – the same championship that first launched a certain Lewis Hamilton on the fast track towards F1 superstardom – and if circumstances ultimately contrived to deny him the results his pace so clearly deserved, still his potential suggested there will be considerable cause for cheer over the balance of the campaign.
The young Sale-based speed demon travelled to Rowrah in bullish mood about his chances of showing well around the challenging and popular Cumbrian circuit. Fourth spot in qualifying on Saturday out of the 29 Mini Max competitors – the very crème de la crème of British talent at that level – was a strong start, particularly given that single-lap pace was arguably Jay’s only real weakness last year.
“I was aiming to get a couple of good results and was confident I had the pace to be up there,” he reflected. “Rowrah is situated in a former quarry and is a good circuit to race at; it’s a drivers’ track that requires you to be on the limit all the time, and it’s also very technical which means you need to get the kart set up perfectly. I’ve not raced there a great deal before, but I definitely enjoy it.
“I was quite pleased with qualifying, especially considering that last year it was a bit of an Achilles’ heel for me. I only had one good qualifying all season in 2009, and that was when I put it on pole for the first round of Super 1. I think I’ve come on a lot in that area, and it’s probably one of the most crucial parts of a race weekend now – if you start down towards the back, it’s hard to come through the field to reach the front pack before they break away.”
In his first heat race, Jay was running well up inside the top three when the driver directly ahead of him braked unexpectedly early into a corner and caused the Ashton-upon-Mersey ace to clip the rear of his rival’s kart and plummet right out of contention to an eventual and unrepresentative 14th-place finish. Heat two yielded P9 – albeit with a better fastest lap time than the race-winner – whilst a ‘boring’ final saw the 13-year-old make early progress from 12th up to eighth, and thereafter hold station all the way to the chequered flag, with his kart not quite on the very front-running pace.
Unbowed, qualifying the following day proved that a breakthrough has incontrovertibly been made, as Jay secured fifth spot in the order, and top Evolution Racing entry for the second day in a row. It could, though, he rued, have been even better still.
“On my last lap I set the best first sector time of anyone,” he explained. “It was all going perfectly, but then when I got to the straight after the hill there was a kart going slowly in front of me. I had to swerve to avoid it, which cost me two tenths – and, I’m convinced, pole position.”
Given that he missed out on the top spot by less than that, Jay’s argument is a compelling one, but nonetheless he was pleased to once more be right up at the sharp end of proceedings. Sadly, Lady Luck would again refuse to smile upon him come the heats.
In the first of them, the North Cestrian Grammar School pupil moved into the lead only to be assaulted from behind, causing his sidepod to fall off and resulting in an agonising failure to finish. In heat two, subsequently, he was lying second on the last lap and lining up for a pass on the leader, when he found himself unceremoniously wiped out from behind by a grossly over-ambitious pursuer. Having been in the mix for victory on both occasions, Jay was left with a brace of DNFs – and plum last on the grid for the final.
“The first corner was carnage, which helped me to make up a few places,” he recounted, “and after that I just worked my way up through the pack. I passed 12 drivers early on and then picked off the odd one or two in the middle of the race, and three more towards the end. Unfortunately, the field spread out quite quickly, which meant there were two or three-second gaps between some positions, making it hard to progress.
“I was a bit frustrated knowing I should have been starting right up at the front and perhaps even on pole – and obviously I would have preferred that – but to be honest I quite enjoy starting at the back and fighting my way through the pack. I’ve had some good races doing that. My racecraft is good, and that makes me very confident of being able to successfully make moves.”
That much is indisputable, but with no major incidents ahead, a battling tenth place at the flag was as good as it was going to get. Even having to fight his way through, Jay’s lap times were on a par with the leaders – painting a clear picture of what might have been. Still, allied to much-improved fitness compared to twelve months ago – the product of disciplined twice-weekly training sessions – the Cheshire hotshot remains much encouraged by both his form and his prospects looking ahead.
“I can be in the kart for 20 minutes now and I don’t even feel a thing,” he mused of his fitness benefits. “At this stage last year, I was shattered after only ten or 12 minutes. It’s been hard work to lose the weight, but staying in shape is an important part of the job – and I definitely feel better for it. It was frustrating knowing that that I was as quick as the top guys at Rowrah and that I could have been up there with them rather than finishing tenth, but championship-wise, I think it’s still wide open for anyone – and my aim is to win.”
