‘Racer’ Goodwin proves he’s ‘one of the very best’ with victory near-miss on national stage

Jay Goodwin took what he described as ‘a big step forward’ in the second meeting of 2010 in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship at Whilton Mill, by duelling for victory in both finals, and coming away with only his second-ever national podium.

Jay had raced at Whilton – one of the bumpiest, most physically demanding and most punishing circuits in the country – the weekend before in fellow British series Super 1, and whilst he had been quick, he had also been out-of-luck, so as he returned to Northants seven days later the exciting young Sale-based karting star admitted that top of his wish list was a change of fortunes.

Eighth in qualifying out of the 28 Mini Max class competitors on Saturday, albeit barely two tenths of a second shy of the outright pace, was therefore something of a disappointment – “I thought it was going to be hard work from there,” he confessed – and after being knocked off from third position early on in his opening heat race and dropping as low as 17th, he artfully fought back to P7 at the chequered flag. And then in heat two, Jay won, earning himself second on the grid for the all-important final, and confident both in himself and in his Evolution Racing kart.

“Coming round the hairpin on the last lap of the second heat, the two drivers ahead were fighting,” he recounted, “and when Ryan Norris braked, George Russell pushed him on. I took the normal racing line and got the switchback on them both, and I managed to run Russell out onto the kerb, which gave me a bit of a gap for the remainder of the lap.

“At the start of the final, Russell took the normal line from pole, but I had to defend because I had the pack behind me. That made things quite hard to begin with and George was able to pull out a gap of about two seconds, but I then caught him up and we pushed away together.

“I passed him for the lead close to the end and established a bit of a gap; on the last lap I looked back and didn’t see any need to defend, but by the time I got to the top of the hill, the drivers behind him had worked together to push George back towards me again. I still stuck to my normal racing line, with Russell about a kart-length behind me – but then into the left-hander after the hairpin he lunged past me and ran me out wide on the exit.

“I was still proud of myself for finishing second and pleased to be on the podium, but annoyed that I hadn’t defended better – it was the first time I’d ever been in the lead on the last lap of a national meeting. That’s all about experience, though, and the next time I’m in the same position I’ll know what to do.”

Jay’s first British rostrum since last July, with just a bit of luck it will also hopefully be the first of many – and all was looking good for a repeat performance on Sunday, with a largely unchallenged pole position in qualifying an excellent way to begin. After leading early on in his opening heat, he reclaimed the advantage on the penultimate lap, only for a concertina-effect behind as the top six all squeezed together to erupt into chaos, several comings-together and some swift changes of the order, leaving the Ashton-upon-Mersey hotshot a frustrated sixth at the close.

Despite an early scare when a race clerk motioned at him to slow down on the first lap of heat two under the mistaken impression that it had been a false start – costing Jay a handful of places – the 12-year-old nonetheless maturely retained his composure and artfully fought back to triumph by just over a second-and-a-half – and with it seal P4 on the starting grid for the weekend’s second final.

“I got up to third on the first lap, but then on lap two Russell overtook me at the top of the hill and pushed me out wide onto the mud,” the North Cestrian Grammar School pupil recalled. “I lost a lot of places as a result of that, but I was able to come back through again and chase down the lead pack. Norris then towed up to me on the straight and came past, after which I pushed him forwards towards the leaders.

“We caught them on the last lap, and then it was just all a bit of a scrap between the top six. Going into the last few turns, I tried to go up the inside of Norris for fourth, but he was going for the switchback into the next corner which meant we came together and I ended up in the tyres. I was very upset by that initially, but after I had calmed down I knew I’d had a good weekend overall, and at the end of the day, I’m a racer – I want to win!”

Frustrating a conclusion to proceedings as it undeniably was, still Jay was able to take many reasons for encouragement from the weekend, having had the pace to win both finals as he indubitably continues to go from strength-to-strength. Up from 14th in the title standings to ninth – and had he finished Sunday’s final, indeed, he would likely have been fifth – the Matrix-backed ace has significantly quashed one of the few remaining chinks in his armour and is buoyant about his prospects as he looks ahead now to his next national outing, in Super 1 around the ultra-fast Buckmore Park circuit in Kent.

“Overall, I felt happy at the end of the weekend,” he mused, “because I was able to prove that I’m one of the very best and fastest in the country – we’ve been quick all year, we just haven’t had the luck. I took a big step forward and I think my driving came on a lot, and that was quite a confidence boost. I’m mentally fitter and physically fitter than I was before, and most importantly, I’ve now learned how to lead. I’m fast at Buckmore, and you really need balls round there – you’re so close to the barriers all the way around the track, so it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted!”

No cause for concern there, then. As Jay Goodwin proved at Whilton Mill, he is anything but faint-hearted...