with local sports personality award
His trophy cabinet is practically overflowing as it is, but Jordan King admitted that he was thrilled to be able to add one more to his collection after being crowned the 2010 Warwickshire District Under 18 Male Sports Personality last weekend.
Having finished as runner-up in the category last year, 12 months on Jordan was back at Leamington Town Hall for the prestigious ceremony – celebrating the very best of local sporting prowess – and this time, he would pick up the winner’s prize.
“All three on the shortlist had enjoyed excellent years, and it provoked much discussion amongst the judging panel,” revealed Paul Okey, sports editor of the Courier series and one of the judges. “However, we felt Jordan’s exploits on the world stage in a highly-competitive sport gave him the edge.”
A leading light on both the national and international karting scene – having finished inside the top six in three major championships this year alone – after pipping England international Taekwondo ace Dylan Hey and Great Britain canoeist Adam Stannard to the Sports Personality laurels, the Stoneleigh-based speed demon reflected that although his name is best-known inside motor racing circles, it is always rewarding to be recognised locally for his achievements, too.
“I only knew I’d won when they made the announcement,” the 16-year-old confessed. “I wasn’t expecting to win – it was nice just to be inside the top three. I was quite surprised, and really happy. It’s good for my CV, obviously, and it raises a bit more awareness not just for myself but also for motorsport in general – people don’t tend to see it as being one of the very biggest sports, and especially not karting.”
That much, however, may be about to change, for with the likes of McLaren-Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button regularly doing battle for F1 World Championship glory, Britain is indubitably enjoying a purple patch in the sport at the moment, and given the rate at which Jordan is progressing, it would be far from beyond the realms of probability to see him joining the pair on the grand prix grid in the years to come.
The Princethorpe College Student has already begun his fledgling car racing career off the back of an ultra-successful four-year stint in karting, but this weekend he has one final karting outing left to contest in the one-off WSK Nations Cup at La Conca in southern Italy, where he last raced earlier this year and for which he is optimistic a recent change of kit will leave him in fine form to challenge.
“I’ve always been quick at La Conca but haven’t had great results, so there’s definitely a bit of unfinished business there,” he acknowledged. “We’re feeling confident because the Birel/BMB combination that I’m on now was fast there back at the start of the season – so hopefully we can end the year with a good performance.”
Indeed, Jordan will be ending not just the year at La Conca, but in fact his entire competitive karting career. Having come a long way in a comparatively short space of time since 2007 – with highlights including victory in the blue riband Kartmasters meeting in 2009 and the CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific Championship in Macau a handful of months later, as well as the runner-up laurels in the British Championship in 2008 and WSK Master Series this year – the Hugo Boss brand ambassador asserts that now is the time to move on.
“It’s a strange feeling,” he reflected. “I’ve been in karting for a long time and it’s been my life really, weekend-in, weekend-out. I’ve had a lot of good results to look back on, but I’ve got to a level now where I’m not going to learn much more that I can take with me into cars – and I’m ready to take the next step.”
