They like to ‘initiate’ newcomers into Junior Max, they do, and as the recipient of a number of sideswipes from rivals on his competitive debut in the class at Shenington, highly-rated young Sale-based karting star Jay Goodwin can attest that it is very much a contact sport – but he came out of it all again reputation indubitably enhanced.
Having established himself as a national front-runner at the less powerful Mini Max level, Jay has made the leap to join the Junior Max grid with the well-respected Strawberry Racing outfit in 2011. He acknowledges that a prolonged winter of testing – some of it under the expert wing of multiple British Champion Mark Litchfield – has left him feeling about as prepared as he could wish to be.
“If I had gone straight into racing in Juniors, I think I would probably have picked up some bad habits,” the 13-year-old confessed. “I used to be quite an aggressive driver if I’m honest, and if somebody smashed me off, I often did the same back to them – whereas being with Strawberry I feel has helped me to mature a lot.
“Mark Litchfield is someone you know you need to listen to, because he has the results to show for it. If your dad tells you something, sometimes you just think, ‘whatever, whatever’, but when somebody as successful as Mark talks to you, you know you can trust him. He taught me a lot about how I can improve my racecraft.”
Jay travelled to Shenington eyeing a solid performance and a decent result, whilst recognising that up against some 42 adversaries – many of them potential race-winners and even title contenders in the national Super 1 Series, which will visit the high-speed Oxfordshire circuit later in the year – consistency would be critical and mistakes would likely cost him dear.
What he could not have guarded against, however, was the determination on the part of a number of second-year Junior Max drivers to show the class rookies who was boss – and after finding himself helplessly caught up in opening lap mêlées in both of his heat races despite his keenest efforts to avoid them, the Ashton-upon-Mersey hotshot was left mired in the dreaded ‘B’ final, from which only four of the 17 starters would go any further.
“I was nervous before the race, because if I hadn’t got out of the ‘B’ final during my first weekend in Juniors, it would have really knocked my confidence,” he reflected. “I was 11th on the grid, but we had managed to get the kart set up really well by the second heat and it felt really good, so I kept my head, got into fourth place and then just held onto it.”
It might have been a pressure-cooker situation, but knowing what a good racer Jay is, there was never really any doubt that he would safely extricate himself from it. Having duly done so, the North Cestrian Grammar School pupil – a maestro at doggedly scything his way up through the order from lowly grid slots – went on to begin the all-important ‘A’ final from 30th.
“I held back through the first corner after what had happened in the heats, but this time there was no crash!” he rued. “I then went to the outside heading up towards the hairpin and swept across the track to get the cut-back on the exit, which gained me about ten places.
“After that I just kept working my way through the field and ended up 12th. I could see the front pack not far in front of me on the last lap – so had it been a 15-lap Super 1 final rather than the 12 laps that it was, I could have got even higher. Just a couple more laps, and I would have been right up with the leaders...
“Still, I’m really happy with the progress I made and encouraged by the speed I showed, and I would like to thank Warwick and Dodge at Strawberry, as well as my mechanic, Dan – they were all brilliant! It’s a really good team, serious but chilled at the same time – there’s never any panic. They’re teaching me to do a lot more for myself and to take on a lot more responsibility, too, which can only be good for my career.”
A wholeheartedly positive debut on balance, the J Davidson Scrap Metal Processors-backed ace ably demonstrated his undoubted pace and potential – not to mention his indomitable fighting spirit. Strawberry team manager Warwick Ringham is confident that it is only the start, and that there is plenty more still to come from Jay Goodwin.
“It was a bit of a baptism of fire for Jay, as he tried to stay out-of-the-way of crashes and ended up getting drawn into them when it wasn’t his fault,” he mused. “In the final, he then produced a really good drive from the back of the grid – although we’re trying to get him out of the habit of having to fight his way through the field in the finals!
“He has fitted into the team really well, and his attitude is excellent – he really mucks in and helps out with everyone. We don’t set our drivers any targets as such because that can result in too much pressure, but as long as Jay enjoys himself and keeps on learning and getting better throughout the year, I think we will all be happy.”
