after FKS curtain-raiser

Dan Zelos has demonstrated that he will be a force to be reckoned with in both national karting series in 2011, after following up his superb breakthrough triumph in Super 1 at PF International with a performance that was unlucky not to yield the same result in the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) curtain-raiser at Rowrah.

Having signalled his arrival as a genuine British title contender with his outstanding Super 1 success, Dan headed to the demanding Cumbrian circuit of Rowrah for the opening of hostilities in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed FKS championship in optimistic mood.

“I was feeling very confident,” confirmed the talented Dereham-based hotshot. “It’s my favourite track, and I was very quick there last year – taking one of my best results of the season – so I was hopeful of being able to finish high up the order this time, too. It’s really undulating, with a mixture of fast corners and slow corners and uphill and downhill sections. It’s challenging and definitely a drivers’ circuit, and you need to stay awake round Rowrah, that’s for sure!”

Acknowledging that ‘the competition in FKS is really tough, with everybody from Super 1 there and a few new faces as well’, Dan qualified eighth in his group on Saturday, a little disappointed at being eight tenths of a second shy of the benchmark but maturely reasoning that ‘you don’t score any points in qualifying – the main thing was to get good heat finishes to be up there for the final’.

Despite frustratingly changeable weather conditions that meant ‘you had to be ready for anything’, the Prima Racing star was equally happy come rain or shine, and a strong fourth position right in amongst the pace-setters in his first heat allied to a battling 12th later on left him 13th on the grid out of the 48 MSA British Cadet class competitors – the very crème de la crème of young driving talent at that level – for the all-important final.

“On the rolling-up lap, I unfortunately misjudged the grip level in the wet, went too fast into the hairpin and spun,” Dan recounts, “and then another driver came full-throttle towards me and hit me straight in the side. That left me with a bent chassis and hardly any brakes for the whole race, but I just had to push on.

“I made a really good start and gained six or seven places straightaway, but I knew my chassis wasn’t handling right after the impact; it wouldn’t go into the corners or pull away from them properly, and it was generally just really hard to drive. I was losing out quite a lot down the straights and having to brake a lot harder and earlier into the corners, too, but after a few laps I got used to that and found a way of dealing with it. I tried my hardest and soldiered on to finish 12th, and in the circumstances, I was quite pleased with that.”

In a situation that would have seen many of his rivals drop their heads, the Northgate High School pupil’s dogged determination and indefatigable spirit in the face of adversity was impressive indeed, as he overcame a significant disadvantage to tally points that could prove vital later on in the campaign.

Better yet, in a tremendously close qualifying session the next day, Dan looked to be on-course for pole position until he was narrowly pipped by three adversaries in the dying moments, leaving him fourth – albeit a scant hundredth of a second shy of the outright pace, indubitably right in the mix and, most encouragingly of all, far closer than he had been on Saturday.

“I started the first heat third,” he recalled. “There were four of us at the front disputing the top spot, and we pushed each other all the way to the last lap in order to get away from the chasing pack so that we could have our own private battle without being threatened from behind. I just couldn’t find a gap at the end, but it was still a really fun fight.”

Winding up third – a mere six tenths shy of the race-winner at the chequered flag – Dan’s words crystallize the very essence of what Cadet racing is all about, and betray an extremely intelligent approach for a driver of just 12 years of age. In heat two, he then worked his way up from fifth on the grid to go into the last lap lying second...

“I was behind my team-mate, and obviously I didn’t want to risk sacrificing both of our races or ruining a Prima one-two with a needless accident,” he confessed. “I didn’t push him that hard because I didn’t want either of us to go off, but afterwards he was disqualified which gave me first place anyway.

“I started the final second and was planning to try and push away with the leader, but then the pack behind began catching us until there were six of us in a big battle at the front. There were more-and-more drivers tagging along all the time, so I knew I had to get a move on and halfway through I attacked for the lead, but at the same time, someone behind me went really quickly into the corner and lost control, with his front bumper catching my back bumper and sending me off into the barriers.”

Rejoining back in seventh and almost five seconds down, Norfolk’s resident speed demon was resolutely undeterred and caught the eye by fighting on right the way to the end to latch onto the scrap over fourth place on the very last lap. Despite needing just one more lap to be able to pounce, Dan’s form was promising indeed, and as he looks ahead now to some circuits on the FKS calendar at which he has strong previous form, he does so with his tail up, bullish about his prospects – and targeting victory.

“Given the pace we had, we could have won or definitely finished inside the top three, but I guess these things happen and we’ll just have to hope for better luck in other races,” he mused phlegmatically in conclusion. “There were some up-and-down moments, but overall it was a really good weekend and I enjoyed it a lot – it was a decent start to the FKS season, and I especially want to thank Paul Munn, Prima’s Cadet team manager.

“There are still ten rounds to go, and now we can just build on the pace we showed at Rowrah and get even closer to the top. The goal from here is to carry on making my way up the championship table. I will keep pushing, and to finish inside the top three or five at the end of the season would just be brilliant. That’s the aim, and with quite a few tracks that I really like coming up, I’m confident we can achieve it.”