Jack Barlow took his tally up to six wins in the Super One Rotax Championship with back to back victories at PFi (18 September).
With the forty nine-strong field split into two groups for timed qualifying, Barlow - debuting Adidas’ brand new ‘Kart XLT’ shoes, seen for the very first time in the UK - emerged on top with the fastest time overall, earning pole position for his two heats.
In the first race, he was pipped to the chequered flag by his Strawberry Racing team-mate Rob Holland, but won the following encounter in convincing fashion to take P1 on the grid for the first of Sunday’s two points-scoring finals.
Barlow’s other team-mate, Jay Goodwin, started directly behind him, and the pair worked well together during the initial stages of the first final. Jack headed the jockeying and jostling train of thirty karts vying for the best possible position through the track’s often incident-filled opening series of fast straights, tight hairpins and bottle-neck chicane.
Goodwin tucked onto Barlow’s rear bumper and helped to push the pair clear - and once the opening exchanges had settled down, the Superdry-supported star began to ease away. He was further assisted by the scraps for 2nd and 3rd place behind him, but could not afford to relax as his rivals launched attempts to snatch the lead.
A peerless last lap saw him shade the contest in his favour, and as he advanced to the finishing line he directed a subtle, hugged to his chest thumbs-up gesture at his mechanic and team boss suggesting ‘job done’.
Despite this, he felt that his Tony Kart Racer EVRR was not handling quite as well as it should. He and his mechanic gambled on correcting this by simply adjusting his tyre pressures for the next final - but the big question was would it work?
An enormous crash at the first hairpin corner brought out red flags to stop the race. Thankfully no one had been hurt, but the worried officials saw fit to admonish the drivers for their over exuberance. It also undid Jack’s excellent start and he had to do it all over again.
At the second asking, he again made no mistakes. However, another driver had gone with him and wasted little time in making a bid for the lead. Barlow wisely gave him room as they both went in hard and fast into the tight hairpin. On the exit, a cigarette paper could not have separated the pair.
As he approached the start/finish line, Jack glanced up into the grandstand to see Strawberry’s team manager, Warwick Ringham give him the signal to attack. Immediately, he pulled out of the slipstream, dived down the inside on the run into the quick, sweeping right hander at the end of the straight and emerged back in front.
Fast, consistent laps quickly established a commanding lead and earned him a finger and thumb pinched together, signifying ‘perfect,’ from Ringham. He was never headed again and, as if to prove a point, Barlow took his winning margin up by another second in the very last tour.
As he sped towards the finishing line, Jack cheekily blew kisses to his cheering and applauding team.
He now tops the standings with just one round to go - at Britain’s fastest track, Three Sisters near Wigan on 16 October.
