Guan Yu Zhou, Rob Holland and Harrison Scott and new signing Charlie Eastwood maintained their S1 title credentials with strong performances in Lancashire (25/26 August), keeping the team on course for a possible Super One triple.
Mini Max front-runner Zhou kept up the pressure on his nearest rivals with another excellent weekend. From the outset of the meeting the Chinese driver was up at the sharp end, setting the second-fastest time in qualifying before going on to claim a victory and 4th place in the heats. Having laid a solid platform for Sundays finals, Joe - as his team-mates have christened him - powered on to finish 2nd in the pre-final and 3rd in the main final.
Naturally, Strawberrys team manager Warwick Ringham only had praise for him: Joe set the fastest time in nearly all the testing sessions and pre-race warm up, so we were expecting good things on his return to his favorite track in the UK. His performance all weekend was really good and he is becoming a more complete driver with each race. When you think that he only moved to England in June 2011, has had to learn a new language and way of life and is now regarded as one of the top drivers in Mini Max - all at only 13 years old - makes it even more impressive.
Strawberrys Junior Max squad of Rob Holland, Harry Webb, Toby Sowery and Jessica Backman experienced a variety of fortunes throughout the preliminaries and finals, but it was the teams principal title hopeful Holland who crucially enjoyed the rub of the green, crucially aiding his championship aspirations. Holland guided his Tony Kart Racer EVRR with Cream-prepared engine through the action to take back-to-back podiums. Jessica Backman also delivered a superb result for the Sheffield based team by claiming an excellent 7th-place finish in the main final.
Rob again put in two terrific performances to keep him in the title race, said Ringham. After Larkhall we were a little worried, as he had been having problems with his wrists, which definitely affected his performance in Scotland. So, going to the bumps of Wigan we were concerned for him. Thankfully, there was no need to be as he produced a pair of fantastic drives. He he has managed to keep his head all season, which for me is the most impressive aspect of his improvement as a driver.
He added: Jessica is getting better with every race, after securing the Swedish championship and booking a place at the Rotax World Finals she went to Three Sisters full of expectation. She delivered with an exceptional 7th position. We just need to get her to sort out timed practice and the heats, so she has a better starting position for the final.
Having made a late-season switch to the team, Charlie Eastwood repaid them with a sensational victory in the first Senior Max final and a fine 3rd place in the second. Eastwoods triumphant switch to Strawberry also marked the first time this season that the championship leader had been defeated, signaling Charlies own title intentions as he moved to within 18 points of the top spot.
Harrison Scott bounced back to form after a troubled visit to Larkhall in the previous round, he returned home to Essex with the silverware for 2nd place in the main final. This was a repeat of his earlier runner-up finish in the pre-final. Local man Andy King expected more from his home race after taking home a brace of creditable 5ths. However, his points haul was sufficient to keep him in third spot in the points table and, with two rounds remaining, still vying for top honours.
Charlie, Andy and Harrison were at the front all weekend and all three of them could have finished on the podium, in what was a fantastic race. After some early season problems the team is back on track and everyone is where they should be, at the front! Although Andy had two 5th places, his speed and attitude over the weekend deserved better. However, these results keep him right in the chase for top three honours. During Fridays free practice sessions Andreas was as fast as his more experienced team-mates but on Saturday and Sunday he struggle. Going forward, well be working hard to help him carry his pre-race form right the way through the weekend.
