Charlie Eastwood dominated the second round (4/5 May) of the UKs most prestigious karting championship - the appropriately named Super One - to put himself 34 points clear at the top of the table. The reigning world number one and current European championship points leader had travelled to the dramatic Rowrah circuit in Cumbria and was immediately one of the pacesetters.
In timed qualifying - in which the top 26 competitors were separated by no more than eight tenths of a second - Eastwood recorded the 4th-fastest lap time.
The Strawberry Racing star old then signaled his intent in the opening heat with a close-fought win over James Singleton. However, he suffered something of a reversal of fortune in the following race, when he crossed the finishing line 8th:I started 3rd but was on slick tyres on a drying track, like the rest of the field. That meant that there was just one line through the corners and, just after the start, I arrived at the first chicane with the other top six drivers and we were all pushed off the track by the guys behind. I was able to come back through from the back of the field to salvage 8th, explained Charlie.
Nevertheless, his combined results were sufficient to give him 4th position on the grid for Sundays first final.
The Rowrah track presents drivers with a series of high speed uphill and downhill sections, interspersed with challenging hairpin corners and chicanes. It is a place that rewards bravery, but punishes mistakes severely.
Eastwood delivered a perfect demonstration of how to attack the historic venue and burst through to take the lead on lap 5: Id been squeezed off the circuit at the start and had lost ground, but picked my way up into the lead quite quickly. I led for the last 10 laps and was keeping it calm but my Strawberry Racing team-mate, Kyle Fowlie, had reeled me in. So I got the signal to push, push, push. I managed to re-open the gap to about a second, but Kyle took a big chunk out of it, so I pushed again and then stayed relaxed to the chequered flag.
If he had been impressive in the first final, Eastwood was imperious in the second. Although, he suffered an anxious get away from the start-line: Youd think from my eventual winning margin that Id breezed it, but it was quite the opposite. As the lights flicked to green my engine spluttered and I came out of the first corner in 4th place. I managed to move up to 3rd and caught the front pair pretty quickly. Having moved into 2nd, Kyle was leading but I chased him down and once I was past, edged away. He put me under pressure but during the last two laps came under attack from behind, so had to defend and that gave me the gap I needed. Having arrived in 3rd place overall in the points, after the championships opening round at Three Sisters in Greater Manchester last month, Charlie was delighted to return to Belfast as the points leader: My aim is to try and stay on top in both championships now. Im going to take it track by track, race by race, as so much can happen. Of course, Id like to win every race, but a more technical approach is needed now. The Super One series next moves to the stunning Glan Y Gors circuit in North Wales in June (15/16). Before then, Charlie will fly out to Italy, hoping to increase his points advantage at the Pista Sette Laghi, Castelletto, near the ancient city of Pavia, on 25/26 May.
