as Jewiss and Knott take vital wins at Rissington...
Proving that this year’s SSM Super One series will be a close contest all the way to the final weekend, Strawberry Racing’s talented squad experienced mixed fortunes at Little Rissington (8/9 August).
Fresh from his victory at the Oxfordshire circuit just seven days before, Axel Charpentier was in sparkling form. Having been pipped to pole position in timed qualifying by his team-mate and newly-crowned Kart Masters champion, Kiern Jewiss, the Frenchman aced his heats to claim P1 for the first Mini Max final. Jewiss lined up three rows back on P7, after a tougher time than would normally be expected during his races. Connor McCarthy sat poised to turn around his frustrating time in qualifying and the heats from row eleven.
Charpentier completed a perfect lights-to-flag victory to underline his confidence and form, whilst Jewiss also demonstrated his star quality with an assured drive to 3rd. Similarly, McCarthy picked his way forward to complete the pre-final in 12th place.
Maximising the set-ups given to them by the team, Kiern and Axel built up a gap over the chasing pack. With four laps to go the pair’s private duel had intensified with both drivers taking it in turns to lead. However, a small mistake by Axel gave Kiern the chance he was looking for and he passed the Frenchman with two minutes to go. At this point, their pursuers had caught up them and in the battle for victory, setting up a thrilling finale. As it was, Charpentier was pipped at the very last corner for 2nd, while Jewiss drove perfectly to deliver the win.
McCarthy raced hard for a top ten finish but was denied on the penultimate lap, taking the chequered flag in 11th spot.
Strawberry’s Junior Max drivers were a potent force in qualifying, with Josh Skelton sealing pole. Jack Martin enjoyed his best performance of the season with 3rd, while 2015 Kart Masters winner Tom Gamble placed 9th and championship protagonist Jack McCarthy showed how close the field was by setting the 12th-fatest time in a session where all 27-kart field were barely separated by more than half a second.
The heats shook everything up again, with Gamble 5th in the intermediate standings, with Skelton 6th, Martin 8th and McCarthy 12th again. A similar result followed in the first final with Tom and Josh inside the top ten, while the two Jacks hovered just outside but in close contention for the main final.
A frantic start saw Josh pushed back two places in the opening moments and down two more by lap four. Gamble lost six places in the opening lap, but Jack Martin was able to hold his bobbing around the upper order of the midfield like a cork during the early phase of the race. His namesake, McCarthy, also seemed to survive the initial skirmishes, but would find himself losing ground as the race wore on.
Indeed, a valiant performance from Gamble was denied a worthy finish, when he over-committed himself at the dog-leg and crashed out. Skelton’s ultimate reward for a rumbustious drive was a hatful of valuable points for his eventual 7th place.
Arguably, Man-of-the-Moment, Luke Knott has been one of the most exciting drivers to watch in the Senior Max class. With two Super One victories already, Luke again carried the fight to championship-leader, Sam Marsh. Fastest in qualifying, Knott lined up at the front of the grid for the first final, following strong showings in the heats.
Connor Hall continued his impressive graduation from the Junior to Senior ranks with a third row starting place, while James Johnson, in only his second event since switching to the team, emerged from the heats with P6 on the grid. Opening round-winner Gary Donnelly was close behind, lining up 8th on the grid.
As a spectacle, the first final failed to live up to its billing. The top three remained unchanged throughout, with Knott finishing where he started. Johnson netted a fine 4th, ahead of Donnelly in 5th and Hall 6th.
Knowing that, after the first final, it was important to get to the front of the race as soon as possible, Luke took the lead two tours into the twenty-three lap main final. With all the drama unfolding behind him, he eased away to open an unbeatable lead.
Not even waiting that long, Gary had made up two positions in the opening lap but from there, with so few overtaking opportunities on the track, ultimately led home a Strawberry triumvirate in 4th, 5th (Hall) and 6th (Johnson) respectively.
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