Hall leads Strawberry 1,2,3 as McCarthy is crowned S1 Junior Max champion
Fresh from its Euro Max title wins at the start of September, Strawberry Racing concluded the month with even more podiums and overall victories on home soil.
With Kiern Jewiss wrapping-up the Super One Mini Max title at the previous round, he could have been forgiven for wanting to play a neutral role in the season finale at PFI (26/27 September). However, the exciting youngster chose to honour the prestigious GP number plates on his Tony Kart and raced on.
Similarly, Axel Charpentier, whom had also secured enough points to secure 2nd overall in the championship at the previous round, simply kept out of trouble. Connor McCarthy also capped a successful season, taking 9th overall in the championship with a string of top ten finishes throughout the weekend.
Jewiss crossed the finishing line in 2nd and 3rd place in the two finals to cap an outstanding debut year in the Mini Max class. It was a bold decision to race at the front but the Maidstone-based teenager used his raw pace to avoid any dramas and bag yet another double podium, further underlining his year-long supremacy.
In contrast, Charpentier drove a little more conservatively but was equally effective. His respective 7th and 9th places sealing the vice-champion’s status for the French star. McCarthy’s 8th and 6th results put him inside the championship top ten, highlighting his development as the year progressed.
After Saturday’s qualifying and heats, Junior Max champion-elect Jack McCarthy knew that he simply had to finish both of Sunday’s finals to add the Super One championship to his recent Euro Max Challenge triumph. Admitting that he found the experience “quite boring”, Jack sensibly avoided any confrontations by driving towards the rear of the field to capture his first national title with 12th and 18th in succession.
At the front and competing for a top five finish in the series, Tom Gamble drove perfectly all weekend to take consecutive lights-to-flag victories in the two finals. These came after he had topped the timesheets in qualifying and won both his heats to secure a provisional 4th in the championship.
Josh Skelton was made to work hard throughout the event but, after taking the chequered flag in 10th and 7th spot, he secured 10th overall in the points table.
With the Senior Max title already settled in favour of Sam Marsh, it fell to Luke Knott to spearhead Strawberry’s bid for the runner-up position. He didn’t disappoint. Knott took 2nd place in the first final, leading home team-mates Connor Hall in 5th and Gary Donnelly 7th. Sadly, James Johnson was sidelined by a crash in the early stages of the race.
Hall, the 2013 S1 Mini Max champion, then turned on the style to win a thrilling second final, with Knott 2nd again and Donnelly 3rd. Johnson clawed his way up to 11th at the chequered flag to secure 6th in the championship.
Reflecting on another hugely successful season for the team, in which his drivers had won four of the six key titles contested, Strawberry Racing team manager Warwick Ringham said: “It’s been another hard and yet very satisfying year. You always go into the new season with a little bit of trepidation because the driver line-up shifts around and you never know how well-prepared the opposition is. You just have to concentrate on getting the most out of your kit and the person driving it. So to see Kiern, Jack and Pierce win four titles between them, plus Luke and Axel taking 2nd, Connor Hall and John Stewart taking 3rd overall in their respective championships is something to be very proud of. Not only that but for us to get all ten drivers in seeded positions shows we how well the whole team has done this year.”
He added: “Many thanks to everyone who has helped us achieve these results. Sue, Paul C, Tom S, James, Pete, Jack, Tom F, Toby, George, John, Duncan, Smithy, Joseph, Dan and Phil. And not forgetting Kelly, Sandra, Julie and Dorne for keeping us topped up with food and drinks all year. Sorry if I’ve missed anyone out, I hope not!”
