News Article
King scoops top award
Jordan King showcased both his raw pace and superb overtaking prowess in the final meeting of the 2008 BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Karting Championship – in the process earning himself an award sponsored by Formula 1 World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
The young Harbury ace headed to Shenington in Oxfordshire where a trio of heat races sensationally yielded two victories and a runner-up spot amongst a field of 36 competitors.
“I hadn’t expected to do quite that well,” the 14-year-old candidly acknowledged.
The plethora of passing opportunities around the fast, flowing Shenington layout played right into the hands of one of the championship’s very best overtakers and, from pole position in the all-important final, hopes were undoubtedly high.
Lady Luck has invariably not been on King’s side during the 2008 campaign and she abandoned him once more as a close second place to eventual champion Callum Bowyer in his opening heat unfortunately heralded something of a false dawn.
Having taken the chequered flag a mere 16 hundredths adrift, the Repton School pupil again proved himself to be by some margin the quickest driver on the track in heat two – rising from 20th on the grid to fourth with just two laps remaining – when exiting the chicane he was pushed off from behind, leaving him seventh at the flag.
Fired up by another strong result stolen from his grasp, King charged through the field from 15th to triumph in heat three, placing him fourth on the grid for the last final of the season.
Crossing the finish line an unlucky 13th, King reflected that he was disappointed with the overall balance of his season – one which nonetheless ended with him sitting a strong sixth out of 51 drivers in the Mini Max championship, with victory in the final at Whilton Mill along the way.
Taking away the Lewis Hamilton ‘True Grit’ Award from Shenington – presented to the driver who has made up the most number of places from his grid positions during the course of a round, and available to any one of Stars’ 214 competitors – King is now focusing on both his debut in the Spanish Karting Championship at Zaragoza in the KF3 class, and his Super 1 Series title showdown with Bowyer at Three Sisters near Wigan.
King said: “It will be the first time I’ve raced in Spain and it should be a lot of fun. As to Super 1, I’ve got to try and not think about the championship and just drive the best I can, but it’s always there in the back of your mind. We’ve got nothing to lose in the championship so we’re just going to go into the last round and give it our all.”
