Teenager’s rookie year gets off to a flying start with a podium finish « Jordan King

I’m ready to win, says karting King.

Young Warwickshire karting star Jordon King produced arguably the fines performance of his fledging career to date to overcome all manner of adversity and storm to an outstanding podium finish in the latest round of the hotly-fought 2009 WSK International Series at Genk – and afterwards he warned his rivals “I’m ready to win!”
Jordon is in only his maiden campaign of international competition this year and when the majority of his 81 competitors in KF3 have at least a season already under their belt – but he is far from letting it hold him back.

Already established as the leading British driver in the class in WSK – ahead of such as defending British KF3 Champion Jake Dennis and Red Bull-backed Alex Albon – he headed to Genk with high hopes, and boasting a strong record around the fast and flowing Belgian circuit having set pole position there in BRDC Stars of Tomorrow last year. Unfortunately, things would swiftly go wrong…
“In practise I binned it against a marshal’s post,” he confessed. “That left the kart a bit bent and mangled and I just felt a bit of an idiot really. I couldn’t believe I’d done that!

“We didn’t have time to straighten it out again before qualifying, which meant it felt like a completely different kart. Round right-handers I was on full lock and it was barely turning, while I could practically let go of the wheel through left-handers and it would just steer itself round! I was really annoyed at being 40th when we could and should have been inside the top ten.”

Chastened by his mistake, Jordon would go on to produce a series of solid showings in his four heat races, with a highlight of fifth in heat two and competitive lap times throughout.

Better yet, with the heavens opening shortly before the pre-final, his progress was quite simply meteoric, as the 15 year-old gained a “ridiculous” 20 places in the first two laps alone en route to an excellent fifth at the close – given where he had started, an ominous result.

With the rain abating the time for the grand final, though, and half a dry line appearing, all the 34 slick-shod drivers suddenly found themselves facing something of a journey into the unknown. Nonetheless, hopes were high in the JRP Maranello camp that Jordon could take the fight to the leading contenders for victory – until turn one, at least…

“We were half way through the first corner, when i got hit from behind and spun round on the exit,” the Harbury ace recounted. “That left me facing the wrong way with all the traffic coming towards me, but luckily someone knocked me back in the right direction again and everyone else was able to avoid me – if someone had gone into me it would have been game over there and then.

“That dropped me to dead last and left me really frustrated, but at the same time I knew we could all still get a half-decent result because we were quick enough – though I never actually believed we’d be able to get up as high as we did. If there had been two more laps, I think we could have won to be honest.”

In changeable conditions that wrong-footed many, it was beyond doubt a truly awesome performance, taking Jordon up to third at the chequered flag and reducing what had been a gaping ten-seconds deficit to the leader at the end of lap one to just 3.6 seconds 14 laps later, and barely a second shy of the runner-up spot. Despite having to fight his way through traffic, the Repton School pupil was consistently as much as a second lap faster than any other driver on the circuit, with his best effort eight tenths out of reach of that of the race-winner and an incredible 1.4 seconds clear of anybody else, an eternity in karting terms.

His sheer pace and consistency were breathtaking and more than atoned for his practice mishap, and indeed his phenomenal performance marked the second time in as many weekend that Jordon has had to battle back from a disastrous start to proceedings to conquer the rostrum in sensational fashion. The only slight disappointment is in wondering, had he not been tagged at the start of the grand final, what might have been…