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Team left disappointed despite strong showing at S1 opener
22nd April 2009
After the highs of Zuera, the team was left to drive away from Whilton Mill last Sunday (5 April) reflecting on the phrase, ‘that’s racing.’
In Timed Qualifying, Zuera winner Josh Webster found himself in an unlucky 13th place and knew that he needed plenty of the good stuff in the two heats if he was going to give himself a better grid position for the first final.
Another 13th-placed finish, followed by a strong 4th was enough for him to avoid the repecharge – but would put Josh on the 8th row of the grid for the first points scoring final of the domestic season. In a tough race, he moved forward, but only to 13th at the chequered flag.
In the second, Josh put in a solid performance to keep chipping his way up the order. 9th place was bitterly disappointing for a driver ranked as one of the title favourites, but team manager Warwick remained upbeat, “The main thing is that Josh got points on the board. We couldn’t quite match the pace of the front-runners today, but Josh showed his maturity and never gave up and in those circumstances, you can’t ask any more.”
Fellow winner in Spain, Joseph Reilly was having a torrid time in the Seniors, alongside James Greenway and Luke Varley.
In TQ, the trio had mixed fortunes with James and Luke rounding out the top ten (in 9th and 10th respectively) but Joseph found himself uncharacteristically down in 20th.
Whilst Whilton Mill is an excellent venue, the nature of the track often lends itself to fast and furious racing. James and Joseph dropped places in their first heats but were, similar to Luke, able to pick their through the field in the following races. For Greenway and Varley this meant 10th and 4th on the grid for the first final, but Reilly’s nightmare weekend was almost confirmed when he drew the 21st slot on the grid.
At the start, Luke was pushed out, whilst James was in the thick of the action pushing to break into the lead group. After a great start, Joseph had passed five karts and was able to bring his home in an eventual 14th. Luke recovered to 11th, whilst James took 9th.
A huge accident at Christmas Corner scattered half of the field in the opening moments of the second final. Luke was forced out just yards later with a damaged kart, whilst Joseph drove back onto the circuit in last place. James was also well down the order, but was now on a charge.
Not to be outdone, Joseph was quickly up to 19th (from 30th). It was a thrilling race, with Greenway seemingly passing a driver every other lap. Reilly’s progress steadied at three quarter distance but he’d passed 17 karts with an effort that had Warwick shrugging philosophically.
“What can I say? You’re always on the back foot when you get smashed off at the start. That happened to all three of our lads and James was able to salvage 9th, Joe 13th and sadly, Luke DNF’d. These things happen in racing and only make us more determined. We’ll definitely bounce back.”
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