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Sale-based karting star Jay Goodwin had never competed at Whilton Mill prior to his outing there this month, but that – allied to a puncture and misguided tyre choice thrown in for good measure along the way – still weren’t enough to stop him from bringing away another trophy for his efforts.

As he continues to build his burgeoning reputation ahead of the rapidly-approaching national campaign – in which he will be bidding to lift the same laurels that once went the way of none other than a certain Lewis Hamilton, no less – Jay travelled to the Northamptonshire circuit by his own admission not really knowing what to expect, but he wasted little time in getting right onto the pace.

“I had tested there, so I knew what the track was like,” the Ashton-upon-Mersey ace related, “but I didn’t know how easy or hard it would be to pass. It’s not really a track I enjoy because it’s one that takes a lot of energy out of you; it’s a very physical circuit, with lots of bumps and hard curbs.

“The first three sessions of practice didn’t go too well, but in the last two we were really quick, so going into race day I felt quite ready and confident. I didn’t have any particular aims as such – just to finish the final really, given what had happened at Shenington.”

That remark is an allusion to his previous meeting, in which Jay had unfortunately pulled into the pits whilst running third with one lap to go, believing it to already be the end of the race. Such an error was testament to the fact that, at only 11 – as much as five years younger than some of his rivals – he remains on a learning curve. But he is learning fast.

“The first heat went well,” the Mini Max front-runner continued, “but not as well as it could have done – from eighth on the grid I was up to second, but I made a mistake at the chicane on the last lap which dropped me back to fifth. The driver who finished fourth then got disqualified, though, so that moved me up a place. While it was frustrating, considering it was my first-ever heat there we were still pretty pleased.

“In the second heat we were doing unbelievably well – having started 17th I was up to third, but then Steven Handford turned in on me and the collision caused a valve to come off one of my tyres. The air all came out and when I was going over the start-line the kart was dragging to the left, so I had to come into the pits. It was a real shame, as the race had been going so well – there were two laps to go when it happened and I was close to the leader, so I’m sure we could have won.”

A wrong tyre choice on the damp track surface in heat three left Jay an unrepresentative 16th at the chequered flag, and a lowly 20th on the starting grid for the all-important final – amidst a bumper field of 29 drivers and, with the calibre of such as British title favourite Jody Fannin, Max Vaughan and Handford all present, a quality one to boot.

“The competition was very tough,” the St Ambrose College pupil acknowledged, “so I wasn’t confident of getting all that far from where we were starting. I made a really bad start and dropped three places, but coming out of the chicane for the first time I managed to pass about ten karts! That put me 13th, and I just worked my way further up from there to sixth place.

“It was good fun fighting my way up through the field; the chassis and engine felt really good, and I think with just a couple more laps we could have finished as high as third.”

Only a tenth of a second off the fastest lap of the race at the close – despite having to fight his way through traffic for the majority of proceedings – was a fine showing indeed, and brought what had at one point looked like degenerating into a torrid weekend to a far more satisfactory conclusion.

With observers rating the performance as Jay’s best drive to-date, it was also a timely injection of confidence for the newly-signed Andy Priaulx Performance Management scheme member ahead of the national BRDC Stars of Tomorrow and Super 1 challenges – both of which will visit Whilton in 2009. Moreover, it sent out a firm message to his rivals that regardless of whether he starts at the front, middle or back, the P1 Racing speed merchant will be tough to beat.

“I was really proud of myself, and my dad was chuffed too,” he concluded. “This preparation was very important – now I really feel I can do well there. We want to win in Super 1 – we want to win the championship. That has to be the goal.”

Photo by Chris Walker