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Exciting young Sale-based karting star Jay Goodwin put a run of ill-fortune behind him in his latest club outing at Shenington, with a front-running performance throughout that earned him a well-deserved rostrum finish – and set him up in fine style for his forthcoming national meeting.

With little going right in the build-up and a distinct lack of solid results to show for his efforts, as well as a 70mph accident not of his own making but that had briefly knocked him out in the preceding Super 1 round, Jay headed to the high-speed Oxfordshire circuit aiming to get his momentum in 2009 – a season that had begun so promisingly for the Ashton-upon-Mersey speed demon – firmly back on-track. He would do so with interest.

“I was aiming just to get a podium really and some points towards the championship,” the Evolution ace explained. “I just wanted to put everything that had happened in the previous few weeks behind me and have a good weekend. I enjoy Shenington – it’s both fast and technical, and I’ve done well there in the past. In fact, I took my first-ever win there earlier this year, so I was feeling pretty good.”

Trading quickest lap times with rival Ryan Norris throughout practice was a timely confidence boost, and from 25th on the grid for the first of his three heat races, a superb showing would take Jay up to seventh at the close, as he took advantage of a track layout that lends itself to overtaking and wound up just over three seconds shy of victory at the chequered flag.

“I had a good start and immediately jumped up ten positions to 15th,” he related, “and I managed to finish seventh in the end. The kart was really good and we were really quick, so with a few more laps we could probably have got even higher. It was certainly good fun passing so many other drivers!”

Second place from eighth in heat two – barely four tenths adrift of the race-winner and with the fastest lap to his name to-boot, as the only driver to dip beneath the 45-second barrier race-long – was another highly encouraging performance, and Jay would achieve the same result from the same starting position in heat three, a scant eight hundredths adrift of the top spot this time and with a better fastest lap to his credit than the race-winner by a staggering six tenths of a second. And that was despite some opening lap drama for good measure…

“I got binned from behind at the start,” rued the Joe Bloggs and Matrix-backed speed merchant, “which left me right down at the back, and I had to try and come back through again from there. I actually got onto the back of the leader on the last lap – right onto his bumper – but it was into the final corner, so there wasn’t really much opportunity to get by. I tried to go around the outside, but there was no room to get past.”

Nonetheless, the result was enough to secure Jay the outside front row starting slot for the all-important final, and though he led more of the race than anyone else, the 12-year-old – one of the youngest drivers in the 30-strong Mini Max field – would ultimately be forced to settle for third place at the finish line, after a thrilling three-way tussle from lights to flag. The only regret he had afterwards was having misguidedly changed his engine before the third heat and final, which he contended afterwards had cost him two tenths a lap – and quite possibly victory.

“I got off to a really good start round the outside and got into the lead,” he recounted. “Then I managed to build a good gap, but the two drivers behind me worked together to catch me up and both managed to get past. I stuck with them, though, and got back into the lead later on, but just a lap later one of them came through again and dragged the other one along with him. After that I was waiting for the guy in second to make a move on the leader which could have held them both up, but unfortunately that move never happened…

“I was happy with a podium, but equally I knew I could have probably won. I think if I’m truthful, if I could have done anything differently I wouldn’t have changed the engine. That made quite a difference, especially with Shenington being such a power circuit.”

Nonetheless, given his lack of experience compared to his adversaries, it was an impressive outcome, and one that made for a good birthday present seeing that he had only turned 12 shortly before the weekend. What’s more, it has lifted him up from seventh to second in the club championship, and set him up well for the prestigious annual ‘0’ Plate to be held at the same circuit later in the year. Still on a learning curve he may be, but Jay is learning fast – and he is fired-up now for the next round on the 2009 Formula Kart Stars Championship calendar at Rowrah in Cumbria.

“I’m aiming for a top ten finish at Rowrah,” underlined the North Cestrian Grammar School pupil. “It’s tight and twisty and a real drivers’ circuit – very fun and very technical too. The weather can always play a big part, but I’m happy whatever it does to be honest. I’m only 20th in the championship at the moment, so I need to try and haul myself up towards the top ten.”