Following his “O” plate triumph a week earlier, Jonny was in top form once again at Rowrah when the Super 1 British Championships got underway. This year’s competition is being held over seven rounds but it was important for him to make a good showing early on.
After emerging as the quickest throughout Friday, it came as a surprise when Jonny completed the Timed Qualifying Session down in 5th place. More bad news followed in the 1st Heat when he was hit by another kart and forced into a spin. Although Jonny fought back to 10th spot, this little incident cost him valuable points. The next Heat went better and he finished close behind Dexter Patterson in 2nd place.
He started the Pre-Final from grid 5 and soon took over 2nd position. By this time Patterson had built a healthy lead but it didn’t take long for Jonny to close the gap. However, Dexter held firm and managed to win this race by a very narrow margin. Harry Thompson, in 3rd spot finished around 70 yards further back.
That left Jonny sharing the front row with Patterson in the main final. Dexter started well, but a couple of bends later Jonny went through into the lead. Gradually he was able to pull away until the gap had stretched to more than 20 yards by half distance Thompson then took over 2nd spot and began working with Patterson to reduce the gap. However, these two were unable to gain more than a yard or two over the next six laps.
They began their last lap with Jonny around 15 yards ahead and only a bad mistake could deprive him of victory. Just as he crossed the line to win, so Patterson slipped past Thompson for 2nd place. Jonny wore the victor’s laurels afterwards, but Dexter’s superior performance in the Heats meant that he came away with a 10 point advantage.
“It was a good outcome for both Jonny and Dexter,” claimed Justin. “However, we’re not getting carried away by it. Championships aren’t won so much by the results you get when things are going well. How you manage to grind out points when things go badly usually determines who will end up as champion. There are still six rounds remaining and I’m sure that we’ll see quite a few twists and turns along the way.”
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