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Harvey Seals Victory In First Italian Open Event |
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Monday, 26 March 2007 |
Lincolnshire karting star Jack Harvey took another sensational victory in European competition at the weekend, when he won the opening round of the Italian Open Championship at the southern circuit of Sarno.
The works Maranello Kart driver was made to work for his second win of the season on Italian soil, after he struggled in qualifying and could only set the 17th best time in his group.
Some outstanding driving by the reigning Junior British Champion showed
the rest of the European field exactly what he is capable of. A
fantastic drive from the back of the grid to make up a staggering 26
places in just six laps in one heat put him right back into contention
in the run up to the all important finals.
In the first final, a carburetor problem hampered his progress over the
first five laps before he was able to solve it, all the while trying to
maintain his grid position against the chasing pack. However, in the
latter half of the race he had to concede two places as he struggled
with a kart that was suffering from a lack of grip.
Seventh on the grid for the grand final meant that Jack had given
himself a great chance for glory once again and as the lights went
green he dived through the pack and up into second place. Over the
first six laps he traded places with two of his rivals, before finally
breaking into the lead and pulling out a one second gap over the
chasing pair.
A calm and smooth drive to the chequered flag was all that was then required for Jack to pick up yet another winners trophy.
“I’m really happy to be back on the top step of the podium again,” he
smiled. “It was a hard weekend but very enjoyable for me. We were very,
very fast in the dry at the start of the weekend but the changeable
weather conditions make it tricky, especially in qualifying, so we had
to work hard in the heats to get the best chance in the finals.”
“The first one was frustrating as I was hoping to get a slightly better
result but the carb’ problem meant I had to fight to keep my place
rather than make them up. The second final went really well, though, I
was able to move up to second place really quickly at the start and
once I got into the lead it was a case of bringing it home to the
flag,” he added.
The results put Jack second in the Italian Open KF3 class standings,
just four points behind his rival and Maranello Kart team-mate Petri
Suvanto. He now has a three week break before heading back out to the
Zaragoza circuit in Spain for the second round of the WSK Championship
in the middle of April.
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