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Kent kart racer, James Dixon, has begun
to wind down his 2007 season with a fantastic second place in the KF2 class of
the Italian Industrial Trophy at Parma. The 17-year-old Candy Carriers
backed driver eventually took the runner-up position after a string of
consistent points finishes over the two round mini-series.
At the first meeting, James
showed his intentions for victory by posting the second fastest time in
qualifying, which put him fourth overall as the heats began. In the first race,
he struggled with rear end grip and dropped back to sixth place at the
flag.
In the second race, he was
able to get a good start and move into fifth place, which he held to the end.
This gave him a fifth place starting position for the final and despite his best
efforts, his ill-handling kart meant that he was unable to move up the order and
had to settle for that position at the end of the
weekend.
However, his results meant
that he had picked up enough points to stand in third place overall as he headed
into the second event just a week later.
“I was happy with sitting in
third place as I headed into the second weekend” said James. “The kart wasn’t
quite right and it meant I couldn’t fight as hard as I’d have liked to. But, the
results stayed petty consistent and I was the highest placed Maranello Kart
driver, which was another plus for me,” he added.
At the second event, which
took place last weekend, James decided to opt for a new Maranello chassis to try
and cure the grip problems. However, in qualifying he was only able to set sixth
best time, putting him 14th overall for the first
heat.
A superb start allowed him to
move into fourth place by the end of the opening lap and some inspired driving
allowed him to keep his place right to the end. In the second heat, James again
got a good start and was able to make more progress towards the front of the
field, finishing in a fantastic second place.
His result gave him a seventh
place spot on the grid for the final and after an epic battle, where he
initially looked like he would take the final podium position, he had to settle
for fourth place, after being overtaken on the final
lap.
Despite missing out on podium
spoils for the race, James was really pleased to have amassed enough points to
take second place in the series/
“It should have been third
place, really,” admitted James. “I had been driving hard to defend third for
most of the race and just got passed on the last lap. It’s great to have taken
second place in the series though. I’m really pleased with that overall result,
especially with the problems we’ve had with the kart over the course of the two
events. I was the top Maranello Kart driver and the entry was incredibly strong,
most of the guys from the European championships were there, so it was a good
event,” he added.
James now heads into what
looks like being his final KF2 event, the Bridgestone Cup at Garda next weekend,
before he begins his ambitions to move into the top KF1 class for
2008.
“I want to go out of KF2 in
the best way possible, so I’m going to Garda looking to win the Bridgestone
Cup,” he admitted. “I know it will be a tough weekend, but I want to go out with
the best result possible,” he added.
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