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Jessica Hawkins capped off her 2007 karting season in perfect style
yesterday, Sunday, 16th December, by winning the Buckmore Park Club Honda Cadet
Championship – the Kent venue where Formula One sensation Lewis Hamilton started
his racing career.
Producing a true champion’s performance by taking victory in the final race
of the season to wrap up the prestigious title, 12-year-old Jessica heads into
the Christmas period delighted to have claimed her first ever championship win
after just two full years in the sport.
Jessica, who away from the track spreads her time equally between bases in
Farnham, Hampshire, and Twickenham, South West London, headed into the final
round of the season needing a top six finish to secure her maiden title crown.
If one thing is certain where Jessica is concerned though, she’s never satisfied
with anything less than victory.
After finishing third in the opening Heat, she went on to record a top
three result in the Pre-Final, along with the fastest race lap, before going on
to claim an outstanding win in the Final to seal the championship ahead of 21
other competitors.
Starting third on the grid for the Final, Jessica held fourth position at
about half distance before mounting a stirring charge into second position. But
rather than settling for the points she knew were enough for the title victory,
Jessica was determined to end the year with another race win and she duly
delivered after a terrific battle at the front.
“It’s been a brilliant year with some great races and it’s fantastic to
have become the Buckmore champion by winning the last race of the season”, said
Jessica, “I could have settled for any position in the top six but I always want
to win races, so that’s what I did!”
Competing, potentially, for the last time in her Project One kart as her
RPM team look to placing Jessica in an Intrepid manufactured machine for the
2008 season, the exciting young racer can reflect happily on 2007 as a whole
having also ended the Super 1 Dunlop Honda Cadet British Karting series as
Vice-Champion back in October.
Receiving some support from Twickenham-based Pomepure Ltd throughout the
year, the start-up pure juice drinks company is planning to increase its
involvement with Jessica in 2008 and her performances in both the Buckmore Park
Club Championship and the British series have certainly done her chances of
further backing no harm at all.
Along with continued interest from local and national journalists, Jessica
also appears on the front cover of the latest edition of the British Women’s
Racing Drivers’ Club (BWRDC) magazine ‘Racing Vogue’. Having taken outright wins
at her last three race meetings, coupled with the Buckmore title
success, the future looks extremely bright indeed for Jessica
Hawkins!
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