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Wright
wins and new boy Hale impresses
“A Good weekend – a very good weekend….”
That from JRP team boss Mark Berryman, following the
first round of the Italian Open Masters at Lonato (29/30 March).
And he had good reason to be pleased – as his
Italian-based independent team masterminded a KF2 win for Luke Wright, and 4th
place in KF3 for new signing Mitchell Hale.
15-year old Luke had marked himself out as the man to
beat from the very start of the weekend – winning his first heat from 5th
on the grid, and coming out on top in the second following the disqualification
James Thorpe. But a first bend gravel trap trip in the third heat meant a 9th
place finish. In the Pre Final Luke both started – and finished – the race in 3rd
place, leaving it all to play for in the Final.
 Mark takes up the story “Luke didn’t make a mistake all weekend. In the Final he was up
against some seriously fast drivers, but he took advantage of all the
opportunities presented to him and drove a great race. To be honest, he could
have gone even quicker – but this result will give him loads of confidence and
show him that he can be the fastest and he can win.”
Lonato was also the first JRP outing for Mitchell Hale.
He got off to a flying start in his new berth, despite only having been racing
for 15-months. Two 3rd places and a win in his heats saw the 14-year
old from Bristol
in a perfect position to lead the Final for several laps, but he eventually
finished in 4th place.
Mark says “Mitchell
made a few mistakes down to his lack of experience, but that’s something we are
going to be rectifying - he’s got a great mental approach and the desire to win,
and that’s what counts. He’ll be joining the rest of the JRP team contesting
all the key European races using Maranello chassis and TM engines.”
The next stop for the JRP team truck is Jesolo, near Venice this coming
weekend (12/13 April). Luke and Mitchell are both in action at the second round
of the Italian Open Masters, and Mark is expecting good things from both of
them - “Mitchell’s impressed me with his
speed and the way he’s applied himself to the job in hand and Luke’s going
there to win, so that’s what I’ll be expecting to see – or there’ll be trouble!.”
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