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The
long journey back from Cumbria
to Essex was made all the more bearable as
Robert Foster-Jones cradled his 3rd-place trophy in his lap.
Yesterday
(15 June), the 17-year old Southend karting star returned to the podium following
the fiercely competitive British Super 1 karting Championship’s third round at
Rowrah.
Prior
to the weekend, the reigning British Open Champion had said that a top three
finish would put him right back in contention for the title. It was a prophetic
comment, as he went from 6th in the title chase to 4th.
In
Timed Qualifying, just six tenths of a second covered the top 22 drivers - with
Robert in 7th place. After finishing third in both his heats, Robert
secured 5th place on the grid for the first final.
It
was a largely uneventful race and he was 4th at the chequered flag.
The
second final was so close that, for the spectators, it was little more than a
high-speed procession. Having got into 3rd place, Rob found the two drivers
ahead of him recording almost identical times throughout the 18 laps.
On
the last lap, Foster-Jones attempted to break the deadlock with a stunning,
late-on-the-brakes manoeuvre on Welshman Jordan Chamberlain - “Jordan’s a fiery customer, and he
shut the door” said Robert. “It was a
fair move in response to mine, and after that I decided to settle for valuable
points rather than risk crashing.”
It
was an intelligent choice, as his two high-scoring points positions moved him
up the order and in sight of the Championship lead.
“One thing that last year’s
Championship taught me was the value of finishing. I had a string of DNF’s (Did Not
Finish) caused by motors seizing, and I
missed out on the title by just a handful of points. My dad keeps reminding me
that there’s an old saying in motor racing, ‘to finish first, first you must
finish.’ That’s what you have to do sometimes, go for the points rather than
the glory - and so far, that strategy is paying off.”
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