Rapid Roy Johnson sends rivals warning shot for 2010 in FKS finale 10.10.2009: Young West Midlands karting star Roy Johnson sent out a message to his rivals that – even if he was out of luck in his final meeting of 2009 in the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) finale at Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire

Young West Midlands karting star Roy Johnson sent out a message to his rivals that – even if he was out of luck in his final meeting of 2009 in the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) finale at Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire – he will be tough to beat indeed next year.

Roy had begun the campaign in FKS – the same championship that first set none other than a certain Lewis Hamilton on the fast track to superstardom, and one that now boasts the prestigious official backing of both Formula 1’s youngest-ever title-winner and the sport’s influential ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone – but dropped out following the first two outings at Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire and Glan Y Gors in North Wales due to budgetary concerns, electing to focus purely on fellow national series Super 1 for the remainder of the year in preparation for an all-out assault on both crowns in 2010.

However, due to the progress the Walsall ace has made during his ‘rookie’ campaign in the KF3 class in the interim period – after winning practically everything there is to win in cadets in 2008, an outstanding feat that even Hamilton failed to achieve – the decision was taken to rejoin FKS for the last two rounds at Whilton. As if he had never even been away, Roy would waste little time in making his mark.

“It’s a very physical and bumpy track,” he explained, “which makes it pretty challenging too. I’d raced there before – we held the lap record around the old circuit in cadets – but I’d never been there in KF3. There are some very quick drivers in FKS, but we were just aiming to get a good podium result to set ourselves up nicely for next year. In practice we were the quickest in four of the six sessions, which was a good start.”

Third spot out of 17 in qualifying on Saturday – a scant six hundredths of a second shy of pole position, and three hundredths away from the front row – proved that Roy was in the mix and bang on the front-running pace, but a ‘lively’ opening lap in the pre-final left him with much work to do. Seventh at the close, he was taking chunks out of the battle over fifth place barely a couple of seconds ahead of him when the chequered flag fell.

“I got caught up in the pack going into the first chicane on lap one which put me onto the kerb,” recounted the Pelsall-based speed demon. “Heading up the straight after that I was consequently then on the outside line, which allowed a lot of people to get down the inside of me into the following corner. That dropped me down the field to tenth, and it was difficult to regain ground.

“In the grand final I managed to get a reasonable start and got past a few people, and after that I just kept pushing really. I stuck to the back of Callum Bowyer in second until the last six laps, but then he was able to pull away from me when we had an engine problem, and as that got worse I fell back to fifth. Then into the last corner, Xavier Warburton had a bit of a coming-together with Russ Danzey as they fought over third, and I just managed to pip Russ to the line. I think fourth was a good result given the issues we had.”

Indeed, as late bonuses go, it was certainly a very welcome one, and the second-fastest lap time of the race – only narrowly beaten by the winner – simply went to show what might have been, as Roy finished a mere second shy of a rostrum position. With the spare engine installed for Sunday, hopes were high, but traffic in qualifying restricted the 14-year-old to fifth on the starting grid for the sole race of the day – when a knock from behind into the first corner dealt an early blow from which he recovered superbly.

“Our spare engine isn’t as good as our regular one when it’s firing on all cylinders,” he mused, “so we knew we were going to be a tenth or so off our pace from the previous day. I was on a really fast lap in qualifying when I had to slow down because a driver ahead of me got in my way. The kart felt really good – it was just that I wasn’t able to get a clear lap in at all – but still I knew that if I could manage to get a good start I could probably race with the leaders again.

“Unfortunately, at the start I got a tap from behind, on the right-hand side of my rear bumper. That put me off onto the grass and left me a long way behind the field, but that kind of setback only ever makes me want to try harder to get back up to the front. I just got my head down and focussed on catching as many drivers as I could. I had some really good battles along the way and going into the last few laps I was in a big group fighting over fifth, but time just ran out in the end. Still, I was quite pleased with the pace we had shown again. I’d been hoping for a podium, but at least we proved what we’ll be able to do next year...”

That much was irrefutable, and lapping as quickly as the leaders once again – and finishing just 13 seconds away from the rostrum, having lost 12 of those on the first lap alone and more still as he scythed his way magnificently up the order like the proverbial hot knife through butter – the Great Wyrley Performing Arts College pupil demonstrated that even when the chips are down, motivation is no concern at all.

Eighth at the flag – barely a second adrift of fifth – was admittedly poor return for a stirring drive, but as he concludes his learning year in KF3, even watching former British GT Champion Bradley Ellis admitted that he was impressed. Roy Johnson’s will be a name to watch in 2010, have no doubt.

To keep up-to-date with all Roy’s latest news and results, please visit: http://www.royjohnsonracing.co.uk/
 

- RA- photo Chris Walker kartpix.net