West Norfolk youngster Jenson Sayell has made an excellent start to his first year in the Minimax 950 InterMAX kart competition.
The Marshland St James driver and his family team travelled to the Glan-Y-Gors circuit in Wales for the second round of the Cadet Kart Championship at the weekend.
Despite not having been to the circuit for a year, Friday testing went very well and Sayell qualified second for Saturday’s heats.
Heat one saw a drying track with a late change to dry tyres Sayell took the early lead, chased closely by Harvey Bacon.
The pair pulled out a 1.5-second lead by the third lap when a collision further down the field brought out the Battenburg flag.
As the race resumed with only two laps left, Sayell got away well but lacked grip and was passed by Bacon on the last lap and both drivers were then passed on the final corner by Max Gilman.
Dry conditions for heat two saw Gilman take the lead from the pole with Sayell shadowing him in second place throughout the race.
The pair pulled out a 2.4-second gap out front from third-placed Bacon by the flag.
Saturday’s heat results qualified Sayell second for Sunday’s Super Heats.
The first Super Heat took place in dry conditions, starting on the outside of the front row Sayell got held wide on the start dropping to fifth before he was able to get onto the inside line.
A lap later, Sayell had got up to third behind Bacon.
On the sixth lap, he passed Bacon, put in the fastest lap of the race and set about catching Gilman who was 1.2 seconds in front. Gilman was matching his pace however and Sayell ultimately had to settle for second.
Super Heat 2 saw a similar start with Sayell dropping to fourth on the start.
His recovery was quicker moving up to second on lap four with leader Gilman 1.2 seconds out front.
Again taking the fastest lap Sayell closed the gap rapidly to be within striking distance on lap 10 of 12 but Gilman defended well to win, Sayell just 0.27 seconds behind his rival at the flag.
Sayell again qualified second on the outside of the front row for the 100-point final with Gilman on pole.
Determined not to lose out, Sayell held second on the start slotting in directly behind Gilman.
Gilman put in the fastest lap on the second lap with a time of 45.04, and Sayell responded a lap later with the fastest lap of the weekend with a time of 44.85.
He pressured the leader to the flag but Gilman held on and they crossed the line just 0.22 seconds apart.
Sayell picked up his second runner-up trophy of the CKC contest and 190 valuable points for the championship fight.
Jenson’s Dad Rob was very happy with his performance, saying: "Jenson showed fantastic speed on Friday testing from the very first session and that showed in his great results. I’m super proud of him this weekend."
Sayell thanked sponsors JLK Vehicle Solutions, Chris Phillips - Superstox 99, Emma Wright Professional Aesthetic Enhancements Ltd, Prestige Designs, Ark East Anglia Ltd and InfinityX for helping support his karting journey; Force Motorsport and James Taylor Racing for engine and coaching support and finally his team Ambition Motorsport.
Sayell is looking forward to the new experience of the Wera Tools British Championship O plate event at Whilton Mill, Northants next weekend.
It promises to be very competitive with around 60 InterMAX karts expected to compete.
