Jonny got his 2009 Super 1 campaign off to
a solid start last weekend (21 / 22 March) at the PFi circuit, between Grantham
and Newark.
The seven round Championship will visit a further six
destinations - including circuits in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Timed Qualifying was incredibly tight, with just 2 tenths of a second
separating the 2nd fastest driver from the 11th, which is where Jonny found
himself.
The first heat went well, with the Gillard driver managing to
battle his way through to 5th - a feat he repeated in the following race, to
earn himself a 2nd row starting place for the first final.
"I got a
great start, and briefly slotted into 2nd place, but then it all went wrong. I
got clattered on the approach to, and the apex of, the first hairpin. I managed
to recover but found myself at the back of the field. In those circumstances
you just have to get your head down and fight back. It was all pretty close but
at least I managed to finish higher than I started. My fastest lap was exactly
the same as the two lads ahead of me, so you can see how equal KF1 has become,"
he said.
In the 2nd final, a superb series of opening laps saw Jonny
claw his way up the order to 4th - then battled commenced. Jonny again "I was
having a great scrap with Ben Cooper, which was then joined by his team-mate,
Luke Wright. Then, Mark Litchfield got involved. Mark and I managed to shake
off Wright, but Cooper just had more speed and he was able to move further up
the order whilst I continued scrapping with Mark. I was 5th in the end but it
was an exciting race, it's more enjoyable when everything is so close."
Jonathan left PFi 7th in the championship points table - just 17 points
off the top spot.
"It's all very close, and I'm confident that I'll be a
pace-setter at Shenington (Round 2 of the Super 1 series on 9 / 10 May). I
always go well there and think the others will have to work very hard to
maintain their early pace."
<<
back to news
|
