The wait is almost over.
After a
winter of testing, fitness training and performing PR duties for the sponsors -
the world's best drivers are back in action on 15/16 March.
We're not
talking about F1 but the WSK (Winning Series Karting) Championship, which kicks
off at the superb La Conca circuit in Puglia, Italy.
And Jonathan will
be in the thick of the action.
"This is the first time that I've
competed in the WSK Championship and I've got to be realistic about my
chances", he says. "All the big teams will be there and they've entered their
best drivers - people like reigning World and European champion Marco Ardigo,
5-time World Champion Davide Fore and former British champion, Gary Catt. These
guys will punish the slightest mistake, so you have to be at the top your game
every time you go out on track. But as a finishing school, there's nothing
finer".
Indeed, the top drivers competing at this Sunday's Melbourne
Grand Prix have all come from karting - reigning World Champion, Kimi Raikkonen
raced for the same team as Jonathan (Peter De Bruijn racing) back in the
Nineties.
"Lewis Hamilton's success has put karting back in the
spotlight but a lot of people forget that Kimi and guys like Jenson (Button),
(Fernando) Alonso and Fisi (Giancarlo Fisichella) all had hugely successful
karting careers."
Does Jonny harbour dreams of becoming an F1 star?
"Not really. I love karting for karting's sake. The buzz you get from racing
wheel to wheel in karts is unbelievable - it makes cars look positively boring.
My racing takes me all over Europe and Britain and it's a lot of fun. You lose
that in cars and you only have to look at the politics in F1. I'd be rubbish at
that - I'm too Northern, I'd just speak my mind."
The 6-round series
will take Jonathan from Puglia, in the heel of Italy's boot, to France, Belgium
and Spain. With two return visits to Italy also included. He is modest about
his overall WSK expectations and says that: "If I finish well inside the top
ten, that'd be pretty good. Obviously I'd love to win it or be in the top three
but I'm still improving as a driver and as I said before, the pro' drivers are
very, very good and hugely experienced. But you never know, I could nick the
odd result and the nice thing about championships like this, is that it's not
necessarily the guy who wins one race, wins the championship. It's about being
consistent and making the most of the opportunities as they come up".
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