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Webb finds his feet in PF downpour to grab FKS championship lead 

Young Bungay karting pilot Harry Webb entered the latest meeting on the 2009 Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship calendar at PF International bidding to battle back from a disappointing previous outing at Rowrah in which his charge had been halted by a broken chain – and he left again with the winner’s trophy in his bag and the lead in the title standings to-boot. 

Harry was hoping for a change of luck upon arriving at PF in Lincolnshire for round five of nine in the Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone-backed series – the same one, indeed, as first set the reigning F1 World Champion and recent Hungarian Grand Prix winner on the fast track to future glory – but there would be an early hitch to his preparations. 

“Because of the DNF at Rowrah, we wanted to score some decent points to try and get in front in the championship,” the 12-year-old explained. “We had a bit of a problem with the carburettor to begin with in practice and were 1.5 seconds off the pace, but after we had solved that by the last session on the Friday we were fine, and a lot quicker the next day. 

“I’ve done really well at PF in the past; I was lying third in Kartmasters before I got binned, and it’s a circuit I enjoy. It’s a nice mixture of fast and flowing over the first half of the lap and tight in the infield section towards the end. I’ve always been good into the first hairpin too, and am usually able to make up quite a few places there.”  

That, indeed, would serve the Topcroft ace well for his heat races, in which he grabbed a victory and two runner-up spots to secure a front row starting position for the all-important grand final alongside erstwhile championship leader Josh White, and up against no fewer than 56 rivals of the highest national calibre around in the hotly-fought cadet class field. 

“The heats all went really well,” he related. “In one of them I started 20th, and by the end of the first lap I was up to fourth! I just kept to the inside as some of the others spun in the wet conditions. I like driving in the wet; it’s particularly hard at PF when it rains because there’s a lot less grip available, but I’ve become much better at handling those conditions now. It was quite easy to come through the pack, too – I enjoy fighting my way up the field like that. 

“I was feeling very confident for the final. It was dry by then, but there were still some wet patches and puddles in parts of the track, which made it quite treacherous. You had to stick to the wet line through the chicane, because the dry line was full of puddles! We were all on slick tyres too, so we had to be careful as if you pushed too hard you would have been off the track or in the wall. 

“Josh got in front at the start, and I was aiming to follow him and for the two of us to pull away. I got past him quite early, but then I made a mistake, hit a wet patch and the others closed right up on me. There was a lot of pressure after that and Matthew Graham got past, but he then hit a wet patch too. Most of us did it at one stage or another to be fair...  

“It was more of a battle in the closing stages. On the last lap I got George Russell around the outside at the end of the start/finish straight and went on to win. I had never won a Stars meeting before, so it was really good.” 

Allied to his strong results from earlier rounds, the victory has vaulted Harry into the championship lead, and if he acknowledges that ‘it’s going to be quite hard’ to stay there, it is clear that the MSA British Cadet crown is his firm goal. Heading next to Genk in Belgium – a circuit at which last year he was fast but out of luck – the Long Stratton High School pupil is now keen to keep his winning run going. 

“It’s my best result in FKS by miles,” he enthused in conclusion at the end of the weekend, “and the best bit was being up on the podium afterwards and spraying everyone with water...”  

On current form he will, assuredly, have many more chances to do that again between now and season’s end.

pics - Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net