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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Keep up to speed with Jack and his career by clicking on www.jackbarlow.co.uk. pics Chris Walker/Kartpix
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Barlow’s Formula for success Jack clinches FKS crown with second place at Whilton Mill
Having topped the points table from the outset, many onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking that all the pressure lay on Jack Barlow. The Wavertree Motorsport driver saw it differently however. With his nearest rival, Harry Crawley, needing to win the race and set the fastest lap, Jack knew that 4th placer of higher would seal the title at his first full attempt - “I was quite relaxed. Harry was the one who had all the hard work to do,” he observed coolly. In the last few seconds of timed qualifying, Jack grabbed pole position by just 1/100th of a second to take first blood on Sunday. A sharp blow of a whistle cleared the grid of mechanics and well-wishers, leaving Jack to focus on his game-plan. From the start he got the jump on the pack, and quickly opened a commanding lead, but a crash brought out the safety flags and the field duly bunched up behind him. Passed at the re-start, it was now Barlow’s turn to lead the chasing pack of 25 karts. Having shaken off the challenge from the 3rd-placed driver in the championship, he began to reel in the leader, Crawley. Once he’d caught him, an enthralling game of cat-and-mouse ensued. Although visibly faster, Jack could not risk a passing manoeuvre and a possible collision with the leader. Similarly, Crawley could not risk a crash either, and so attempted to back Jack into the clutches of the pack. Jack explains, “Harry came right off the gas going into the Boot (corner) and I thought, ‘Oh my God, what’s he doing?’ but after a couple of laps he stopped.” Displaying maturity allied with an incisive racing brain, Barlow responded in kind by slowing down to create a sizeable amount of daylight between the pair, and then went back on the attack. “Matt [Napolitano, boss of Wavertree Motorsport] gave me the signal and I chased Harry down”. It was a brilliant tactic. Barlow set the fastest lap of the race and in doing so took the ten extra points available - making sure that Crawley could win the race, but not the title. As he explained afterwards, “I went for the Championship, not the glory and settled for second.” Asked how he felt as he drove towards the chequered flag, Jack said “Just everything; excitement, elation, relief.” Referring to the prize of competing in Formula Kart Stars’ sister series in America, Jack added that he used that as an incentive to overcome a nasty bout of flu and win his first major championship title, “I just want to go to Florida! I’ve not been before. The race is in January but I’m going to try and convince my mum and dad that we should practice there for at least a month before!” Paying tribute to the people who helped him to achieve his success throughout the year, Jack said “I’ve got to thank Matt loads and Paul Napolitano Snr for my engine rebuilds, mum and dad, my sister Jess for being my biggest fan, Ben my brother and my sponsors Philip Standen Electrical Services, Key Motor Finance, D & C Gould Property, Skinners of Rye, Azur and of course, all the staff and my friends at Rye College who have supported my racing career”.
Barlow at the double Mini Max star scores twin wins in British championship finale
In timed qualifying Jack was the third fastest driver [of 30], just seven 1/100ths of a second off the pole position-winning time. From this early, positive start he delighted his team with a fine win in the first of the weekend’s two heats. Disaster struck in the following race, when after finishing in 7th place, post-race checks adjudged that a loose jet did not meet the regulations. After much debate as to whether it gave a performance advantage – it didn’t - the stewards decided to exclude Jack from the race result - putting him down in 20th place for Sunday’s crucial, first final. With his chances of winning the championship now looking over, Jack’s father, Paul urged Jack to “just go out there and have some fun” in the pre-final. Jack responded, “I was a bit nervous, but not too bothered. I listened to what dad said and just went out and did it.” From the start, he was imperious going forward. At the end of the opening lap, Barlow was up to 11th place. A handful of laps later, he was up to 5th but some way off the lead quartet. “The front four had gone. I couldn’t see them but I got my head down and started to catch them,” he said. Jack eventually bridged the gap to the 4th-placed kart, and over the proceeding laps caught and passed the karts ahead of him until he was in the lead. From there he pulled away to take a convincing win. If his pre-final win had been remarkable, Jack’s victory in the main race was almost unremarkable. It was a textbook lights-to-flag triumph. Although pressed hard in the opening stages, Jack’s consistency, allied with his pursuers fighting each other for track position, allowed him to eke out an increasing margin. As the chequered flag signalled the end of the race, Barlow crossed the line nearly six seconds ahead of the next driver. Once back in the paddock, he revealed that in the first half of the race, there were some anxious moments. “My kart was set-up to ‘come on’ [work at its optimum level] later, rather than soon after the start but it took for ages. I was being caught by the pack and I could see Matt getting really frustrated, telling me to go faster and I was thinking, ‘I can’t push any harder’.” He added, “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to win overall but I finished 2nd and I’m over the moon at that. At the beginning of the season none of us expected that I’d be fighting for the British championship”. So much so, that Jack bet his father and team boss that if he finished in the top three, they would have to give up smoking. “Dad’s struggling already,” Jack grinned. Jack’s next big race is the final round of the Formula Kart Stars championship at Whilton Mill [3/4 October]. He is currently leading the points but expects a tough fight from his fellow title protagonists. “It’s going to be difficult but then, it has been all season. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re really well prepared and then just see what happens.”
Gritty drive to 3rd sees Barlow retain FKS lead
The Mini Max star also retained his championship lead - but just twenty four hours later, saw his closest rivals edge closer in the points tally after he crashed out of Sunday’s event (round 7 of 8 races). Jack’s weekend had started brightly when, in Saturday’s timed qualifying he recorded the second-fastest lap to secure a front-row start for the first of the day’s two finals. However, as he rushed to get Jack’s kart onto the grid, his father Paul forgot to loosen two wheel nuts on one of his wheels. Jack set off on the formation lap, but quickly became aware that the severe vibration coming from the back of his kart meant that the wheel had become loose. He dived back into the pits for it to be tightened up - and watched in dismay as the Starter let the 26-strong field go without him. He tore out of the pit-lane in last place, but was too far down to make any impression and was classified in 23rd place, the last of the karts running. “Jack had driven so well all weekend, he was fast throughout testing and then in qualifying and I made such a daft mistake,” Paul explained. “I was so upset for him. So much so, I had to take myself off into a quiet corner. When I came back, I couldn’t stop apologizing, but Jack said ‘Dad everyone makes mistakes. Don’t be upset. We’ll just have to do the best we can in the next race’.” After displaying such incredible maturity for a 14-year old, the Wavertree Motorsport driver then stormed up the order in the final. On the last lap, he was in fourth place and monstering the rear bumper of the kart in front. With just a few corners remaining, he dived past to snatch a podium that drew the praise from the commentator, journalists, fellow drivers and – naturally - his team and family. “I made up twenty places and set the fastest lap,” Jack said afterwards. “I’m a bit frustrated because I think if we’d had another lap, I would have caught the lead pair”. Having done some quick arithmetic head with his team boss Matt Napolitano, Jack’s delight at adding yet another trophy to his collection was compounded by the knowledge that, with the extra points for setting the quickest lap time added to his score for third place, he had taken the same points as the victor. “Third was as good as a win, in terms of the points and the fact that I came from the back to finish on the podium.” After their elation on Saturday, Jack and his team came crashing back to earth the following day. Another solid timed qualifying performance had given him a good grid position for the day’s sole race but it would last just a few seconds. With five karts pushing one another from the back, a domino effect was created as the field tumbled into the first corner and caused a huge crash. Jack was one of those caught in the melee and limped back to the pits with his kart’s nosecone missing and steering “bent like a boomerang.” His mechanics worked quickly to return him to the fray, but he found his Fernando Alonso chassis almost undriveable. He doggedly kept going to eventually take the chequered flag in a disconsolate 24th place. With several of his rivals unable to capitalize on his misfortune, Jack retains his championship lead - but knows that the final round will be a genuine nail-biter. “It’s very, very close now. Any one of four divers could win it. We’ve just got to work very hard to make sure that it’s me who does.” The finale will be held at the Northamptonshire Whilton Mill track on 2/4 October. In the interim, you can keep up to speed with Jack’s career by clicking on www.jackbarlow.co.uk.
Barlow blazes to GP glory Mini Max star wins Kart Masters title
His success came after a challenging weekend that almost completely dispelled any last hopes for the much-hyped ‘barbecue summer’. Surviving crashes and torrential downpours, Jack emerged from the qualifying heats on Saturday with sufficient points to secure a front-row start for the first of Sunday’s two finals. After seizing the advantage during the opening two laps, he briefly lost the lead - but quickly re-asserted himself and cruised to a comfortable victory to earn himself pole position for the Grand Final. Moments ahead of the start of the Grand Final, Jack sat down quietly on the sidelines to gather his thoughts and focus. “I concentrated on what it would feel like to lift the winner’s trophy and that helped,” he said. Jack got a perfect getaway and was clear of the bumping and barging behind him in the opening lap’s first few corners. However, he was unable to create an early breakaway and was soon caught. He defended his lead and waited for his tyres to come up to their optimum working temperature. When they did – after six laps – he pulled away. With only daylight ahead of him, Jack simply had to keep his concentration and a string of consistent lap times saw him move comfortably clear. But all his good work was undone in an instant when he made a mistake, pushing too hard into a corner, he ran wide onto the grass. He lost over a second of his lead, causing nervous palpitations amongst his team and family. The incident served to refocus his mind and, able to retain the lead he quickly re-extended his advantage and held it to the chequered flag. After the press conference and podium celebrations, Jack said “I’m over the moon [to have won], especially against such a quality field. On the last lap I had to keep saying to myself, ‘take it easy, just bring it home’.” There were also emotional scenes in the paddock, as Jack explains “My team manager, Matt Napolitano [of Lydd-based Wavertree Motorsport] kept hugging me, my dad was speechless and Mum was in tears”. Now with his first major title under his belt, Jack hopes to be able to go on and fight for the British Super 1 and Formula Kart Stars Championship crowns but is trying to keep his feet on the ground. “I’ve definitely got the confidence now but we’ll just have to see.”
PFi win consolidates Barlow’s bid for FKS title
The 14-year old Wavertree Motorsport driver had arrived at PFi (18/19 July) as the current points leader and if that was not enough to put pressure on his shoulders, the fact that he had forsaken a club race at the Lincolnshire circuit in order to honour a PR engagement at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (4/5 July), certainly did. His absence meant that he had had no time to prepare for the venue’s notoriously changeable weather conditions with his new Alonso kart. In Saturday’s warm, dry conditions he recorded the third-fastest time during qualifying which gave him the vital inside line for PFi’s notorious first hairpin. A strong start saw Jack seize the initiative to lead the field across the start/finish line. Unable to break away, he ceded the advantage on the third lap and dropped to third. A handful of laps later, he was back into second and harrying for the lead. A terrific scrap was developing between the lead four, and again Jack hit the front. Sadly, it lasted just one tour but with two laps remaining Barlow wriggled his way through and made sure that, this time he wasn’t going to be overtaken. His plan worked and Jack took the chequered flag barely half a second ahead of the second-placed driver. “That was hard work!” he said. “The action was none stop and you couldn’t relax for a second. We all pushed each other so hard - it was one of those races that any one of the three of us could’ve won”. With little time to savour his victory and the consolidation of his points lead, Jack was quickly back in action for Final Two. And then it rained. He led the opening lap, but began to realise that his kart was not working as well as that of the drivers around him. Bit by bit, he lost ground and places to eventually find himself in a frustrated sixth place. “Because I’d been at Goodwood, I couldn’t do the club race at PFi on the same weekend and we knew that if it rained, we’d be losing the opportunity to get vital set-up data if it was wet on Sunday (19 July). As soon as it started raining, I thought ‘oh great, here we go’. But you can’t give up and I just did my best. Thankfully I’ve only dropped twelve points and sixth place, on top of my win, was good enough to keep the championship lead.” There are two rounds remaining, with the series moving to Genk in Belgium for the next one (13/16 August). “Genk’s a superb circuit. It’s huge and one of the best in Europe. Because it’s so far away, it will be a double-header (consisting of two days racing rather than one) and I will need to finish well on both days. It’s going to be tense, close and exciting!”
What Larks: Jack wins in Scotland to maintain pressure on title rivals
Whilst the website paints a dark, ‘Broken Britain’-esque picture of the small Lanarkshire town, it fails to mention its famous kart circuit, which Mini Max driver Jack Barlow loves. He and his Wavertree Motorsport team had made the long, nine-hour journey up to Scotland for the fourth round of the British Super 1 Championships (11/12 July), and after a difficult previous race, needed a strong result if he was to maintain his title challenge. “At Buckmore Park (Kent) in June, I had a bit of a tough time. It was warm all weekend and the kart I had at the time was ballistic in cold, damp conditions but we couldn’t get it to work when it was hot and dry. We bought a new Alonso kart from Dan Holland Racing and straight away I was back on the pace. As we drove up to Scotland we were preying that it would be sunny – and surprisingly enough, it was!” His change of chassis was vindicated when he posted the second-fastest time overall in Timed Qualifying but after the two heats, he candidly admitted to not having his “race head on” and could only finish fifth on both occasions. These results were still good enough to give him a third row start for Sunday’s first, points-scoring final. After surviving a second lap scare and dropping places, Jack began to pick his way through the traffic and eventually got up to third. Taking another driver with him, he caught the leader but bided his time before, with just one minute to go, making his move. “I went to pass (the leader) going into the right-hander at the end of the main straight. I managed to do it but the driver behind tried to follow me, got it wrong and only succeeded in backing up the chasing pack behind him.” This handed the advantage to Jack and he comfortably secured the victory, along with a haul of vital championship points plus pole-position for the main final. The young Sussex star got a superb start and quickly opened a gap. He led for the first twelve laps, but bit by bit was reeled in by a small gaggle of karts. Two drivers were able to pass him, but as they fought each other, Jack re-passed them. With just two laps remaining, he again found himself demoted to second but prepared to make his decisive move. As he did an impetuous manoeuvre for the lead by the driver behind him saw the pair touch and Jack momentarily ran off the circuit. He recovered to secure fourth, but knew he’d been denied another podium. “I was annoyed because it’s happened before with the same person. Looking at the positives though, I came away with good points and I’m up to third overall now.” With just two races remaining, he added “It’s not going to be easy (to win overall). My closest rivals will need to have bad rounds, which I don’t really see happening. They’ve been very consistent. I’ve just got to remain focused and go for top three finishes from here on in”.
Jack scents victory despite having no nose Barlow bounces back from pre-final clash to take maiden Formula Kart Stars victory
“We’re leading the championship at the moment and wanted to make sure that we did everything possible to maintain that advantage. I tested a Fernando Alonso kart from Dan Holland Racing and it was wicked, so we bought one and took it to Rowrah and after timed qualifying. It definitely looked like we’d made the right choice.” The Wavertree Motorsport driver was second fastest and in glorious conditions, with the smell of afternoon barbecues drifting through the paddock and spectator areas, Jack added the distinctive aroma of two-stroke oil to the air and sealed his second front row start of the season. The balmy conditions of Saturday gave way to leaden skies and unpredictable conditions, although the rain held off for the pre-final. “I maintained my position after the start and was pushing the leader hard in a bid to break away from the pack,” Jack explained. His plan worked and the pair was able to pull away. By lap six, Barlow had taken the lead but was under constant pressure from behind. “The other driver kept showing his nose and making lunges down my inside, which I was able to hold off, but then he made a silly mistake and ran into the back of me. I’d got back into the lead and we were just two corners from the chequered flag when he made a massive lunge and took my nosecone off.” Jack just held on to second spot from the hard-charging driver in third but it was during the post-race checks that he discovered he had been disqualified for ‘non-compliance’ – the kart must have its nosecone in place. Jack and his team appealed the decision, and were delighted to find the authorities in a listening frame of mind, “Basically, the rules state that if you lose your nosecone, you have two laps from the time of the incident to come into the pits and replace it. We argued that given I lost it on the last lap, with only two bends to go, that wasn’t possible and I was re-instated”. With their nerves jangled, Jack and his team had an anxious wait for the main final, with dark clouds gathering overhead. He left the pits on slick, dry-weather tyres, just as rain began to fall. As the field slithered into the tight first right-hander at the start, Jack was pushed off the circuit and down to fourth place. He fought his way back up to second and by lap five was leading on a drying circuit. Just as in the first race, he was able to make a breakaway with another driver. The duo was the class of the field, extending their margin over the driver in third to nearly twelve seconds. As the race ran to its conclusion it was evident that this was Jack’s day and he took his maiden victory in the Bernie Ecclestone and Lewis Hamilton-backed championship. “I’m absolutely over the moon,” the 14-year old beamed. “This is my first win in FKS but I’ve not been off the podium all season so far. If I can maintain that sort of form, it might be enough for me to win overall.”
Barlow takes Brazilian-t win East Sussex karting star celebrates Brazilian Cup triumph
The Wavertree Motorsport Mini Max star got his weekend off in great style when he won the Super Pole shoot-out in timed qualifying, and then the first heat. The following two races saw Jack take third and second respectively, giving him pole position for the main final. He held the initiative at the start to lead the field through the opening lap, before quickly being able to break away with Callum Hardgrave from the chasing pack. Hardgrave used his kart’s superior speed to out drag Jack up the hill to the appropriately named Christmas Corner. Unable to match Hardgrave’s pace, Barlow initially gifted the lead to the former driver - but terrier like refused to let go of his new quarry. “I started pushing him and it paid off. He started making mistakes and dropped down to third after handing the lead back to me.” It was Callum’s turn to become the hunter once again after slipping back into second spot. The pair fought hard, but the matter was resolved in Jack’s favour when Callum’s engine threw its chain. This brought the third-placed driver into play, and Jack endured a nerve-wracking run to the flag. However, as the chequered flag was readied he delivered another metronomic lap, making sure that he had enough in hand to take a comfortable first Brazilian Cup victory. To add to his delight, Jack was presented with his trophy and accompanied on the podium by a bevy of Brazilian beauties - making his grin even broader.
Barlow seizes championship lead and roars: There’s nothing to stop me now!
Having finished 21st in his maiden campaign of national competition in FKS – then known as BRDC Stars of Tomorrow – in 2008, as Stars has stepped up a gear over the winter months so Jack too has considerably upped his game. So far in 2009 Jack has taken a third and second in the two finals in the Kimbolton curtain-raiser a month earlier, the Wavertree Motorsport speed demon travelled to the demanding Glan Y Gors circuit in North Wales in confident spirits – but equally tempering his optimism somewhat with the knowledge that in his only prior appearance there shortly beforehand, he had finished off the pace in fifth. “I love twisty and undulating tracks,” he enthused, “and this one is so technical and challenging. I had done one previous club meeting at Glan Y Gors where we had struggled, though, especially with the tight Devil’s Elbow section towards the end of the lap. “The conditions also made things a bit awkward in the FKS meeting, being on and off all the time, and in qualifying we didn’t know whether we should go out on slick tyres or wets. We took a gamble on slicks, but that meant we had to be really careful because off-line it was still pretty damp.” Nonetheless, third in his group for the 13-year-old equated to fifth overall in the 33-strong Mini Max field – composed of the very best young talents Britain has to offer – and all of a sudden the goalposts were shifted. “I had beaten all of the drivers ahead of me on the grid before individually,” he explained, “so I knew I could do it. The first corner in the pre-final was pretty tough, and there was an incident in front of me going up the hill. I had to avoid that and work my way around it, and after that I just fought my way to the front. “I got up into second, but by then the leader had pulled just too far away, and I had Harry Crawley on my bumper for much of the race. I was constantly aware that he was there behind me, and I knew he had a lot more pace down the straights than I did and that meant I had to get the corners absolutely spot-on. He was pressuring me for the whole race and eventually got past, but still I was happy with third. “From there I got into the lead at the start of the grand final, before Harry caught me up and was pushing me again. When he passed me he was able to pull away and I just couldn’t keep with him, so I focussed on settling for second place and the points that go with it, and thankfully I wasn’t under too much pressure from behind after that. “It was an excellent result! I never really expected to come here and get second – my hopes for the weekend had been to just finish inside the top six and bag some good points, so it definitely exceeded my expectations. I haven’t been off the podium yet this year, so I’m just over the moon to be honest!” Indeed, a clean sweep of rostrum finishes in 2009 has seen Jack grab the FKS Mini Max championship lead, two points ahead of nearest challenger Crawley. Heading next to Rowrah in Cumbria for round four of nine, the promising East Sussex teenager is seeking his first victory of an increasingly impressive campaign now too in an effort to boost his title challenge yet further. What’s more, he is arguably the driver to beat – and his rivals know it. “Rowrah’s a great track,” he underlined, “and in the last Super 1 meeting there I won, so I’m going there with high hopes. It’s one of my favourite circuits in the country, so hopefully we can go one position better still. We didn’t expect to be quite as high up as we are this season, but we’ve found a lot of pace since last year, so there’s nothing really to stop me!”
Barlow celebrates another podium Mini Max star moves into Formula Kart Stars title lead with strong showing in Wales
“I’m over the moon. I never expected to do so well. I did a club race here a few weeks ago, just to learn the circuit, and I struggled against the local drivers and some of my FKS rivals. I finished fifth then, and to be honest I was expecting a similar result when I returned.” His initial suspicions were borne out during Timed Qualifying, when he posted the fifth fastest time. As the twenty four kart field plunged into the first corner at the start of the Pre Final, the Wavertree Motorsport driver emerged in fourth place. Wasting little time he slotted into third and second position in quick succession. A bold move demoted him to third on the last lap, but Jack remained pleased to have scored more vital Championship points. It also inspired him to go one better in the Grand Final. “I started in third, but again made up a place at the first corner. From there I worked my way into the lead and got my nut down. I managed to open a gap and led for the next five laps, but I didn’t have the speed that the eventual winner did. I looked over my shoulder and could see him chasing me down.” Rather than risk a crash battling to protect his advantage, Jack maturely decided to settle for second place and more valuable Championship points. As he rolled back into the pits, he was immediately approached by the camera crew. “I got quite a lot of attention from the TV people. Straight after the races they wanted to interview me and had already put a camera on my kart to film the action. There was a funny moment earlier in the day when the interviewer asked me how I coped in the wet conditions, and just as I was about to answer, the heavens opened and it absolutely bucketed down - I responded by instantly climbing into my wet suit!”
Jack leaves rivals feeling Barlow par Jack takes shock maiden British Championship victory in Cumbria
After a strong showing in practice, followed by recording the ninth fastest lap in Timed Qualifying, the Wavertree Motorsport driver opened his account with a well-judged 2nd place in Saturday’s only heat. So far so good. But things started to unravel the following morning, when during the Warm-up session, he and his team discovered that they were half a second off the pace. The problem was quickly traced to tyre issues, and the 13 year-old prepared for his first heat with renewed confidence. It was to be short-lived. In a scrappy race, the East Sussex youngster tangled with a rival leading to “a trip into the scenery” - although he did finish a creditable 8th. An encouraging word from dad Paul however, was sufficient to bring back the Barlow spirit and, having qualified in 5th place for the Pre-Final, Jack and his team were beginning to believe that they might just be capable of pulling off a shock result at a circuit Jack has only visited once before. A series of incisive moves saw him quickly propel his Octane chassis from the 3rd row into 2nd place. On the last lap, he went for the lead, but found Kyle Fowlie in no mood to give up without a fight - “We ran towards a corner and I went to put my kart down Kyle’s inside”, Jack explained. “He blocked me, so I switched to the outside of the corner to run deeper into the corner and then cut back on his inside again. Unfortunately I clipped him, hit the back of his radiator and became hooked on his rear bumper.” After disentangling himself, Jack fought his way back up to 6th but the officials took a dim view of his over-exuberant move and handed him a four second penalty – putting him down to 12th place. As he prepared to drive out of the pits for the Main Final, Wavertree team boss, Matt Napolitano had some last minute advice for Jack. “I thought, ‘Oh I’m not going to win now but a top five finish would be good’ but Matt said to me, ‘Just get through the start and you’ll be okay’.” As the field stampeded into the tight right-hander, Jack was “bashed all over the place” but he did what he’d been told and survived the opening lap. From there, he began top pick his way through the melee, and now with the speed he’d shown in practice, he was able to get up to third place - “I was shadowing the first and second-placed drivers and we came across a back-marker. She pointed them through but didn’t see me and chopped back onto the racing-line and almost took the nosecone off my kart.” This allowed the lead pair to pull away again but Jack was eventually able to lap the tail-ender and close in again. He took second by diving late on the brakes into the first hairpin and set about wresting the lead from Harrison Scott. In a carbon copy of the Pre-Final, Jack waited until the last lap to make his move and bravely decided to repeat his earlier, ill-fated manoeuvre. At the second time of asking, it worked to perfection and with just enough of a gap, he held on in the dash to the chequered flag.
“It was unbelievable!” he beamed. “I’m over the moon but I never
expected it though. Not after the earlier dramas. This has fired me up
for the next round and the rest of the Championship now. I’m third in
the points table but we go to Buckmore Park (in Kent) next and it’s a
circuit I know well. This win has boosted my confidence.”
Rising Mini Max star marks himself as title contender after back to back podiums
Jack Barlow demonstrated an old head on young shoulders last weekend (11/ 12 April ), to get his Formula Kart Stars title bid off to a strong start. However, things didn’t quite go to plan for the Wavertree Motorsport driver. “To be perfectly honest, we got the tyre pressures wrong,” he explained after his Timed Qualifying run. “They were too high, and that put me 18th overall on the grid for the pre-final.” But a battling performance saw Jack work his way up the order to take a creditable 7th at the chequered flag. Starting from that position for the Grand Final, Jack survived the first corner shenanigans to deliver a stirring performance that yielded 3rd place, and the fastest lap. Buoyed by this, Jack returned to the circuit the following day eager to build on his encouraging start to his FKS campaign.There were no set-up errors as he took advantage of a better handling kart on a dry track to seal pole position for Sunday’s only race. A superb start was almost negated as he found his rivals equal to his challenge and a thrilling encounter was assured as Jack and his pursuers each fought for the lead. With seven minutes remaining, Jack moved to the front - but he was unable to quite match the eventual winner’s pace and rather than risk a desperate lunge, settled for 2nd a good haul of points. “You can’t win a Championship at the first round” he reflected. “If you’d asked me before the weekend if I’d be happy with a 2nd and 3rd place, I’d have said ‘yes!’ So, I’m happy to leave Kimbolton with two trophies and to be second in the Championship”. Jack is also bidding to lift the British Super 1 title and opened his account with an impressive 2nd place. “I qualified in 38th place, due to my axle moving, which meant I really had to get my head down to come through the two heats and the pre-final. In the final, I was all over the leader when the race was red-flagged five minutes from the end.” He added, “It felt like a win, considering where I started from. But it’s given me the confidence to know that I can come through the traffic and that the kart and engines are capable of running at the front”.
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After
eight, hard-fought rounds that had taken the drivers from Cambridgeshire
to Cumbria, Wales to Belgium, this year’s Formula Kart Stars Mini Max
championship went down to the last race of the season at Whilton Mill,
Northamptonshire last weekend (3/4 October). 
Jack
Barlow’s roller coaster season delivered another white-knuckle ride at
the concluding round of the British Super 1 championship, held at the
PFi circuit in Lincolnshire last weekend (19/20 September). 
Jack
Barlow produced a scintillating drive from the back of the field to take
third place in the sixth round of the Formula Kart Stars series at Genk
in Belgium last Saturday (15 August). 
Prior
to the start of the Grand Final of the annual Kart Masters event, Jack
Barlow was so nervous he could barely stand. “I had to sit down,” he
admitted with a laugh after lifting the biggest title of his career so
far at the PFi circuit in 
Jack
Barlow’s race to win the Formula Kart Stars Mini Max championship took
another step forward with his second win in the series.
The
popular website
Jack
Barlow survived a fraught weekend (27/28 June) to maintain his push for
the Formula Kart Stars crown. The fourth round of the series visited the
superb Rowrah circuit and the Minimax points-leader was hoping that a
change of chassis would maintain his advantage over his rivals. 
Perhaps
it’s time to rethink the phrase, ‘nice guys never win’. Especially after
Jack Barlow won the annual Brazilian Cup at the Whilton Mill circuit
near Daventry last Sunday (31 May), helping raise money for the Children
in Hunger charity, which helps to fight child poverty in Brazil. 
Jack
Barlow maintained his superb start to the 2009 Formula Kart Stars (FKS)
Championship in round three at Glan Y Gors – as a third successive
podium finish earned the Hastings ace the lead in the chase for the
crown. 
Jack
Barlow is definitely ‘one to watch’ after his performance at the third
round of the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship at the challenging
Glan Y Gors circuit in North Wales last Sunday (17 May).
Jack
Barlow scored a superb - if unexpected - triumph at the challenging
Rowrah circuit on Sunday (26 April). 
The
first race of the Formula Kart Stars season was always going to be
something of a nervy affair. With every driver wanting to win, and the
competitors as twitchy as squirrels, it was important to get early
points on the board. As the old saying says, ‘to finish first, first you
must finish’.