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Visit Mackenzie’s website - www.mackenzietaylor.co.uk - to see how he gets on at Alcaniz, and to follow his fortunes throughout the rest of the 2008 season.

Mackenzie’s on-track for Euro Champs Success

Taylor qualifies for European Kart Championship with fine 3rd place

Mackenzie Taylor further under-lined his credentials with a fantastic 3rd place at Alcaniz in Spain on Sunday 13 July.  The 15-year old was competing in the Western Region qualifying race, where only the top 21 drivers would proceed to the European KF3 Championship - to be held at Varennes, France in September (6/7). 

Not only was he up against some of Western Europe’s best young drivers, but also the heat. He explains, “The weather was very hot – over 40 degrees – and coping with that was always going to be a factor. The time I spent in the heat chamber at Kingston University really helped, and I was able to deal with the conditions very well as a result.” 

This was reflected by his performance in Timed Qualifying, when he recorded the 8th fastest time overall (out of 56 competitors) and was the top British driver. In the following (and appropriately named) heats, the Ricky Flynn Motorsport driver took two 3rd places, a 10th and 5th to put him 5th in the intermediate classification. 

“The Alcaniz circuit is incredible – it’s so big they were testing cars on it last week. The first corner is taken flat-out and in my heats, I’d got great starts. And the straights are so long that up to 5 people could pass you by slip-streaming you down them, and then simply pulling out of the tow at the end. It was that extreme and made for some exciting racing. In the first final, I got another good start and was up to 2nd almost immediately. However, three drivers slip-streamed me down one of the straights and moved me off-line going into a corner. I got dirt on my tyres and dropped down the order. By the end I was 11th – not good at all. It was such a rough race because you had to be really careful not to be hit off the circuit. It was mad.”

In the 2nd final, he again got a blistering start, and within three corners had passed 7 karts and was up to 4th place by the end of the opening lap. “I’d been told by (team boss) Ricky Flynn to change my driving style - to be smoother, calmer and not as fast into the corners – and it really helped. I caught the leaders and worked my way into 2nd place. The leader had opened a big gap but I chased him down, caught him and then went for the lead.” 

Mackenzie’s lead would only last for one lap, when eventual winner, Frenchman Brandon Maisano assumed the advantage - “As the race ran to its conclusion, (the initial leader) Michael Heche made a lunge, got alongside me and moved me off line. I just ran out of laps to catch him and Maisano back up” he shrugged. He added, “I’m pleased to have qualified for the European Championship, and there’s a psychological benefit for having beaten a quality field to a podium place.

With no time to savour his success, Mackenzie will head to the Sarno circuit near Naples for next weekend’s (19/20 July) 4th round of the international Winning Series Karting Championship. He says, “Sarno is must-win for my WSK title hopes. There’s no finishing 2nd or 3rd, I have to win. If I can repeat my Angerville performance (where Mackenzie dominated the series’ visit to France back in April) then I’ll be pleased.”  

Mackenzie’s delight at Super win… 

Mackenzie Taylor took a decisive KF3 victory at the opening round of the British Super 1 Championship at Three Sisters, near Wigan last weekend (12/13 April). 

Coming just a week after his Winning Series Karting success at Angerville in France (5/6 April), the Ricky Flynn Motorsport driver has clearly marked himself as one of the favourites to take the Super 1 title. 

In difficult conditions during Timed Qualifying, Taylor clocked the 7^th fastest time - but admitted to making a costly error: “The guys who recorded quicker times were all slip-streaming one another, but I was out on my own and didn’t get a tow. At Wigan you can gain a tenth of a second by towing behind someone, and I just didn’t give myself that opportunity - I was pushing my own air.”  

Though his self criticism sounds a little harsh – especially when you consider that he was just a tenth of a second off pole position - it worked as a brilliant motivational tool for his performance in the heats. 

Surviving a massive ‘moment’, he won his first race. “I was coming down the fast ‘Valley’ section and ran onto a damp section of the track. My kart suddenly snapped sideways and I was thinking ‘this is going to hurt,’ but I clipped a kerb and the kart flicked back the right way”. 

Mackenzie won the second heat and booked his place on the front row of the grid for the pre-final.  

As the pack barreled into the first corner he found himself unable to get onto the dry, racing-line and dropped to 12^th - before getting his head down and working his way up to 3^rd at the chequered flag.  

Getting a fantastic start to tuck in behind pole-man Carl Stirling, Mackenzie started the final in a bullish mood. Half a lap later, seeing a chance, he passed Stirling - who immediately had a stab back. Taylor led the pair onto the long main-straight, with the young Ulsterman slipstreaming him and preparing to pass. However, the alert Taylor saw waved yellow flags and pointed first at them and then at Stirling. The Irish driver duly backed out of the move, handing the advantage back to Taylor who then firmly pressed it home as rain began to fall.  

Demonstrating his superb kart control in the worsening conditions, Mackenzie quickly opened a gap of nearly five seconds. As his rivals slowed, he drove perfectly, corner after corner to cruise to a dominant win. 

“I’m very pleased with the result” he said afterwards. “I would’ve been angry with myself if I hadn’t won. Once again, the team (Ricky Flynn Motorsport) did a perfect job and gave me the best equipment to go out and win with. That’s why I would’ve been angry if I hadn’t. I’m also very grateful to Gordy at GFR for my engines and to Martin and Dan at Pro-Performance – their involvement has really made a difference to me this year.”

Taylor sews up stunning WSK win 

RFM’s Mackenzie Taylor rebounded from his disappointment at finishing 2^nd in last week’s British Open Championship, with a superb victory at the second round of the Winning Series Karting Championship. 

The win will taste all the sweeter for the KF3 star – who celebrated his 15^th birthday yesterday(Monday), after last month’s opening round of the WSK saw him finish down in 19^th place, after a start-line accident took him out of the points. 

Arriving at Angerville, Mackenzie knew that he needed a good result if he was going to stand a chance of fighting for overall honours in the title chase. 

Things started well when he recorded the 5th fastest time in Qualifying – putting him on the front row of the grid for the heats in his group. Mackenzie duly took a 4^th, 2^nd, 3^rd and another 2^nd to put himself on P3 for the pre-Final. 

After catching initial leader Nicolai Moller Madsen, Mackenzie passed him for the lead and reeled out a string of fast laps to take an untroubled win.  

As the field rolled onto the track for the Final, it started to drizzle, but this did little to affect the teenager’s confidence. “I was on slicks but knew that my set-up was perfect” he said. 

At the lights Mackenzie got a good start, although Moller Madsen momentarily headed him towards the first bend. Using the inside line to his advantage, Mackenzie prevented the Danish driver from taking the racing line and preserved his lead.  

Mackenzie explains: “I’d got my tyres nicely warmed up during the rolling-up laps and this gave me the advantage. I just managed to get my head down and pull away”. With the field fighting each other for position behind him, Taylor was able to open up a gap. However, once the race had settled into a rhythm, he found himself being tracked down by Frenchman Brandon Maisano and Dutch driver Jorrit Pex. He said afterwards: “Every lap I looked for Neil (Doran, his mechanic) who waved a finger in the air to say ‘keep pushing.’ Seeing the chequered flag came as a massive relief, after all those laps at the front.”   

Winning the race by nearly 5 seconds sealed his dominance of the two Finals – and puts him right back in the hunt - after first round winner Nyck De Vries and 3^rd-placed driver, Michelle Gatting, both failed to score points.  

Mackenzie was keen to acknowledge the people behind his success, saying: “It was Rick’s (Flynn, boss of Ricky Flynn Motorsport) ability to set the kart up perfectly for the changing conditions that made all the difference. In the wet and the dry, it was as if it was on rails. His organisation and preparation is second-to-none. Neil also worked really hard all weekend and I hope I’ve repaid him for his efforts (with this win). My thanks also to Gordy (Gordon Finlayson) and Dougie (Meek) (of Gordon Finlayson Racing Engines) and Martin (Poole) and Dan (Williams) at Pro Performance – they’ve made a massive difference.” 

With the British season starting next weekend, Sunday’s victory must surely mark him as one of the favourites for overall honours in the British Super 1 Championship, which kicks off at the fast Three Sisters circuit, near Wigan next weekend (12/13 April 2008).   

“The WSK is the toughest the competition is going to get. It’s effectively the World Championship for Juniors and to win at this level in such a short time (this is Mackenzie’s first full season of European racing) bodes well for the rest of the year. I wouldn’t say I’m over confident but yesterday was a big boost, so we’ll see.”   

Keep visiting www.mackenzietaylor.co.uk to follow his fortunes throughout the rest of the 2008 season.

pics - Chris Walker/Kartpix