Rotax European Championship

As the 2006 season came to and end so did the Euro max challenge the weekend definitely brought its up and down points but when it mattered both English drivers struck disaster.

Qualifying - After being one of the fastest through out the test sessions Jack went in to qualifying feeling rather confident about his chances. But as soon as the karts were out on the track the rain started to pour and Jack was suffering from a lot of understear in to the corners and could only manage 14th out of the 30 drivers. Jack new things were going to be hard in the heats coming from mid pack.

Heat 1- Starting 14th on the grid and Jack got a decent start and managed to pull him self up a couple of positions at the first corner, but immediately Jack seemed to be having problems with the kart and just couldn't put in the lap times he had been doing earlier. After some close racing he managed to pull himself up to 8th position at the flag.

Heat 2- Again Jack got a decent start and was up a few places after the first corner. But this time the kart was working well and Jack was coming through the pack very quickly and was up to 4th by the last few laps and catching Steel Guilliana from Australia but the Australian cracked on and Jack had to settle for 4th.

Heat 3 - And Jacks start this time was far from great as he got pushed out on to the grass at the first corner knocking him down to 16th. But after that Jack drove well through the field up to 7th place until on the 3rd to last lap Chris Malipard Daniel Shelneger and Steel Guilliana made contact and took each other off the circuit giving Jack another 4th place. Giving him a decent 3rd place on the grid for the pre-final the following day.

Pre-final - Starting 3rd on the grid behind team-mate Ben Cooper and Japanese drive Kazuki Hiramani. Jack got a decent start and was immediately up to 2nd after the first corner behind Cooper but as they approached the 3rd hairpin Jack managed to slip up the inside of Cooper and take the lead. From then on Jack lead most of the race with only VanBalen an Alex France taking the lead for a number of laps but on the third to last lap France managed to make his move stick and drove over the line whiskers in front of Jack. But disaster had struck for the unlucky Ben Cooper who had a mechanical failure in the early laps which meant all Jack had to do was finish in the top 7 in the final to win the European championship.

Final - 2nd on the grid for the final and all Jack had to do was finish in the top 7 but after a disastrous start Jack ended up 7th on the road but managed to work his way up to 4th behind rival Christian VanBalen. But it wasn't to be as Jack made a lunge on VanBalen and ended up with VanBalen on the grass and Jack with a black flag losing him the European championship. Looking back now Jack said that although the decision was harsh as he felt it was his corner he also knows that it was a rash move and he could have just settled for 4th.

"Id like to thank my mechanic Brian who's helped me progress as a driver this year and HRS Motorsport for the winning equipment they provided, id also like to thank my dad for his support. Next year we will come back in the view of putting things right" Jack Hwksworth