Rotax Max World Finals
Viana Do Castelo/Portugal
Click here for live action from the Rotax Max World Finals on Raceworld TV
14th-18th November 2006
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With all of the major championships finished and decided it meant that the biggest event on the 2006 Rotax Max calendar could once again bring the best Rotax drivers from all over the world to compete for the honour of becoming the Rotax Max World Champion. Jack travelled to the event knowing it would be his last ever race in his Junior Career. He went with high hopes of adding a World title to his European title he had won two months earlier. It was a strange event where the weather provided some controversy and some unbelievably close racing, which kept the crowd fixed on what has to be said, was a spectacular event.
Qualifying – A down pour just before qualifying meant that only limited changes to the chassis and engine set up could be changed to allow Jack to put a lap time in. Unluckily for Jack and his team there was not enough time to change the jetting and the engine was running far too rich meaning although the chassis setup was very good Jack was unable to post a fast lap time and qualified a disappointing 12th out of the 64 competitors.
Heat 1 – It was a very wet racetrack for the first heat of the day and Jack started P6 on the grid. But it all went wrong at the first corner as Jack was tapped under braking into the first corner and sent into a spin and back down to 31st. This wasn’t going to stop Jack from making his way back to the front though as he sliced his way through the field as he made pass after pass on his way with stunning manoeuvres. He eventually finished 9th which in the circumstances was a great result.
Heat 2 – The track was dry for heat 2 and Jack once again was starting on P6. Jack dropped back to 7th at the first corner but quickly put the hammer down as he made his way up to 2nd. He then set about closing down the 3 second gap that the Latvian driver Kristaps Gasparovics had made for himself. But some consistently quick lap times meant that Jack was right on to the back of the Latvian and quickly took the lead before dropping back down to 3rd as Niek Vos made a move on Jack and he was also followed through by Gasparovics. Jack spent no time messing about and after a lap he was back into first and quickly moved away to win by nearly a second.
Heat 3 – Jack started once again on grid 6 but this time the pace was not there and despite his best efforts the set up wasn’t quite right and Jack had to settle for 3rd which meant once again in the pre –final he would start on grid 6!
Pre – Final – The track was dry but the clouds looked ominous as the drivers lined up on the grid for the Pre – Final. 4 drivers chose wets and this proved to be a great decision as the heavens opened just before the drivers left the pits and exited on to the circuit. Jack made an unbelievable start as he drove round the outside of the top 5 at the first corner to claim first spot after just moments of racing. But this was to be wasted almost straight away as Hawksworth made a small error in the slippery conditions and fell back to 12th. But this was by no means the end of Jacks race as in stunning fashion he sliced his way back through the drivers on slicks as he set lap times which were nearly a full second quicker than the other drivers on slicks. Before long he was on to the back of 5th placed runner and top slick runner Jorrit Pex. It wasn’t long before Jack passed Pex and quickly pulled away to a gigantic lead over the closest other driver on slicks. This meant Jack would start 5th for the main final behind the drivers who had started on wets.
Final – Jack made a great start once again has he made his way into 3rd after the first corner. Jack then disposed of the 2nd place man before making his move for the lead on lap 3. For the next 7 laps Jack was embroiled in a superb scrap for the lead with Belgium’s Jorrit Pex. But it was clear Jack was struggling to match the Belgian driver up the back straight and was a full 0.2 of a second slower just on the straight. This made Jack an easy target and after 7 laps of battling Pex finally managed to make a move stick before pulling out a gap on the English man. But Jack wasn’t going to go down with out a fight and was pushing unbelievably hard to keep in touch with the Dutch man. Jack managed to set a time just over 0.1 of second away from the Dutch man but it wasn’t going to be enough to give Jack the world title he had so badly wanted. By the end of the race Jack was nearly 12 seconds ahead of the 3rd place driver, which showed how hard the front two had been pushing. The final results were Jorrit Pex, Jack Hawksworth and Daniel Shellnegger rounding out the podium positions.
Although Jack failed to win the race and add a World title to his European title he once again showed the grit, determination and skill which has taken him to the top of the Rotax classes. This is what he had to say…
“It was a stunning event and the racing was excellent. I have never pushed any harder than I did in that final and I was very pleased with my efforts even though on the day we couldn’t match Jorrit and his team. I think on a different day and maybe in different conditions we could have won the event. But full credit to Jorrit he drove well and is a deserved champion. It would have been great to have ended my Jnr Max career with a win at the hardest Max event on the calendar but it wasn’t meant to be and ill have to be happy with 2nd. I’m not entirely happy with the way I have driven this year and I feel I could have done a much better job but that’s just experience. I think at the Worlds I moved my driving on a level and not just that but my outlook on racing has changed. After Buckmore Park I was very disappointed with my result in the British Championships and despite winning the Europeans new that if I was ever going to repeat my successes and gain more success I was going to have to change the way I think and drive. For the Worlds I put every thing into practice and thought I did a superb job all weekend. I was exceptionally happy with my performance in the Pre Final on slicks in the rain. I feel this year I have learnt some very vital things that I will use all the way through my racing career where ever it may take me. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported me over this year in the Junior Max category, especially Gary Chapman of Protrain Racing and Steve Ogden who have really helped me develop as a driver and helped me on numerous occasions to win races and the Euro Max title.
I’m now looking forward to a new challenge and experience in 2007 as I move in to the ICC class. Finally well done to Jorrit Pex on winning the World Finals and I wish him all the best in his racing career and look forward to battling with him again in the future.”
Jack Hawksworth
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