A special win for youngster Sayell

After disappointment at Whilton Mill’s January warm-up event, Super One Champion Jenson Sayell met challenging conditions head on to win the February Special Final in style.Youngster Sayell was one of only three karts from 28 who had not tested on Friday.However, the Marshland St James driver was on pace immediately and took the fastest time in all four of Saturday’s practice sessions.It rained just before qualifying and after a good start, he lost out on the final lap, dropping several places to finish an unexpected seventh.Team Sayell chose slick (dry) tyres for Sunday’s Heat One on the drying track, which was still damp and greasy.He made steady progress up the grid taking two karts on lap five to go third but then the battenburg flag came out a lap later bringing the race under caution with no overtaking allowed.The caution was lifted on lap eight of nine with Sayell moving up to second place soon after the restart but with no time left to catch the leader. As the Minimax Inters assembled for Heat Two, it was overcast, but all karts went out on slicks. However, after two false starts by the time the race got underway, it had started to rain.Sayell showed excellent kart control to move forward rapidly, up to third from seventh on lap four.He took second on lap five but was 2.20 seconds behind the leader. Despite closing the gap by 1.81 seconds on the final lap, he was forced to settle for second place, just 0.39 off. The youngster qualified second on the front row for the final, using slick tyres on the damp track.Sayell took the lead on lap two to claim four fastest laps in the next five laps to pull out an impressive 3.7 seconds lead by the chequered flag. “When we arrived on Friday evening and realised that 25 of the drivers had spent the day testing, I thought we were going to be on the back foot, but then Jenson went fastest in the first practice session and I thought ‘it’s not so bad!” said dad and mechanic Rob Sayell.“Jenson showed some skilful driving in tricky track conditions and I’m very proud.”Sayell thanks Ambition Motorsport for allowing them to share their awning for the event, Force Motorsport for a fast Rotax engine and sponsors JLK Vehicle Solutions, Ark East Anglia Ltd, Sun Lounge Tanning Studio, Chris Phillips – Superstox 99, Hall Clean, Professional Aesthetic Enhancements Kings Lynn, Prestige Designs and Custom Racewear.The young race ace will return to Kimbolton next month for the final winter testing, before starting the 2025 season proper.