Busy weekend for Jenson

Marshland St James young kart racer Jenson Sayell was testing a new kart at Kimbolton at the weekend before racing his own on Sunday.Sayell was asked to test a Pantano kart for his team TWRacing, which may lead to an exciting sponsorship deal to run the Italian company’s kart.After an introductory test at Tattershall the previous weekend, he then tested it against his peers in the Minimax Inter class on Saturday’s practice day for Round Three of the Hunts Kart Racing Championship.The first run was encouraging but the next three runs were less so. The team made several set up changes for the last run which worked and Sayell had great pace.Sayell returned to his Synergy kart for race day. With random grids for the heats, Sayell started 16th from 21 karts in heat one. He made up eight places on the first lap. Sayell’s pace was rapid in traffic, taking the fastest lap he was up to sixth a lap later and third on lap six of eleven. He took second with two laps to run but was unable to catch the leader in the time left. Sayell took the fastest lap of the race, which was also the fastest of the day.Sayell was allocated second on the grid for heat two. He took the lead on the first corner and romped away to be over two seconds clear at the flag for a convincing win.With points tied for the front row of the final grid, having taken the fastest lap Sayell expected to be on pole but unusually was given grid two, putting him on the outside line. He got a good start to hold onto second and rapidly closed down the leader. The leader was aggressive in defence blocking every attempt by Sayell to pass and was given two warnings as a result. Sayell did eventually take the lead only to be immediately knocked wide from behind. Ultimately the over-enthusiastic defence by the leader slowed them both down, allowing the third-place man to catch up. After 12 minutes of intense battle Sayell was passed on the final lap and crossed the line alongside the runner-up to finish third, just 0.1 seconds behind. Sayell’s mechanic, dad Rob, was disappointed for his son. He said: “Jenson’s pace was quicker in the final but it’s very hard to race against a driver who literally won’t allow you to race him fairly.“However, Jenson showed his class in all three races and he never fails to impress me with his sheer determination to win.”Sayell thanked his team TWR for the test opportunity and Force Motorsport for a rapid engine. He also thanked his sponsors JLK Vehicle Solutions, Ark East Anglia Ltd, Sun Lounge Tanning Studio, Chris Phillips – Superstox 99, Prestige Designs, Hall Clean and Custom Racewear for their continued support. The team are still seeking sponsors for 2025 and can be contacted through their Facebook and Instagram pages.Sayell is looking forward to the first round of the Cadet Kart Championship at Warden Law circuit near Sunderland in a fortnight.