With the Jamaican flag flying high on a stadium flagpole, Jamaican representative Alex Powell caught everyone’s attention with his drives from mid-pack to the front during Sunday’s racing at the Autumn Trophy Final at the South Garda Karting circuit in Italy.
Starting from 13th on the grid with only two Heats before a single Final, Alex needed good finishes in order to have a chance at the front in the Final. In Heat 1 Alex was initially hampered when passing, which allowed the leader to extend his gap to the pack while impressive overtaking saw Alex secure a 2nd place finish. In Heat 2 Alex stormed to the front by the fourth lap, capped by a breathtaking passing maneuver from 3rd to 1st and never looked back, securing the win and enough points to start the Final fourth on the grid.
A bad start in the Final dropped Alex to 5th for three laps. He moved to 4th the following lap, then into 3rd position on lap five. For four laps it seemed that he would be able to hold off his hard charging teammate Kimi Anotnelli, but Antonelli passed Alex on the 9th lap to claim the final step on the podium by the narrowest of margins; less than 8/100ths of a second ahead of Alex.
It wasn’t quite the result the team had hoped for, but it has proven to be an excellent event in preparation for the ROK Cup International Finals this coming weekend.
“He has gotten over his disappointment and he’s okay now, getting into a positive zone already” said his father John Powell.
“Fourth out of 96 drivers isn’t bad, but the real race is coming up this weekend.” said Alex, as he looks forward to the World Finals.
JMMC wishes him good luck for a safe and successful event.
Pictured with Alex, right; his teammate Kimi Antonelli.
