Jamaican Alex Powell remains confident about his first year in the Junior class notwithstanding a string of disappointing finishes in Finals of the first four events of the 2020 season.
Powell’s season started at the WSK Champions Cup at the Adria International Raceway on January 26th. Only 25th in Qualifying, he finished 19th in Heat 1 due to a bumper penalty, then 15th, 9th & DNF in heats 2, 3 & 4. 15th in his PreFinal was enough to secure a spot in the Final, where he was unfortunately bumped off the track after moving up five places, recording a DNF.
The following weekend was Round 1 of the WSK Super Master Series, again at the Adria International Raceway. 24th in Qualifying, he finished 9th, 28th (bumped off track), 27th (bumped off track) & 12th in the Heats. 12th in his PreFinal was negated by a bumper penalty dropping him to 16th but still into the Final where he was again bumped off the track, on the first lap, recording a DNF.
Two weeks later on the weekend of February 16th saw a turnaround at the 25th Winter Cup held at Circuito South Garda Karting in Lonato where Alex claimed his first Pole in Qualifying as a Junior. 4th, 2nd, 5th and 1st place finishes in the heats bode well, before a 6th place finish in the Semi-Final was lost to a bumper penalty. Unfortunately the Final would see another DNF after he was again hit off the track while battling for 3rd.
Returning for Round 2 of the WSK Super Master Series at Circuito South Garda Karting in Lonato, 35th in Qualifying meant a low starting position for his Heats in which he placed 15th (bumper penalty), 9th, 18th (bumper penalty), 23rd (hit off track) & 13th (bumper penalty). 15th in the PreFinal despite another bumper penalty put him into the Final starting 29th, where he finished 17th before dropping to an official 25th after a bumper penalty.
Multiple bumper penalties and DNF’s are indicative of the rough and tumble nature of racing in the Junior class. “The bigger boys are pushing him all over the place” stated John Powell, a sentiment he repeated each weekend, while recognizing that it is “all part of the learning process.”
Alex’s next event is the 31st Andrea Margutti Trophy from February 27th to March 1st, 2020 at South Garda Karting in Lonato, Italy.
