Jack is back!
A mid-season wobble might have spelled the end of many a young driver’s title ambitions, but for Jack McCarthy it simply spurred him on. The Kent teenager capped his birthday celebrations with a brace of excellent performances that returned him to the top of the points table.
Since his blistering graduation to the Senior Max ranks earlier in the year - which included victory in the British Open Championship - McCarthy has found the going tougher than his early season form suggested. The Bromley racer admitted to feeling frustrated at the championship’s previous round (at Fulbeck) having notched up a best finish of 5th out of the two finals.
However, with three rounds remaining - including the series’ visit to the Summerlee Raceway in Lanarkshire last weekend - everything was still very much to play for.
Local knowledge proved to be a significant advantage in Timed Qualifying, as Mark Ross and Paul Stewart demonstrated. The Scots pair topped the time sheets, with McCarthy 0.06 shy of the fastest lap and down in 6th place overall.
Ross’ winning margin ahead of Jack – just over a second - in the first of Saturday’s heats, belied the pace that Strawberry Racing had found between TQ and the racing. Demonstrating his characteristic grit, McCarthy had worked his way from P6 to the runner-up slot, setting the fastest lap in the process.
Jack was poised for further success in the second heat, but misfortune befell the Bromley teenager. As he was pushing hard he over-committed himself heading into a corner and hit the barriers. With damage to his nose cone, he retired to avoid a penalty for a misaligned front-fairing and save his tyres.
This put him 9th on the grid for the first final on Sunday (14 August) but in a near carbon copy of the first heat, McCarthy wound up 2nd and chasing down the race leader. With too little time to mount a serious challenge for the win, he stayed put and accepted the generous championship points on offer.
The main final saw the guesting Ross and Stewart show the series regulars the way around the circuit with aplomb. McCarthy led the chase down, but was nearly two seconds adrift by the time the chequered flag was waved.
However, as first of the title challengers, Jack re-established himself at the top of the points table, with two rounds to go.
