bowyer vows to fight to the finish
TRANSCRIPT
8/14/2019 Bowyer Vows to Fight to the Finish
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bowyer-vows-to-fight-to-the-finish 1/2
Bowyer vows to fight to the finish after victory near-miss
Callum Bowyer might have left PF International following the latest round of the 2009/10 WinterSeries frustrated that an early knock from a rival had likely cost him his breakthrough KF2 classvictory, but with the coveted title still at stake he has vowed to fight on to the end – for if there isone thing that the highly-rated young Peterborough karting star has never been, it is a quitter.
Callum began the third meeting out of four on the Winter Series schedule heading somewhat intothe unknown, following an eleventh-hour change from his regular Alonso chassis to a new TonyKart mount in the wake of an unusually off-colour test day at the same Lincolnshire circuit a weekearlier.
However, having claimed an astonishing three major British titles in 2008 – BRDC Stars of Tomorrow, Super 1 and the ‘O’ Plate – on a Tony Kart, if anything the switch marked something of a homecoming for the 15-year-old, with his good record and good memories only serving to spurhim on.
“There had been something not quite right with the kart the previous weekend,” he explained,“and that had left us a fair way off the pace. We had everything on it that should have made itquick, and we checked it all and couldn’t find anything amiss. We put our heads together and allwe could think was that it was just the kart in general that had got a bit tired. I had been on it since
the middle of 2009, and it had done a lot of hard work and a lot of laps over that period and as aconsequence just wasn’t the same anymore as it once had been.
“I was pretty confident going into the weekend with the new kart, and I got settled in with itquickly, just like in old times. We were quite a long way up the road in Friday testing; on Saturdaythe others caught us up a bit time-wise, but we were still fastest in the last two sessions so I knewwe had the pace, and the chassis and motor both felt really good.”
It was, indeed, an extremely positive start, and this up against a fuller field than had been presentin the first two Winter Series outings, something that Callum opined ‘makes it a bit more of achallenge and a better race at the end of the day’. And a back-of-the-grid starting position for hisopening heat did little to deter the Gunthorpe teenager.
“The weather was horrible and really wet,” he recalled, “but we had good pace still and were able
to come through to finish a solid third. In heat two I started a bit further forward, and picked themoff again to get into the lead early on. Jordan King had so much grip in the wet, though, whichallowed him to catch and pass me and then pull away – but the main thing was that I scored goodpoints for second and was ahead of Jake Lloyd, my main rival.”
Those results earned Callum a front row starting slot for the all-important final later in the day, butunfortunately it was on the unenviable – and wetter – outside line. A subsequent tap from behindwhen the lights went out sent him off-track and plummeting down to the very rear of the order,leaving the Chris Rogers-run speed demon with a lot of work to do. That he stormed back throughthe field to very nearly triumph – setting fastest lap along the way for good measure – spokevolumes.
“A dry line was just starting to appear,” he recounted, “so everyone went out on slicks, but at thestart I got pushed from behind out onto the wetter part of the circuit. All of the temperature went
out of my tyres, which cost me a lot of time and left me right down at the back by quite somemargin.
“After that I just had to get my head down, and I was really determined to come back through. Thekart and engine still both felt really good, and we had good pace and were three tenths a lap fasterthan the winner. I just focussed on picking them off one-by-one and making up ground as fast as Icould; with the final being a longer race, I had a bit more time on my hands than in the heats.
“I knew Jordan was really quick in the wet having won both of the heats, but in the dry he didn’thave the same grip advantage or the same edge. I overtook him and when I looked back a coupleof laps later I had established quite a gap over him. The only problem was, following all the chaosat the start the leader had been able to pull a long way ahead of everyone else, and when I got intosecond he was the whole length of the straight in front of me. By the time we crossed the finishline I was literally right on his bumper. Just one more lap...”
Just one more lap indeed, but notwithstanding his understandable disappointment, the KenStimpson School pupil’s performance had nonetheless clearly caught the eye. What’s more, with
8/14/2019 Bowyer Vows to Fight to the Finish
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bowyer-vows-to-fight-to-the-finish 2/2
King coming in third and Lloyd enduring a torrid time of things in the testing conditions, the scenehas now been set for a thrilling finale, as Callum approaches the decider 13 points off the top andembroiled in a fraught, no-holds barred three-way scrap for the Winter Series trophy and theprestigious ‘O’ plate that accompanies it. This battle is far from over yet.
“To be able to come back through so well considering the quality of drivers out there was reallyencouraging,” he reflected in conclusion. “I set the fastest lap in KF2, and only two of the Super KF
class drivers in the same race were quicker than me, which just shouldn’t be possible – they shouldbe about a second faster with the extra power they’ve got.
“I was definitely pleased with how we performed; it was just a shame about what happened at thefirst corner that left me with all that hard work to do. I feel pretty confident that without that, wewould have had an excellent chance of winning – and to come all the way from last and be so closeat the end was very frustrating.
“If our ignition hadn’t blown in the first round and if our axle hadn’t snapped in the second, wewould have been leading the championship now by quite a long way. This weekend was the firstfinal we’ve actually finished in KF2, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.
“It’s going to be really hard to make the points deficit up, but I know we’ve got the pace, so it’s justa case of staying focussed mentally. We went into the last Mini Max round in Stars of Tomorrow in
2008 behind on points and came out in front, so it can be done. Whilst Jake should effectively havethe title in the bag, we will be giving it absolutely everything we’ve got to snatch it away fromhim.”
Callum is still seeking sponsorship for the 2010 season. If you are interested in backinghim, please contact Tracey Bowyer on 01733 701099 or 07960 400731, or e-mail: