Parrot's WSK KF1 Angerville Win

press release 

Jason Parrot scored his first international victory at the weekend in the WSK (“Winning Series Karting”) International Series at Angerville in Central France. The wintry weather that also affected the UK struck just as his class were due to go out for the grand final.

A regular frontrunner on the national karting scene, Jason decided 18 months ago to concentrate on international racing, a tall order when the competition includes professional drivers from all over Europe. The WSK championship is the continent’s secondary tour and runs on the same circuits as the full European Championship, so Jason will be returning to Angerville in a month for a shot at an even more high-profile win.

But unlike many other motorsport competitors, Jason is paying his own way, and prior to the first round of the WSK he hadn’t raced since the World Championships last Autumn. At the one-off trophy races that start the season, he was working as a mechanic for other drivers in his team, MGM Racing.

At Angerville Jason recovered from a series of mishaps, which made his victory even more remarkable. On Saturday morning everyone went out for 20 minutes of timed qualifying, where he posted the third fastest lap. The top ten go through to a World Superbike-style Superpole session where each driver gets one flying lap on his own, with absolutely no distractions. This determines the top ten grid positions. Jason’s clutch started to disintegrate halfway round the flyer so he was only tenth fastest, and it finally gave up on the slowing-down lap.

He started eighth on the grid for the first heat, and from there came through to fourth and was the fastest man on the track. In his second heat on Sunday morning, Jason blasted past four other karts in the space of a couple of laps to take the lead, and was pulling away until a couple of laps from the end when one of his front brakes stuck on. He ground to a half at one of the hairpins and surprised spectators by repeatedly kicking the offending part! It soon became clear that he wasn’t just venting frustration but trying to deactivate the brake completely so he could finish the race and go straight into the final.

Next up was the Pre-final, the first of the day’s points-scoring races. There were spots of rain but nothing major, but Jason got caught up in the usual start-line aggravation and found himself at the back. He salvaged the race as much as possible, finishing 14th where he would start on the grid for the main final.

The Final was where all hell broke loose, and as the field pulled away from the grid the on-and-off rain turned into snow. At a start that was difficult for everyone, Jason moved up to fourth straight away. The top four pulled away from the rest with another British driver, Mark Litchfield, leading. A lap later Jason moved into second while avoiding another spinning kart, then overtook Litchfield to take the lead. Jason’s compatriot kept closing up on him but then hit a kerb, giving Jason a solid lead.

All that remained now was for Jason to keep the kart on the track, and no one could be certain of that until the chequered flag. With his mechanics on the pit wall signalling when to push and when to cool things down, he nursed the kart home with a five-second gap to Litchfield.

Jason was understandably over the moon with his result. “I’ve won this race fair and square while many others struggled with the conditions, and not only that I was easily on the pace when the weather was closer to what we’re used to,” he said. “I’m now second in the championship and just as importantly I’m most definitely a contender at the European Championships here next month.”

pics - Chris Walker/Kartpix.net

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