Sharrad Scores State Title Clean Sweep
Tweetpress release
Adelaide’s Jayden Sharrad has walked away from the 2012 SA Closed State Titles with a clean sweep of victories over the weekend in the Junior National Light category, an amazing feat having not taken part in any practice prior to the event.
Due to educational commitments, Sharrad opted not to take part in the optional practice sessions on Friday leading into the event, at first, a decision that may seem to play into the hands of his opposition, but for Jayden it didn’t seem to harm his progress as his one of his first true test on the track was qualifying on Saturday morning.
Above: Jayden Sharrad with the SA Title black plate and trophy
Jayden took advantage of the experience around him before the run, “Having not practiced on Friday, we assumed at first that qualifying would put us back, but from local track knowledge and the assistance from our mechanic, Michael Cross, we were able to put a great session together place the Kart on pole by just a tenth of a second,” the 15 year old stated.
Being understandably excited at the weekend’s prospects, and what a dedicated approach would achieve in the end, Sharrad persisted with the effective Kart setup and worked his way through the opening heats of the weekend on Saturday afternoon, taking wins in both, it gave the team a wealth of confidence with the finals approaching.
An incredible fight throughout the 15 lap pre-final took its toll on Jayden, but the gifted teenager fought his way through a three way battle with fellow drivers Joshua Denton and Tyler Morrison. The race went down to the last lap, with Sharrad pulling off a gutsy pass for the lead, filling him with yet more confidence and finding his way to pole position for the all important final.
“It was a long and tough weekend to now, but I knew I had another huge race to go, and with the ‘final only counts’ rule applying, my determination and strength need reign supreme for the 21 laps,” Jayden added.
Cloudy conditions adorned the skies above the Bolivar Kart track prior to the final, however this did not set back Jayden as the Junior National Light class played host to the last race on the card for the weekend. Yet again, a closely fought out race faced the drivers, and for Jayden, late race pace for Morrison presented a minor issue, but again the maturity of the young star shone through to fend off his competitors, and an admirably excited Sharrad took the chequered flag.
“I would like to thank my major sponsor, Adelaide Independent Bandag, and to Michael Cross who has been mentoring me for the last couple of seasons, from our hard work, we are finally seeing the results. My thanks also go to Pro Karting Australia for their amazing support, and importantly to my parents for continuing to provide me with these opportunities,” Sharrad concluded.