KEW DETERMINED TO GET OFF TO A FLIER

NATIONAL HOT ROD CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS

Racer Jason Kew is hoping that a fresh engine and suspension tweaks to his Vauxhall Tigra can put him towards his first English National Hot Rod points title.

The 29-year-old is fifth in the standings at the halfway point. The National Hot Rod series restarts after its winter break with a meeting at Birmingham Wheels Raceway this weekend.

Kew was part of the group of Hot Rod drivers who took part in Live Action at the Autosport Show in Birmingham in January, but his engine blew after only a handful of laps. The Oxfordshire racer has sourced a new powerplant and has also changed the shock absorbers. The car will be shaken down at Northampton this week ahead of the meeting at Birmingham.

“Unfortunately, I can’t get time off work this week,” explains Kew. “That means I have had to hand the car over to [two-time World Final winner] Malcolm Blackman. He helps engineer the car so he is going to do the shakedown for me.”

Kew says that a rule tweak this year, where drivers will use timed qualifying to set the grid for the winner-takes-all World Final at Foxhall Heath on July 2/3, will mean that there is less stress over the title run-in. Previously, drivers have battled to get in to groups to ensure they start in a certain area of the World Final grid.

“I want to win the English points title, obviously,” says Kew. “I still have my joker to play too so that will be useful. But the change in the qualifying for the World Final will probably have an effect over the latter half of the year. Those drivers who aren’t in with a shout of the title but who are in position to qualify for the World Final will probably take things a bit easy. That is a shame, because in previous seasons you would fight up until the last corner of the last round to improve your qualifying position.”

Shane Bland leads the standings with eight rounds remaining in the 2015/2016 competition.