Bike starlet Jack reigns in Spain
Racer delivers impressive performances at Valencia
Craig Ritchie
He may be small but he continues to be lightning quick.
Twelve- year- old Jack Hart, from Renfrew, doesn’t look like he’s ready to stop racing away to success as he continues to dominate the field at motorcycle races across the country... and abroad.
Instead of topping up his tan in Valencia, the Trinity High School pupil, just about to go into S2, was battling his way through the pack to produce his best result yet on the tour.
Jack told Express Sport : “I had a great time at the third round for race four of the CEV Repsol European Talent Cup at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.
“It’s a great track to have raced on and I can’t wait to go back there in November.
“After the disappointment at Catalunya with the bike not running I just wanted to get on and get plenty of laps in, which I was able to do and I got faster and more confident every day.”
He added: “I found it very difficult in the first couple of sessions as everyone was going very fast as they knew the track. I was trying to learn it, and this meant I was trying to brake at the same point as them but wasn’t confident enough, and it meant I would run on or go wide.
“I ended up in the gravel in both sessions and had to get taken back to the pits, which meant I had less time on the track. I was getting faster on the Friday until I started to struggle to get it in gear. We found out it was the clutch and my dad got it replaced for the Saturday qualifying event.”
Some hard work in the garage from his dad appeared to pay dividends as Jack was back on top form the following afternoon.
And although the new brakes would take some getting used to, Jack managed to work his way up the grid on Sunday as he battled through the pack to record his best result to date on the circuit.
He added: “We had fixed the clutch for Saturday and had also managed to fit a new Brembo braking system that we hoped would fix the brake fade I had problems with.
“The new brakes were amazing and it took a few laps to stop myself from braking so early.
“In the first session I got faster every lap and did more laps than everyone else so I was really happy and getting my confidence back. It was a lot hotter in the second session and everyone was a bit slower, but I did loads of laps and enjoyed it qualifying in 28th position.
“For the Sunday race, I went more a second a lap quicker in warm-up and knew I could keep up with the group in front of me in the race.
“In the race there was a crash on the straight and we all had to back off, and that meant that the riders in front of me all spread out.
“Again I made a couple of mistakes trying to overtake, but I realised I was faster in the last corner so I stayed right behind and managed to get 16th position.
“This was still my best finish yet and I got faster in the race, setting my fastest lap with just three laps to go so I was really happy.
“Huge thanks again to everyone helping us out.
“Without them we couldn’t be doing this.”
I found it very difficult in the first couple of sessions as everyone was going very fast