Jack crowned champion with five races still to go
Despite the weather, 12-year-old was always confident he’d win
Renfrew youngster Jack Hart has raced away from the competition by being crowned the 2017 KMSC 125 Champion.
The 12-year-old, who attends Trinity High School, headed the back as he sealed the title win with five races of the competition still to go.
An exhausting five races over just two days, as well as qualifying, meant it was an action-packed weekend at Knockhill, but Hart insists he was always confident.
He said: “The third round of the Knockhill Motor Sport Club F125 Championship was back to the normal direction at Knockhill, and I like that better than reverse.
“I knew if the results went my way that I would be able to win the championship over the weekend, so this made me quite nervous.
“I haven’t raced here since April and most of the other riders had been doing practice nights, so I knew the competition would be good,
“I’ve also been struggling going from my Moto3 bike one week to my 125 the next, but I felt good on the bike from the start and quickly got into a good pace, so I was confident for the races.”
Unpredictable weather in Saturday’s qualifier did little to dampen Jack’s enthusiasm as he posted a solid time to line up second on the grip.
The weather dried up for the first race but, knowing fine well he could win the Championship over the weekend, Jack was in no mood to slip up and make any costly mistakes around the track.
But a confident ride saw him lead all the way to the final corner, only to slip up and finish in a still commendable second.
The weather changed for the second race, but the rain did little to alter the results, despite the red flag being waved, with Jack again sitting in second.
He returned to the track on Sunday morning, knowing fine well the title was well within his grasp, but the weather remained unpredictable.
The first race of the day saw the track staying dry, so the garage opted to go with the dry tyres, which proved to be a very bad choice.
When the rain started, he had to ride more conservatively in order to keep enough grip.
This wasn’t too successful, as he nearly crashed before running into the gravel and retiring from the race.
Jack explained the next race of the afternoon: “After having a DNF in the third race, I was worried about the result. I wanted to win it this weekend, so I would be able to go into the last round as champion.
“The DNF meant I had to start from last on the grid. I managed to get a great start though and by the end of the first lap I was in third position.
“But going up the straight, the bike felt a bit boggy and I couldn’t keep with them.
“The bike then got slower and slower as the race went on, and I just tried my best to get to the finish on the podium in third position, which I did.
“I was really lucky, though, as the bike then cut out on the cool-down lap, so I was lucky to even finish, never mind in third place.”
But with the final race in his sights, Jack knew that a third position finish would win him the title.
And so it proved. With a really comfortable ride, Jack took the third spot to be crowned the KMSC 125 Champion.
Jack added: “It was a really hard weekend, but that has made winning the championship with five races still to go even better and means I can just relax and enjoy them.
“I’m really proud to have won a Scottish Championship that so many other great riders have won.
“I would like to thank all of our sponsors and people who have helped me to do this”