“An amazing weekend back at Rye House!”

Qualifying – 1^st

“A rainy qualifying, setting a time 0.6 seconds faster than 2^nd place.”

Heat 1 – 1^st – 1^stÌý

“Fastest lap – 0.6 seconds fastest. Finishing with a six-second lead in rainy conditions.”

Heat 2 – 1^st – 3^rdÌý

“Struggling to keep the kart on track, due to a gamble on setup with a dry line appearing, but still managed to finished 3^rd.”

Final – 1^st – 1^st

“Finishing with a seven-second lead and 0.5 second fastest in dry conditions back on slicks.

“I also received Driver of the Day.”

“The first round of the of the Shenington MSUK Championship this weekend was our fourth race in Junior Rotax.

“There were three short practice sessions in the wet on the Saturday, then it was straight into Heat 1, with a fifth-place finish.

“Sunday was dry all day, so we were on the back foot from those who tested in the dry on Friday. Milo went well in the three-lap practice, after which the team tweaked the setup for Heat 2 (finished third) and Heat 3 (finished fourth) to give us a great starting position of fourth for the final.

“With the lap times as they were, any one of six drivers could have won it. The race was an absolute barnstormer, with the top five squabbling over every place and Milo being in third for a while, right on the leaders’ tails, only to get bumped back to fifth.

“Some extremely aggressive moves by some to get back in it and some amazing overtakes by Milo to stay in contention. The top five were nose-to-tail over the line at the end, with Milo finishing in fifth.”

“Well, after a well-earned break since the end of November ’22, this weekend it was back to work for Jensen to compete in round one of the 2023 Shenington MSUK Championship.

“We arrived at the track a tad anxious due to having not even started, let alone tested, our one and only Rotax Max engine, which over the break had been fully rebuilt by Time Racing Engines at Whilton Mill. But we need not have worried because Dan and his team had worked their magic and returned the motor in fine fettle. The unit sparked into life on the very first turn of the crank sounding as spritely as ever.

“So, it was to the track, which by now on the Saturday was wet to say the least, and it was therefore difficult to judge our real pace on fresh running gear.

“It did give young Jensen a chance to blow the cobwebs of Christmas away and get back into the groove, though. Practice went well, with Jensen securing 5^th fastest in Practice 2 and at one point posting a fastest on-track time. Not a bad first day back at school so to speak.

“We returned the following day to a very chilly but bright and sunny Shenington track where hopefully we could post a more realistic time and prove good our motor.

“With random grids employed, the first race of the day started us mid-grid in 9^th place. BOOM! Great start from Jensen, gaining a place going into Cafe corner late on his 91´«Ã½ and resulting in the fastest Sector 3 time of the opening lap. Driving hard and consistent, a further place was taken on Lap 4 and again another place on Lap 5, leaving us now in 5^th place, with teammate Milo Manderson in the #77 MS Kart breathing down JP’s race suit collar.”

“Back in November, Jensen followed in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and many other F1 drivers to attend The London Cup at Rye House Circuit. And in only our second race in Junior Rotax, what a weekend it turned out to be – from complete engine failure on the Saturday morning to witnessing a truly epic drive from the ‘Mighty Minnow’ on Sunday in the Final.

“Sunday’s heats 2 and 3 went well, and with dry conditions all day, the van was packed away ready for the off when JP said ‘Dad! There might be some grafting for you to do yet, it’s starting to rain…’

“With the van then unloaded and tools and tyres laid out, it was a waiting game! Leaving the decision to change back to standard hubs and intermediate tyres to the very last moment, Jensen started his first London Cup Final on the third row in sixth place next to teammate Milo Manderson.”