Kiern Jewiss was left frustrated with a seventh-place finish in the OK-Junior CIK-FIA World Championships as his chances of securing the title were taken away from him, after a collision in the closing stages of the Grand Final. Despite the disappointment, Jewiss left Bahrain as the top-ranked British driver of the weekend.

A fierce dedication to his training as well as a newly forged partnership with Forza Racing and GFR Engines meant that the 14-year old entered the weekend confident in his ability to compete at the very front of the 100-strong field.

Consequently, the Maidstone-based driver displayed excellent pace during Thursday’s practice sessions as competitors from 32 different nations all sought to gain some momentum ahead of the weekend. Unfortunately for Jewiss, he was left disappointed by his performance in qualifying as he ended the Thursday in 51st position on the grid.

Friday’s qualifying heats saw Jewiss return to a more comfortable position, as he fought for position at the front of the field with ninth, seventh and fourth place finishes respectively. These results meant that Jewiss found himself starting his final day of racing in 2016 from P10 in Prefinal 1.

Kiern duly delivered a strong performance in the Prefinal as he gained five places to finish fifth. This finish meant that Jewiss started the weekend’s Grand Final in P9 with realistic hopes of troubling the top of the leader board.

As the Final got underway, Jewiss displayed a mature race craft which helped him to navigate his way through the field towards the leading pack. As the race progressed, the 14-year old’s pace was unmatched by very few across the track as he looked to be heading towards an exciting finale.

Unfortunately for Jewiss, just as he looked set to make his move towards the lead, he suffered contact from another driver which dropped him back to P14.

Despite his clear disappointment, Kiern was still able to deliver an impressive P7 finish which made him the top-ranked British driver at the World Championships as well as recording the second fastest lap time of Saturday’s grand finale.

Following the race, Jewiss was understandably devastated to have had his chances taken away from him by matters beyond his control, but intends to use it as further motivation as he looks to 2017.

“Everything felt good this weekend – the best it has felt all year. I made the mistake in qualifying which put me on the back foot, but going into the main final I was feeling strong with our pace. I did go for the lead on one lap which was maybe a little too early which dropped me back to 5th. But I was happy with my drive back into the top three.”

“The collision on that same lap was the game changer of the race. Two of us ran wide and had no chance to catch back to the lead group. I was pleased to get back to 7th though. I am glad to come out of the weekend as the top-ranked British driver, but World Champion would have been better. I appreciate everyone’s support within the build-up, during and after the event but I must say a huge thanks to my Forza team (especially Jamie & Stewart) as well as Gordie at GFR engines.”