It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Kent’s Kiern Jewiss as he headed to Portugal for the penultimate race of the European Championship. 

Jamie Croxford and the Forza Racing team provided great support, helping to make the best of a difficult situation in which Jewiss once again showcased his astounding ability to give a strong performance in even the most adverse of conditions.

Inconsistency with tyres was a serious issue which clouded the whole weekend, meaning one set of tyres could be 1 – 1.5 seconds slower than another set. Testing proved difficult as a result, leaving teams struggling to understand where any of their drivers were pace-wise.

During qualifying, Kiern appeared to be the target of the group, which left him struggling to find space to put a lap together. He qualified 40th overall. The heats saw Jewiss drive well, but tyre grip remained a problem which hampered his, and some of the other championship rivals’, performances.

Kiern managed to qualify 7th for his pre-final, despite continuing difficulty with pace. By turn 2 of the opening lap he had managed to claw his way to 3rd, chasing down the front two drivers, but he was unable to close the gap enough to make a move before the end of the race.

Starting in P6 for the main race, Jewiss made a fantastic start, slotting in to 3rd after turn two and moving into 2nd before the end of the lap. On lap 3 the driver behind him made a move to take 2nd which worked well as together they would be able to chase the leader a lot faster. As he tucked in behind P2, the driver behind him attempted an unwise and foolish overtake. Kiern was in the middle of the corner when the driver behind realised his attempt to overtake wouldn’t work, cutting across the kerb and ploughing into the side of Kiern at speed – forcing both drivers off the track. Due to this contact, Jewiss sustained damage to his kart which left him unable to compete at the speed needed to make it back through the field, which left him crossing the line in 25th place.

This unfortunate result leaves Jewiss 7th in the overall standings.

Image courtesy of Wafeproject