Junior Rotax graduate Jack Barlow delivered a superb performance on his international debut at the Rotax Winter Cup, held at Campillos in Spain last weekend (13/14 February). From the outset the Dan Holland Racing driver was amongst the pace-setters, and in a close timed qualifying session recorded the fifth fastest time. In his three following heats, Jack scored two impressive victories and a second place to seal pole position for the first of Sunday’s two finals. He scored a comfortable victory in the pre-final to again give him the advantage for the main race.

At the start of the final, having made a good start from pole position, Jack headed the 34-strong field - but a bold manoeuvre by the recently-crowned World Finals victor, Japan’s Ukyo Sasahara - saw him lose the initiative and several places. Now fifth, Jack knew he had to clear the trio ahead of him quickly if he was to peg the gap to the fast-disappearing Sasahara.

For the spectators it made for an enthralling encounter. Within two laps, Jack was back up to third and closing in on the 2nd placed driver. He then spent the next six tours chasing his quarry down, and once he had bridged the gap, a tight, close private battle unfolded. Neither would yield and as the remaining laps wound down, they repeatedly passed and re-passed each other - trading stickers on their sidepods.

“That was a good race,” he said afterwards. “Neither of us was giving each other any room and it was a very equal contest.” Jack eventually managed to gain the upper hand, but could do nothing about Sasahara’s substantial advantage and took the chequered flag some six seconds adrift. Nevertheless he expressed his satisfaction with his performance: “I’m delighted to be on the podium at my first attempt in European competition. I’ve learned a lot and really enjoyed the experience. It has given me a lot of confidence, especially for Florida next weekend (20/21 February).”

As part of his prize for winning last year’s Formula Kart Stars Mini Max title, the Freeminds-backed driver has been invited to take part in a round of the Florida Winter Tour at the Palm Beach International Raceway. He says: “I can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to race in America and now I’ve got the chance! I really hope I can do myself justice and it would be fantastic if I can repeat the form I showed at Campillos. The organisers have already made me feel very welcome and I’m looking forward to representing Formula Kart Stars, Freeminds and of course, myself in the best possible way.”

DHR driver impresses on international debut. “I’d have paid for 2nd (place) before we went,” was how team boss Dan Holland summed up Jack Dex’s performance at Campillos in Spain, last Sunday (14 February). Jack was making his European racing debut in the Rotax Winter Cup, the self-styled ‘ice-breaker’ to the prestigious Euro Max championship.

After showing impressive pace in pre-race testing, he maintained his early form and was 8th fastest (out of 61) in timed qualifying. From this encouraging start, he convincingly won the first of his three heats. However, a crash in his following race – as he put it: “My fault. I went for a poorly-timed overtake in the wet, on slicks” - saw him trail home in 28th place.

More drama in his third encounter saw him unable to finish higher than 13th place, but it was good enough to avoid the last chance race and qualify for the first of Sunday’s two finals.

Jack describes what happened in the pre-final: “I started from 25th on the grid and found myself in the middle of a massive crash at the first corner, where a spinning kart clipped me. At this point I thought it was game-over because I’d got a bent rear axle. Luckily for me though, the officials stopped the race and decided to re-run it. I ended up finishing fifth in the re-run and was very fast. However because of the tight schedule, we had less than half an hour to fix the kart in readiness for the main final.”

The Dan Holland Racing Racing team worked furiously to replace the bent axle and put fresh tyres on, but sacrificed adjusting the kart to its optimum set-up in order for Jack to take up his position on the third row of the starting grid. This was rather than suffer a penalty for arriving late and having to go from the back.

Picking his way forward from the off, Dex took the lead on lap 3 (of 16) and quickly established a comfortable lead. However, as the race entered its penultimate tour, eventual winner James Greenway managed to catch and pass Jack. In that manoeuvre, Dex briefly dropped to 4th but on the very last lap, nipped through to seal a worthy runner-up spot.

“I think I had a slightly different set up to Greenway, with me being fast at the start and James quicker at the end. Still, it is a fantastic result for me.”

Dan Holland was equally delighted: “For his first time at this level, second was brilliant.” Jack’s next race will be the opening round of the British Super 1 championship, at PFi on 20/21 March.

Jack Barlow and Ed Brand are considered two of the most outstanding Rotax drivers of the current generation - and after championship-winning performances in 2009, Freem UK is delighted to announce a long-term partnership with the pair.

Freem UK’s Managing Director Jonathan Walker says, “We kept a close eye on the performances and development of Jack and Ed throughout last season, and were constantly impressed by the way they conducted themselves on - and off - the track.”

“Freeminds has a history of working with carefully chosen individuals, such as Nyck De Vries, and now we’re bringing that mindset to the UK franchise. Jack and Ed will become Freem UK ambassadors, and we’re looking forward to working with them as they progress through their careers – from karts into cars.”

Last year Jack Barlow won the Formula Kart Stars and Kart Masters Mini Max titles and was a season-long front-runner in the British Super 1 series. Brand enjoyed a unique ‘one, two, three’, after winning the Super 1 Junior Max championship, was Euro Max vice-champion and finished third in the World Finals.

For 2010, Jack will graduate to the Junior category and make his first attempt on the Euro crown. Ed has stepped-up to Seniors class and on his class debut – in the Japanese Winter Cup at New Tokyo (30/31 January) – finished an impressive seventh in the main final. Both drivers will compete in bespoke Freeminds racesuits and will wear the superb Spidertouch gloves and Speed Star 2 race boots; all highly rated for their comfort, durability and feel.

Leading Rotax squad believes junior and senior challenge is on. Dan Holland Racing’s drivers have put themselves into contention to lift this year’s Euro Max Challenge after a series of encouraging performances at the season-opening Winter Cup, held at Campillos in Spain (10-14 February).

Despite being debutants on the international stage, Jack Barlow and Jack Dex both left the Spanish circuit as vice-champions in their respective classes. Team-mates George Williams, Ross Wylie, Aaron Head and David Sutton also figured strongly. Unfortunately, Ryan Denton contracted a severe throat infection, preventing him from taking part in the racing. Formula Renault racer Sutton almost completed a sensational return to karting in the senior final and vied for a podium place. In a close-fought run to the chequered flag, he was running in 3rd place but a last lap tangle dropped him to an eventual 5th.

“It was very satisfying to see him come back and be so fast and competitive. Hopefully it’s whetted his appetite for some more outings – if he can fit them around his Formula Renault UK commitments.” Having won the senior pre-final, Ross Wylie was another DHR driver vying for overall victory. A slight mistake cost him a podium place, but Dan remained upbeat: “It was another good European performance from Ross and had this been the opening round of the Euro Max, he would have left as the championship leader.”

Arguably causing the biggest shock of the weekend was Aaron Head’s “coming of age” - as his team boss put it. After making it a DHR 1-2 in the pre-final (by finishing behind Wylie), Aaron’s stellar weekend came undone in the feature race. He was looking good for a top 10 finish, until an over-optimistic overtaking manoeuvre by another driver knocked him off the circuit. “It was a disappointing end to a great performance,” rued Holland. “But on balance, he was outstanding.”

“First time out, at this level – 2nd was brilliant!” was how Dan summarized Jack Dex’s drive in the final. Showing bags of character to overcome technical problems in qualifying, mixed fortunes in the heats and a crash in the pre-final, Jack drove around the problem of a far from perfect kart and showed that he will be a factor in 2010.

In the junior ranks, Jack Barlow’s first appearance in Europe was met with much anticipation and he didn’t disappoint. “Jack drove perfectly all day,” Dan observed. “It was a tough race for him, but he stuck to his guns and showed experience that he doesn’t actually have. He was the talk of the paddock after winning the pre-final and had he not been held up in the final, I think he stood a good chance of winning.”

Jack’s team-mate, George Williams also starred. “He was 7th on the grid for the main final and looked capable of bringing home a top 6 finish. Unfortunately he was a little too cautious and finished in 11th but I saw superb potential and he’s very positive and excited after Campillos.”

Recognising the vital contribution from the team’s engine partner, Dan said: “I can’t thank Tim and Steve at Ogden Motorsport enough. They played a pivotal role in our success and share our ambitions for many, many more.” DHR has a limited number of spaces available for the Euro Max Challenge, commencing (24-28 March) at Salbris in France.

Like cream, talent always rises to the top and after his 2009 season was blighted by a blood injury, James Greenway bounced back with a superb victory at the Rotax Winter Cup at Campillos (13/14 February). However, the week had not begun smoothly for James and the Strawberry Racing team, as they worked hard to cope with adverse weather conditions and technical problems. Having largely overcome them, James then made steady progress through timed qualifying and the heats to keep in touching distance of the initial pace-setters. 7th place in the pre-final gave him a good grid position for the final.

Taking just a handful of laps to work his way up to 2nd place, Greenway patiently waited for the opening he needed. It came on the penultimate tour and having seized the initiative, he brought his Tony Kart home nearly three seconds clear of the chasing pack.

Strawberry Team Manager, Warwick Ringham said: “After a very difficult week, where all our drivers experienced ups and downs, I was over the moon for James. It’s been a hard few years for him and he’s come close to a big win several times before. Now he’s got one under his belt, I’m sure it will give him the confidence to challenge for all the major honours in 2010.”

James’ team-mate and newcomer to the squad, Tom Fawcett joined him on the podium. As Warwick explains, “Due to exam commitments before the event, Tom had limited testing time. So, in his first race with us, he preformed exceptionally well. To be quickest in timed practice, third in the final and post the fastest lap is a great start to his season. I am sure he will have a great year with Strawberry, as he is a fantastic driver.”

Fellow recent signing, Dutch star Mats van den Brand qualified third fastest overall in timed practice and took a heat win but suffered from bad luck in the heats. From a lowly grid position in the pre-final, Mats recovered from another opening lap crash to carve his way from the back of the field to eighth place - the only non-English driver in the top twelve. Warwick observed: “Mats is already fitting in really well with the team. He’s really enthusiastic and wants to learn.”

Although he was unable to join his colleagues in the main final, Barrie Pullinger gave his boss plenty to be positive about. “Barrie’s learning and improving all the time. He secured his first top ten group qualification and a sixth-place finish in his first heat. He has come on so much in the last few months. If he can keep up the hard work and commitment he has shown over that time, he will only continue to get better.”

Strawberry’s sole representative in the junior category, Henry Hunter was making his European debut. After initially losing ground at the start of the main final, he managed to take sixth place and set the fastest lap. “Henry will have a good year in 2010. He’s keen to learn and is a great racer. We still have a few things to iron out but they will be sorted by the time we arrive at Salbris (24-28 March).”