Foster-Jones takes stunning double victory

100cc PR client Robert Foster-Jones took a superb double at the 2nd round of the S1 MSA championship at PFi, in Lincolnshire (22 April).

He delighted his RFM team with a mature and polished performance that belied his comparative lack of experience. His team boss, Ricky Flynn said “Rob was excellent, a different class. The talent he’s got is obviously coming out.”

From the morning’s timed qualifying session, Robert was ahead of the game. Taking pole position with 44.05 - 2 tenths ahead of Greg Harper - he converted his advantage into a win in the 1st heat, and then again in the 2nd.

This gave him pole for the pre-final - his first ever in ICA.

There was a nail-biting wait before the drivers were released onto the track and Rob could be seen shifting from foot to foot and glancing around anxiously, eager to get going. A false start only increased the tension - but at the 2nd time of asking, the field got away. The teenager emerged out of the first corner in 4th place but two corners later he was up into 3rd - then 2nd. Fellow RFM driver, Sam Tordoff briefly led but Rob caught him and on the 4th lap, passed him. Once ahead, Robert broke his rival’s challenge to take a convincing maiden Super 1 victory.

With no time for celebration, the Shoeburyness High School pupil was soon back in his Alonso kart for the second final. This time he rocketed into a lead he was never to lose. With a commanding lead, he wisely backed off his pace, dabbed the airbox into corners and richened-off the fuel mixture, to make sure he didn’t over-stress the motor and bring it home safely.

Ricky Flynn again - “The only thing that was going to beat us was a mechanical failure. Rob did the right thing and looked after his engine.”

With his break-through victory under his belt you would have expected wild victory celebrations – but Rob looked relieved more than anything - “It was fantastic. The team put in an incredible effort and that’s what set us apart from the rest. The only time when anyone got near me was in the first heat, where we took the best engine off from qualifying. But once we’d put the GFR engine back on I knew that we’d be untouchable and down the road.”

So where had his pace come from? “I think from all the effort the team’s put in, personally. We found a good set-up in testing and did a lot of laps around PF. I want to give a big ‘thankyou’ to all the team, especially Moose (Mickey Higham) and Ricky”

Rob and his RFM team now head to Jesolo in Italy for testing, prior to the 3rd round of the Italian Open Masters series (18-20 May).

To follow his progress through the season, keep visiting the www.robertfosterjones.com for regular updates, news and photos.


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