All Stars Karting 2011 (round 1)
19 & 20 March, Speedway PLUS Malaysia

Four days after round 1 of Rotax Malaysia and Asia 2011, Jon and his dad returned to Malaysia with more confidence to compete in round 1 of the inaugural All Stars Karting 2011. Although this is only his second time driving a Yamaha engine on a Birel Kart, Jon proved that his sheer determination can overpower his unfamiliarity.

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Jon & his friendly competitor, Ryueta Ueda from Japan

The Yamaha Cadet race format has been revised with one Qualifying, a Race 1 and a Race 2 which is in a reversed grid among the top four drivers from Race 1. It was almost a two drivers battle for the ultimate glory event between Jon (2010 Singapore Cadet Champion) and Ryueta Ueda (2010 All Japan Yamaha Cadet Champion). Both were topping the time charts during the practise sessions since Saturday (19th March). Race day started with Qualifying and Jon came back second, just one tenth behind Ueda after 7 to 8 laps of trading best times.

In Race 1, the two drivers pull away from the rest and battle it out to the end and eventually Jon came back second. This set Race 2 for a 12 lap showdown between Jon and Ueda as they will start from third and fourth position respectively based on the reversed grid format.

Jon made a good start in Race 2 and by the time he reached the back straight, he was able to take the lead. After some exciting moves by the Japanese champion, finally Jon was second again. Based on the points system, Jon accumulated 40 points to put him second overall.

“It was a great feeling to be back on the podium again because I missed it last week. The Yamaha engine is very interesting as I need to tune the carburetor while driving. Hope that I will be able to master it in the next race and get more wins. I would like to thank Williams Racing for sponsoring the Yamaha engine for this race” – said Jon after the trophies presentation.

Looking back, February was a very tough month for Jon as he has to stay away from the karting track totally to prepare for his school’s first Continual Assessment (CA1) Examinations. With one hundred percent devotion in his studies, Jon did very well in his CA1, scoring full marks in Maths and distinction in Higher Chinese. Overall result shows that he is ranked top three position in the entire primary six level in Ngee Ann Primary School.

We are so proud of his achievements! Keep up the good job!

more pictures of the race can be view here…