The Cambridgeshire circuit – the venue where the Nuneaton ace came off his novice plates less than two years ago – is clearly one that Ash enjoys and at which he excels, having left the opposition quite literally trailing in his wheeltracks in his previous outing there, winning by more than eight seconds and lapping more than a second out of reach of any of his rivals.

He was on the leading pace again from the word ‘go’ in the first meeting on FKS’ 2009 schedule – in both wet and dry conditions – and qualified an excellent third out of the 44 Junior Max competitors on Saturday.Sadly, his day would rapidly go downhill, as a knock from behind in the opening corner of the pre-final left the 14-year-old playing catch-up for the remainder of proceedings.

“I was coming here hoping to win really,” he underlined, “or at least to finish inside the top three. We had shown good pace in Super 1 the previous weekend, and the last time at Kimbolton we had won by a clear mile. I think it’s a really good circuit, very flowing but with a few parts where if you are not precise you will get it completely wrong and be off the pace.

“In practice we were really fast – four tenths up the road in the dry and three tenths in the wet – so I was happy in both conditions and not really too bothered about what the weather did, but still I knew if it was dry I would probably have a better chance.

“The kart felt really good and the set-up was perfect, but the conditions were especially tough when you were in the pack, because of the sheer amount of spray being kicked up. That made it really hard to concentrate. The track was actually quite grippy for the wet, but there were so many puddles that if you caught one of them you would just get sucked in.

“Saturday started off really well – I qualified P3 overall, and was second-quickest in my group. I was really happy with that, but then going into the first corner I got a hit from behind. There wasn’t anything I could do about that really, but I never thought it was over – I still believed I could come back through, like I had done in Super 1.

“We had a bit of understeer on the tyres we were on, though, which meant the kart was pushing on a little, and we could only finish 14th and 11th. I was disappointed with that. We had done so well in qualifying, and then it all ended so badly. I was really fired-up to win on Sunday after that, and claw my way back up the championship table.”

That he did with interest, and the fastest lap two laps in a row in the closing stages of Saturday’s final only went to show what might have been. He would replicate his superb qualifying form on day two –

displaying breathtaking consistency to comfortably pace his session and line up second overall to pole-sitter Matt Parry, the only driver in the quicker second session to dip below the Maple Park teenager’s stunning effort – and from there he knew exactly what he had to do...

“Qualifying was really good,” underlined the P1 Racing star. “It was really greasy in the first session, and I knew I was unlikely to be the quickest overall because in the second session the track was getting better and better. It proved we had really strong pace, though.

“I was a bit nervous approaching the start of the grand final, because the outside line is not the best place to be. I knew I had to get the jump on Parry and get my foot down before he did, and I got it spot-on. It was a perfect start, and then Matt got spun around at the first corner, which let me get away.

“After the first lap it got easier, because I saw the gap behind was constantly growing and that boosted my confidence. Following that I was in a comfort zone really, just having to concentrate on my own lines and what I was doing. I think I had another two tenths if I’d needed it, but in pushing harder of course I’d have been in danger of making mistakes. Fortunately I didn’t have to, and I think I had more pace than Matt anyway; we just hadn’t been able to show it the previous day.”

Punching the air in delight as he crossed the line almost five seconds to the good at the end of a truly imperious performance demonstrated well-and-truly that Ash had arrived. As a forewarning to his rivals that this year he seriously intends to go all the way, it was potent to say the very least.

Heading next to Glan-Y-Gors in North Wales – a circuit at which he has never raced but has displayed blistering speed in testing – the George Eliot School pupil’s tail is clearly up, and he made a special point of thanking his mechanics Richard Amos and Sam Smith, his mum and dad and P1 partners Paul Carr Racing for the part they all played in his success. P1 Racing may be the new kids on the block, but in blending youth with experience, hard work and knowledge to perfect effect, they are rapidly proving their doubters wrong.

“I was really, really pleased with the result,” Ash enthused. “It’s a big confidence boost, because we know and other people know now that we can be the quickest anywhere. Can we win the championship? Definitely.”

To keep up-to-date with Ash’s latest career news and results, please visit: www.p1r.co.uk