Oli Norris, 15 from Glastonbury, ended the 2012 Formula Kart Stars Junior Rotax Max Championship with a second place finish at Whilton Mill, Northamptonshire over the weekend. His results from the two heats and the final were good enough to move him up a place in the Championship table to finish fifth overall.

The track time on Friday and Saturday gave Oli and his team time to find more pace. After qualifying sixth, Oli was a little disappointed but had confidence in his kart. In the first heat he managed to stay out of trouble in a closely fought race with the majority of the field separated by only one tenth of a second per lap and Oli crossed the line in his sixth place starting position. Heat two was less successful with a slow start hindering Oli’s ability to make progress. He was hit and forced to restart from the back but managed to gain two places for valuable Championship points by the end of the race.

The final was Oli’s highlight of the weekend with a start from seventh putting him on the advantageous inside going into the first corner. He immediately took two places to lie in fifth and as the race progressed he managed to overtake another two drivers to lie in third. With ADD Motorsports team-mate Josh White in second, the pair chased down the leader but just as they caught him the black and yellow flag was brought out with all drivers forced into single file. Oliwas right behind White for the restart and took advantage of his team-mate’s slow response, and went for the gap which put him in second place. Oli then defended his position and held second to the line.

“It’s been a good day” explained Oli, “I was a bit disappointed with qualifying but the kart felt good. I have my favourite place to overtake at Whilton Mill and that’s where I did all my overtaking. Josh was a bit slow for the restart and left a gap so I went for second and then I had to defend from him. It was good to be on the podium together though. The season has been a bit inconsistent but we’ve ended being really quick. The last few rounds have been better and I’ve got back to the front.”