GENK – A glimpse at the podium after the Golden Trophy races in Genk was enough to confirm that Strawberry Racing remains a force to be reckoned with in Rotax Max. The very successful karting squad from Sheffield scored a one-two-three in the Senior category on Sunday. With Steve Armstrong as the new team manager, things are looking very good for next season.
“I’m really, really, really happy”, team owner Paul Spencer said. “We have a few new drivers and they’ve done a fantastic job today. Becoming one, two, three here is a nice way to finish the season.” The Brit managed to sign his compatriots Mark Kimber, Jordan Brown-Nutley and the Swede Mathilda Olsson for his Rotax Max outings. They ended first, second and third respectively during a challenging race at the Belgian track.
For Mark, his win meant a ticket to the Rotax Max Grand Finals, which will be held in Brazil, later this month. “I’m over the moon with the result”, he said with a big smile on his face. “I didn’t expect much as I hadn’t been in Rotax for a while.”
It will be the second time that the sixteen-year-old driver from Birmingham participates in this prestigious event. It’s regarded as the unofficial world championship for Rotax Max drivers and Mark has some fond memories about his first participation. This was back in 2016 at the Sarno track in Italy. He actually won the final in the Junior category. Now he’s aiming to repeat his success of two years ago. “I’ll go in clearheaded and see what we can do. I think we got the right speed, it should be okay.”
For Paul Spencer, his team’s results in Genk confirmed their topform, like Strawberry Racing showed the past years. "The way the racing turned out in Genk was an obvious sign that we are doing things right”, he explained. “This sport is about details, about doing a lot of small things well. A lot of my staff have been around for a long, long time. When you put it all together, this is the end result, so a big thank you to the people at the factory in Sheffield.”
Driver Jordan Brown-Nutley was happy to see his efforts of the past months being rewarded. “We’ve done a lot of testing”, the 18-year-old from Essex said after the podium ceremony. “This result gives me confidence for next year.”
The podium sweep was the best possible conclusion to the Golden Trophy weekend. This obviously pleased new team manager Steve Armstrong, who brings a lot of experience to the team. “Since taking my new role at Strawberry 2 months ago, it’s my first time back in Rotax. It’s nice to come and make improvements. For me, this was the first Rotax Max weekend in the last three years”, Steve said. “I didn’t have any expectations, though I knew we have excellent drivers. I knew we would be competitive.”
Mathilda Olsson proved that women can race in the front too. Her third place was the result of being fast all weekend. The fact that the seventeen-your-old Swedish girl from the city of Uppsala was fast didn’t come as a surprise. Earlier this season she clinched the third place in the general classification of the Rotax Max Euro Challenge with Strawberry Racing. She achieved this, already amazing, feat while suffering from a broken knee during two race weekends. “It was hard, but it went really well”, she said.
Because of her third place with Strawberry Racing in the Rotax Max Euro Trophy, she received already a ticket for the Grand Finals. It will be her first time participating in the event. “I’ll push to be in the top in Brazil. The fact that it’ll be held there means a lot. I think it’s going to be a nice experience.”
Meanwhile, Steve Armstrong looked forward to next season with confidence. Strawberry Racing will be active in both IAME X30 and Rotax Max: “This race has been a nice warm-up for next season. Watch this space!”