LOCAL hotrod racer Jason Loosemore floored his accelerator to finish 13th out of 37 competitors at the Hotrod World Finals held in Ipswich, United Kingdom, at the beginning of the month.
The 18-year-old qualified for this prestigious event by virtue of leading the National Hotrod Series.
‘Racing overseas was always going to be challenging for Jason as he had so much counting against him and obstacles to overcome,’ said dad Neville Loosemore.
‘Not only was Jason the youngest competitor on the grid, he had never driven the course before and was given 10 warm-up laps as practice before having to race against the world’s best.
‘He also raced in a borrowed car from Spedeworth Fabrications, which played a vital roll in the race as this Vauxhall Tigra powered by a 2L 16 valve Opel Superboss engine is not the same as his car back home.
‘His Mazda engine at home has no back pressure, while the Opel engine produces huge amounts of back pressure which effects the braking system of the car. Plus, he races on Hoosier H10 tyres at home and had to race on Hoosier H12 tyres, which is a much harder compound.
‘But despite all this, Jason managed to qualify 14th with a lap time of 14 seconds and 93 split seconds, just 0.25 split seconds off pole position.’
Racers completed 75 laps of the 382m course under hot and humid conditions.
Good start
Jason got off to a great start and then dropped back to 17th spot and had to work his way up again.
‘There was lots of contact on the track as 37 cars allow little room for overtaking. But I put my head down and worked hard and set mini goals throughout the race to finish 13th,’ said Jason.
He finished the race in 24 minutes, reaching a maximum speed of 140km/h on the short straights, with an average speed of 120km/h.
The best ever placed South African at this event was Jess Huggett, who finished 8th in 1997.
But Jason bettered his dad’s best finish of 16th back in 2012.
‘It feels good to have beaten what my dad had achieved. Talking to all the drivers at the event helped me grow in the sport and gave me priceless knowledge that has bettered my racing skills.’
On the last day of the event, 34 racers competed in the Nick Thomas Memorial race, where Jason ended 6th overall after starting in the 14th spot.
The plan is simple for Jason now that he is back home.
‘It’s back to the drawing board for me. Time to knuckle down and get good grades in matric this year and then study Biokinetics next year. ‘I would really like to win the National Hotrod Series and qualify to race again next year at the Hotrod World Finals, as I have already been offered a vehicle to race in for next year’s event.’
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