Despite an early mechanical failure that prevented her from running the opening race, Jasmine Shaw bounced back from adversity and scored valuable points to close out the fourth round of the Fiesta Junior Championship at Knockhill.
Jasmine Shaw showed great character to bounce back from adversity in the opening race of the Fiesta Junior Championship at Knockhill to score a sixth place result in the MK7 class in race two. The 20Ten Racing driver improved on her lap times throughout the meeting, rounding the weekend off with a 14th place overall finish.
A great deal of credit must be given to the team for ensuring Jasmine took to the grid for race two following an earlier mechanical failure, with Shaw scoring valuable points to close out the fourth round of the championship.
Aiming for season’s best results heading into the weekend, Jasmine began her weekend by gaining valuable track time in Friday testing before opening practice on Saturday morning. Completing 13 laps across the fifteen-minute practice session, Shaw finished with the 17th fastest overall time, placing seventh in the MK7 class.
Targeting further improvements in qualifying, Jasmine was able to set a faster time than her quickest practice lap and also cut the gap between herself and the fastest driver in the session. This resulted in a 16th place overall qualifying result while being the sixth quickest MK7 class Ford Fiesta. With her second fastest qualifying time entailing a top-5 class starting spot for race two, these were further signs of encouragement.
Due to a grid penalty from the previous round, Jasmine lined up 18th on the grid for race one and was determined to make up positions. Unfortunately Shaw suffered a mechanical failure as the lights went out, ending her opening race before the first turn. Nonetheless, with around six hours before the second race of the day, 20Ten Racing were determined to get Jasmine onto the grid and back into action.
A brilliant job by 20Ten Racing meant that the car was repaired and Jasmine lined up 15th for the second race of the weekend. Staying out of trouble and gaining valuable experience at Knockhill was the primary goal for Shaw who was also aiming for a season’s best result in the MK7 class. Jasmine did a superb job to avoid a first lap incident to end lap one in 16th.
From there, Shaw settled into her rhythm and set about improving her lap times in what were her first laps at racing speed during the day. In the closing stages of the contest, Jasmine was under pressure from James Pope but responded to the challenge superbly to run a number of personal best lap times to take the checkered flag in 16th overall, sixth in the MK7 class. Following post-race penalties for her competitors, Shaw was officially classified 14th to end a challenging weekend on a more positive note.
Despite missing out on a MK7 class podium, Jasmine should be encouraged by the speed she displayed at a challenging circuit. Motorsport is first and foremost a team sport and with great work from 20Ten Racing in fixing her car for race two, Shaw was able to enjoy close battles and secure valuable championship points. Jasmine will be targeting a first trip to the rostrum when the Fiesta Junior Championship returns on the weekend of 19th/20th August at the home of British motorsport, Silverstone.