J’can karter Powell revels in historic European win
A father’s prayer answered and a son’s promise delivered.
Such was the case for young karting sensation Alex Powell, who once again etched his name in the annals of Jamaica’s sporting history, being the first from the island or the Caribbean to top the podium at the FIA Karting European Championships.
The American-born driver, who has been prominent over the years, promised his father John, a former rally driver, an early Father’s Day gift and he soundly delivered with his superb win in round three action in Kristianstad, Sweden, on Sunday.
Powell, driving from third position in the highly competitive OK Category, took over proceedings on the second lap of the 25 lap and from there it became a mere formality.
The achievement came as no surprise to the 14-year-old, who showed his class against his much older counterparts when he placed third in round two of the four-round event in Zuera, Spain, recently.
“I knew it was coming for a while, I just had to put the perfect performance together to make it happen. I told a few people that I had an opportunity to win this weekend, so I am super happy that I was able to live up to their expectations and deliver as promised,” Powell told the Jamaica Observer just before boarding a flight back to his base in Italy.
“My dad has always been here for me through the good and bad results so it is definitely great to give him a win here and also to do so with my mom and sister and a few friends in the stands. It is not the same when I have a good result and they are not there, so it’s makes it more special to have them here as I took my first FIA event victory,” he added.
So heart-warming was the accomplishment that Powell was almost moved to tears as the soft ‘Jamaica, land we love’ tune was played for the first time at a FIA Karting European Championship.
“That was an amazing feeling for me standing on the podium and hearing the Jamaican Anthem playing, it’s a moment that I will never forget. I will cherish this accomplishment and hopefully this will be a catalyst to help other kids in Jamaica, the Caribbean aspiring to be a Formula One driver to also take the next step in their careers,” he said.
Powell was consistent throughout the rounds securing four second-place finish and a win in the lead up to the trophy race where he bettered Great Britain’s Kean Nakamura-Berta second and Tomass Stolcermanis of Lativa.
“This was a very good outing for me, I was fast from the previous event so the aim was just to be thereabouts in the qualifying heats and I did that.
“It was super crucial to win a race like this and I can’t explain how good it feels to ease some of the tension off my shoulders because I knew I needed a solid result here to have a shot in the overall Championship battle and I am so happy to come away from round three as the winner,” the Kr Motorsport representative noted.
With this win, Powell, the cousin of former 100m world record holder, Asafa Powell, climbed to third in the battle for the overall Championship on 53 points.
He is 26 points off leader Joe Turney (79 points) of Great Britain, with Nakamura-Berta (70 points) in second.
The French pair of Enzo Deligny (47 points) and Evan Giltaire (45 points) complete the top five heading into the final round scheduled for July 7-10 in Franciacorta, Italy.
Though it will be tough, Powell says the leader is by no means infallible and, as such, is determined to push the limits to again rewrite the history books.
“The guy in first has a pretty big lead but it’s not over until its over, so we will be going for it as the aim is to build on the positives and the performance we had here. So we learn from what we did this weekend and we will try to repeat it in Italy because the Championship now seems wide open again,” the Mercedes-AMG F1 protege stated.
“So from here on its just about remining confident and focused on the end goal. So the celebrations will be short as we have to keep our heads down and keep pushing to ensure the best possible result in the final next month,” Powell added.
While the young driver was celebrating, his father John was sending up the praises that the prayers have been answered and the dream now a reality.
“He finally did it. All these years he has been working for it but they say nothing comes easy. I am so elated, I had a big lump in my throat from all the screaming, he was determined and he has worked so many years, so to see this come to fruition was my prayer answered,” the senior Powell said with the hoarseness evident in his tone.
“He has done everybody proud, Mercedes, the family and more importantly, himself. The first time the Jamaica national anthem is playing, its alot of first for him. Mercedes already rang to send their congratulations and express their pride. He did really well and he has a chance of winning the Europeans so we are hoping for the best with that,” he ended.
— Sherdon Cowan