Racing driver King achieves breakthrough podium finish in championship

Having challenged right up at the front at Thruxton two rounds earlier, King then endured a “nightmare” at Oulton Park, meaning he travelled to Croft determined to make amends.

A self-confessed fan of the North Yorkshire circuit’s tight, twisty and technical nature, after lapping encouragingly quickly during practice, the talented Stoneleigh-based speed demon headed into qualifying in optimistic mood.

Choosing to lay down a marker for his opponents by going out early before the damp conditions got worse, King was left regretting the decision as he ended up in back in ninth on the grid when the rain stopped unexpectedly.

This meant he had much ground to make up in the race.

The Princethorpe College Pupil said: “I kept putting myself in the right place at the right time, made a few moves on people and put pressure on when I needed to – and that meant the gaps opened up.

“We had the pace, and once I was in third, I started closing on the driver ahead by about a second-a-lap.

“I thought I had a chance, but then I made a small mistake which sent me briefly sideways.

“If I’d needed points to fight for the championship or something like that, for sure I’d have kept on pushing to try to catch him, but I’m not in that situation so I decided to slow it down a little and settle for third.”

King will become the youngest driver to compete in the modern-day FIA Formula Two Championship on Sunday when he competes at the legendary Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.

After lapping an impressive eighth-quickest during testing at Snetterton earlier this month, he is bullish about his prospects.

King said: “It’s good to go into a different championship having proven the speed is there.

“The top ten is the aim, I think it’s doable – and I’ll definitely be giving it a go.”

To keep up-to-date with King’s latest news and results visit www.jordanking.co.uk