Lines takes podium finish despite disrupted weekend at PFI
2024 Motorsport UK British Open Champion Finlay Lines made the best of what was a disrupted first weekend in the 2024 Trent Valley Kart Club Championship, taking a hard-earned podium finish in the final.
Taking place across two days at the PF International circuit at Grantham in Lincolnshire, Lines set the pace in Qualifying by the fastest time against 35 other drivers in the Rotax MiniMax 950 class on Saturday.
This meant that the Maximum Motorsport driver claimed pole position for both of the two heat races that would take place on Sunday morning.
In heat one, Lines kept his head and did his best to stay in contention as he pushed hard against the strong field of drivers in his class. Despite starting from the front, Lines held on to take fourth place in the first heat.
The Synergy Kart driver started out front for heat two and this time used his knowledge and ability to stay with the leading drivers. Lines’ reward for his efforts was third place in heat two.
With the points scored from both heat races used to set the grid for the Final on Sunday afternoon, Lines’ hard work meant that he would start in second place for the final, on the outside of the front row.
As the lights went out, being on the outside line worked against Lines and he fell back to sixth place at the end of the opening lap. Undeterred by this, the Staffordshire-based driver found his rhythm and took the lead of the race on lap three.
Staying out front for the next three laps, Lines was passed for the lead of the race on lap seven. After this he refocused himself on making sure he could stay with the front pack.
The lead changed many times in the race and Lines was rewarded with a podium finish in the final results. Following his third-place finish in the final, Lines lies in third place in the points standings after the completion of the opening round.
After a difficult weekend, Lines takes the positives from this event and will be aiming for better performances in his next event.
