In a testament to the effectiveness of SV Racing’s ‘stairway of talent’ and his own natural flair behind the wheel, an elated James Dorlin capped off a sensational season with a pair of commanding race wins to leave Croft Circuit (20-21 September) as the 2014 Junior Saloon Car Champion.
Barnsley’s Dorlin made an instant impact on his car racing debut in the 2013 Junior Saloon Car Championship (JSCC) by going on to finish runner-up at the end of a remarkable rookie season.
However, with mentoring from SV Racing Director, Danny Buxton, under the team’s ‘stairway of talent’, 14-year old Dorlin emerged as the class of the JSCC field and used his mature head and driving skill to conquer the entry-level ‘tin-top’ series for budding touring car racers, achieving several race wins, podium finishes, pole positions and fastest laps en route to the 2014 title.
Two victories at Croft Circuit’s season finale (20-21 September) didn’t come easy for the title favourite, as damp but drying conditions made the going tough and left him languishing in the midfield after qualifying.
Nevertheless, Dorlin remained focused on the end game and deployed two superb starts and a series of well-executed overtakes, resolutely setting fastest laps to gap the rest of the field on his way to a brace of well-deserved wins and the championship title.
“It’s starting to sink in, but it’s been quite funny going back to normality at school after spending Sunday (21 September) spraying champagne in celebration of race and championship wins,” said Dorlin. “I went out for qualifying expecting the track to dry out, but the conditions worsened and our dry setup didn’t allow me to put a competitive time in. It would have been a lot worse and, while it made the races more difficult, they couldn’t have gone any better for me! I knew I had to do the best I could and I got good starts that even took me by surprise and was soon in the lead. I pretty much had the championship sewn up after race one and it was nice to go out for the second race without any pressure and have a bit of fun.
“I have already started thinking about the next step and my aim is to enter the Michelin Clio Cup ‘Race Series’ in 2015 providing we can raise enough sponsorship, as I see that as good progression from the Junior Saloon Car Championship. I’d like to have a good go at that and continue this winning trend and, as it has been so great working with Danny (Buxton) and the SV Racing guys – a title win suggests we’re doing something right – I hope to stay with them.”
Former Clio Cup Champion and British Touring Car racer, Buxton, has imparted a wealth of knowledge and experience to forward Dorlin’s burgeoning career, and it’s hoped that the talented Barnsley youngster to move up SVR’s ranks and into such arenas as the Michelin Clio Cup Series and Britain’s premier one-make saloon car championship, the Renault UK Clio Cup.
“I am absolutely delighted for James (Dorlin), as he has been the class of the Junior Saloon Car Championship field all season and is a deserving winner of the 2014 title,” said Buxton. “He may have been odds-on favourite to take the crown going to Croft, but nothing was guaranted and he certainly made it difficult for himself after a tricky qualifying. Still, he got his head down and got the job done in the finest style. I didn’t expect him to go quite as quickly as he did, so it was impressive to see him cope with the pressure and take such commanding victories.
“James has been under immense pressure at times but experience and his natural ability has seen him through. The fact he spoke absolute nonsense after the race just showed how elated he was to win the title and I think he’s a real talent who has the ability to go all the way to the top. He has been a great addition to the SV Racing ‘stairway of talent’ and I’d love his next step to be the Michelin Clio Cup Series in an SVR car, so he can test himself against a higher level of competition. That has to be the target.”
For more information on SV Racing, please visit the www.svracing.co.ukwebsite, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @SV_Racing on Twitter andInstagram.