Peterborough kart racer Jason Parrott competed at the World Championships in France last weekend but wet weather conditions destroyed his chances of finishing off the season with a bang.

For this one-off event Jason changed engines from the manufacturer he had been using in Europe (Parilla) to the manufacturer he was using in the UK (TM). He struggled with a lack of power at first but was still posting times in the top eight out of 72, a measure of the potential still to come.

He finished 11th in his first heat, up from 14th on the grid but crashed at the start in his second heat so came home half a lap behind in 27th. His last heat would be crucial as only the top 34 competitors from the heats go through to finals, and he rose to the occasion with a 5th place finish after overtaking nine karts over 13 laps. This gave him 23rd on the grid for the televised Pre-Final and Final.

Disaster struck in the Pre-Final when Jason failed to make it around the first lap.

“I was through the first and the second corners where people usually get into trouble but at the chicane someone went into the back of me and pushed me off the track. I was very lucky to keep the engine going so I ended up last but there wasn’t a gap between me and the rest of the field.”

He kept going to finish 16th, still several places higher than where he started to give him a midfield grid position for the World Championship final.

The heavens opened while the drivers were sitting on the grid, causing a mad scramble to change to wet tyres. Other changes, such as changing gearing and turning the airbox to stop water getting into the engine, are classified as mechanical alterations and are not allowed once the karts are on the grid. The shower only lasted until the parade lap but standing water was left on the track.

Jason dropped back at the start after his air filter soaked up the water, but after several laps with the engine smoking it cleared itself and Jason was back to normal speed. His teammate Jules Bianchi, who had been favourite to win, suffered the same problem which put him out of the race.

14th position out of 34 was the best that Jason could achieve, but the result was a big step up compared to his first World Championship in 2005 where he didn’t make the last 34.