Max Hawkins has put his superb double BRDC Stars of Tomorrow success at Genk down to flawless machinery and a never-say-die attitude out on the track, as he bids to take the title fight to Kenneth Andrews in the final two rounds at Wigan this coming weekend.
The Junior Max front-runner travelled to the fast and flowing Belgian circuit in high spirits, following a strong maiden appearance there in Mini Max last year and determined to haul Andrews back in the drivers' standings. A brace of commanding final victories later, he had done just that.
“Out of all the European tracks I've ever been to, Genk is definitely my favourite,” Max enthused, speaking to
Crash.net. “It's far better than any other circuit I've ever been to, both in the UK and abroad, in terms of the general layout, facilities and how smooth and professionally-built it is.
“There are a few characteristics to the track that can only be learnt through time and experience too. It was definitely an advantage having been there the year before; it means you know the little secrets the circuit has to offer.
“Genk is notorious for its changing grip levels throughout the day, but the kart felt pretty well-balanced and gripped well in all the different conditions the track had to throw at us during practice. That meant we went into the weekend knowing we had the pace, which gave me the confidence out on the track to be able to overtake other drivers from quite a long way back.
“Even if you have to start from the back of the field, I believe as long as you have the pace and are fairly sensible getting through the pack – overtaking people cleanly then immediately getting away from them – you get to the stage where you can get into the top three pretty easily.”
![(L-R) Gemma Stephenson, Max Hawkins and Tom Ingram on the BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Junior Max podium at Genk in 2007 [pic credit: TSR Productions]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/360369.jpg)
