Jerseyman Jack Butel recorded his best finish

This season with a fine sixth place and received applause from the ITV Sport commentators.

After a weekend of mixed fortunes last time out at Rockingham, Jersey racing driver Jack Butel stormed to his best result this season at Silverstone last weekend (26/27 September). Butel secured sixth overall in the final race of the weekend with a fine eighth and twelfth in the other two races to back up his most successful weekend to date in the competitive MSA Formula Championship.

In the previous round at Rockingham Butel had a disappointing weekend by his now high standards and went into the second leg of the Northampton double header at Silverstone feeling confident of progressing in the FIA certified single-seater championship. Jack has historically gone well on the short National configuration of the iconic Silverstone venue, recording eighth in the Formula Renault series last year. The Channel Islander was optimistic as he arrived at the home of British motorsport and soon found his feet, setting respective lap times just a second away from pole position in qualifying.

Butel – now sporting the infamous JHR team colours, made one of his position gaining trademark starts as the lights went out at the start of race one. As the St Saviour resident flew around the 1.64 mile Northamptonshire venue he gained a handful of places as the race unfolded, settling for a position on the cusp of the top ten in 12th at the fall of the flag.

Autumn may now be upon us, but this certainly didn’t deter thousands of spectators who made the journey on Sunday to Silverstone under strong September sunshine. Fans filled the grandstands in anticipation for the three British Touring Car races that day and in and amongst were two nail-biting, highly exciting MSA Formula races powered by Ford Eco-Boost. Hundreds of thousands tuned into live uninterrupted ITV4 coverage, and this was the perfect opportunity for the single-seater stars to shine and prove the championship is the breeding ground for the best young drivers in the world.

The second race of the weekend and first of the day would see Jack line-up in 12th, one of his best grid positions to date this year. From the off the young–gun soon made headway as he picked off further positions to chalk up a career best eighth position as the clock hit zero. More was to come for the Jerseyman that afternoon however.

In the final race of the weekend from the ninth row of the grid, Butel rocketed off the start line in his turbo-charged missile and overtook several rivals going into the first corner. The first lap was to see sheer carnage as eager young drivers looked for gaps in the tarmac that weren’t there, causing chaos throughout the packed grid. The 19-year-old Jerseyman made some impressive avoidances to get out of the way of drama around him and the former De La Salle student used his mature head to pounce on others mistakes as he found himself in eighth after the first lap.

With the destruction and debris left around the Silverstone circuit a safety car was launched to allow the marshals to safely clear away the damaged cars. After a lengthy period behind the safety car, there was to be a 10-minute dash to the flag. Looking competitive after the restart Jack started to hone in on the pack in front.

With just two minutes to go, Butel picked off another two positions as others faulted, elevating the youngster into a career best sixth – a position which he defended to the flag.