There has been little rest for Jon during March as he travelled across Europe, competing in France and Italy, in the prestigious Margutti Cup, and in both the Italian and French Championships.

The Margutti Cup at Palma was the first of the three, "where I won the race," Jon said. "It was a good win, even though we had been slower than expected during practice. By the time we got around to the heats though, we had made a few changes and were back up to speed using a different chassis. I won the semi-final in the wet, which gave me pole for the final, which I also won using slicks in half-dry conditions. It had been a good fight between me, Ardigo and Iglesias, who were both on Kosmic chassis, and I reckon they were both trying to gang up on me by working together." Except that Jon was then disqualified from the results, which left a bitter taste in everyone's mouths.

"It was a bad call to be honest. When I accelerated onto the straight during
the race, Fore and Christodoulou had been involved in an accident and the yellow flags were out. At the time I though 'oh oh, this looks serious', and backed off before accelerating again. Except that Iglesias then tried to pass me under the yellow flags. As he pulled alongside he simply turned into me. It was that contact I got the blame for, but the fact that he had been trying to take me off right from the start was ignored. Everybody was really upset with the disqualification decision".

Quickly putting that disappointment behind him, Jon was next seen in Angerville for a round of the French Championship. "We were on Bridgestone, but the Vega and Dunlop rubber was much better! I made it up to 7th place in the first final, but with a three place penalty for alleged blocking, started on grid 10 for the main final. The race went well and I was able to run in 3rd place for awhile, dropping back to 7th after some other bloke ran into me, before recovering back to 5th by the flag. Unfortunately there was that tyre issue all weekend, but we could just do nothing about it".

Ironically a change to Vega tyres for the opening round of the Italian Championship at La Conca last weekend, coincided with a return to form for Bridgestone, as well as Dunlop. "The weekend started well", Jon said, "with some good heats, which ended with me running 4th in the first final as the first Vega runner. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time during the race when Ardigo crashed out. The driver in front of me went left and I went right, only to find that Ardigo had also decided to go right as he left the track - it was a near miss, but it cost me time. Although I could only manage 6th by the finish, the kart felt quick. Dunlop I reckon had the edge during the early stages of the race, whereas the Vega came on stronger in the latter part. 

"The final though was just one of those races... we made a set-up mistake after more rubber had gone 'down'. I made a good start, but had a problem with grip and the kart was sliding all over. All told I suppose 13th was the best I could have expected in those conditions".

The Italian event brought the busy month of March to a close, as Jon now gears himself up for even busier weekends ahead with the crack Birel outfit, with the World Championships later in the year still his main target.