Tom Jackson is a young driver on the up and up in the Ginetta class and has had some impressive results this season.

The young racer from Kent is currently third in the championship after five rounds of the Junior Ginetta Championship.

Kent Sports News spoke to Tom to find out how he is finding this season and his hopes for the future.

He said: “After the first five rounds in this year’s Junior Ginetta Championship, I am currently placed in third position. As last year was only my first year in car racing, I feel that this is an excellent position to be in.

“I have to add however though no racing driver feels content until they are leading the championship! As you can imagine, this creates a mixture of feelings, elation at being  near the top and only 11 points off second place but also uneasy and dissatisfaction due to only being P3 and not P1.

“Consistency in gaining points at each meeting is key to winning championships. There has only been one occasion where I have not attaining a top 5 position, this was due to being taken out by another driver. This is a good start and I need to maintain this form to achieve a high final positioning in the championship.

“Building on the consistency that I have been showing, my main aim is to continue with this form in striving for P2, continuing until I reach the top and P1. I feel that I not only have the skill and ability to retain consistency but also to challenge myself even harder.

“The difficulty comes in pushing to the point where I may risk ‘binning my car’ and having a DNF. This is a gamble which I have to take, fortunately when I taken this chance it has all worked out.”

It might be surprising to learn that Tom’s car is not run by a team but by him and his dad in a real labour of love.

He added: “My dad and I run the car at the race weekends and at the workshop.  Good consistent results creates a good feeling that we are both working hard. It makes us realise that we are trying to make me a successful racing driver.

“My dad gives his financial and mechanical support and I drive, which doesn’t just consist of a few 15 minute track sessions but of a whole mindset and lifestyle outside of the track which includes a good fitness regime and healthy balanced clean diet.”

Amazingly Tom has only been driving a car for a year and is clearly excelling at driving as well as racing.

He said: “Last year I had to learn to drive a car, learn to drive a racing car at over 100 miles per hour and then learn to drive each track.  Taking all that on board, I feel my 10^th position was relatively reasonable.

“I have gained a lot of knowledge, understanding and confidence plus a greater understanding and maturity of the total dedication I need to succeed. Track time is invaluable, so many other drivers have excessive amounts of testing, but I am only able to do one test day for each track.  It is difficult juggling school with GCSE exams and my dad’s bank balance!”

The Ginetta car is slightly different to those Ginetta’s that race in the other classes each race weekend as Tom explains.

“A Ginetta G40 Junior is a restricted version of the senior G40 race series car. They have around 165bhp compared to our restricted 100 bhp 1.8 Ford Zetec engines. This makes our cars the slowest out of the Ginetta racing cars.

“I presume we have to be protected due to our age and the championship caters for 14-17 year olds. We also have to run on treaded tyres instead of having slicks and wets – this is due to a new MSA rule where all junior categories now have to run on treaded tyres. The lower power also means that breaking distances are short but you have to try and carry as much corner speed to increase your speed down the straights. That’s the key to quick times – maximise corner speed.”

Tom’s local track is Brands Hatch and he absolutely loves going there and driving around the circuit and in front of friends and family.

He said: “I really enjoy racing at Brands Hatch, not only because it is closer to home so I have had more track time and it is a really good circuit to drive, but home is only fifteen minutes away! I also set my best qualifying position of second here and led part of the race. This is one of my strongest circuits so I am looking forward to the last round at my home track.

“Between races, it’s quite hard for me to attend track days and test because my dad has a very demanding job running a business and I have to go to school.  If we do any testing it has to be at weekends, but we try to do at least one track day for each round, where others in the championship are doing multiple test days. This is a bit unfair but I just have to go out and be as quick as them.

“Also between races, we have to repair any damage from the previous weekend in preparation the next round. My granddad even comes in to the workshop to work on my car. He’s like a mechanic/handy man and knows nearly everything about cars, even though he takes his time he does a great job fixing or doing whatever is needed.”

In between races there isn’t a lot of downtime for Tom, as he has plenty to keep him occupied.

He added: “In my down time between races, I have to go to school and do homework, but in relation to racing I try to get to the gym 3-4 times a week to support the physical pressures of racing, I also research possible sponsors and research nutrition because the fuel that I put into my body can have a noticeable effect on performance. I’m also into mountain biking, which really helps with my endurance/stamina during long days testing and sessions.”

Tomorrow we will bring you part two of our exclusive interview with Tom as he looks back at the last weekend in the championship at Croft.

Pictures supplied by Jakob Ebery.