Tom Jackson made the move to single seater racing for the 2014 season and whilst he is enjoying the experience he admits it has been hard.

He has acquitted himself well since making the move into Formula Four with Chris Dittman Racing and he is improving every single time he takes to the track.

Speaking to Kent Sports News, Tom said: “I knew coming into the season that it was going to be very hard. Not just because; it’s a new car, a new type of racing car – single seater compared to a tin top but also because of the high pedigree of drivers that are coming into it with much bigger budgets than mine.

“It’s also very physically demanding to drive for long stints, especially on test days near the end you can seriously feel muscle fatigue. Especially with the setup we have on the car makes the steering very heavy and I even came away from Brand Hatch with a blister on my palms. Saying that, the pure speed and acceleration of the F4 car compared to the G40 never gets old.

“At Silverstone in the wet conditions it felt like I had clicked with the car and was sitting in fourth in qualifying for a bit, and in race two where half the track was wet and we were on slicks, out of the ten laps I was the quickest car on nine of them.

“At Brands Hatch however I didn’t have the same pace. I hadn’t done any practice around the GP track, and so all I had to learn it was a 30 minute session before qualifying, but I ran out of fuel halfway through the session and so didn’t get much running, so I went into qualifying with a limited amount of experience. From there I just struggled to work my way up the field as it’s so hard to overtake around there.”

Tom is using his time wisely and spending time testing the car and racing it as well as spending time with his driver coach.

He added: “When testing or at race weekends, I will always have my driver coach Kieran Vernon and engineer Paul and after sessions we will go through video footage and data to see what I can do to go quicker in the next session whether its, steering inputs, turn in point, entry speed etc.

“Ultimately it is down to me and how much Information I can take in and then put into practice. After practice days, I will come home and go over my quickest session and with a review sheet will write down anything I feel I could improve on next time I go to that track. Also going over some on boards before going to the track.”

Tom has impressively finished in the points in all but one race this season and it is a run he wants to continue and improve.

He said: “Obviously the aim is to finish every race, but so far I’m not finishing the races in the positions that I can and should be achieving. I could have had a win at Silverstone, as if I had finished race one in the position I was running I would of started on the front row for race two and with my pace in that race two I could have won. Scoring at least some points has kept me slightly in touch with achieving a top ten result at the end of the year.

“From now on the aim is to work on the consistency in the top ten, and to start working my way up the standings. And then in the second half of the season aim at achieving podiums and some wins. For me this first year is about learning how to drive this single seater car and learning the techniques that I can use in future championships.”

The season now moves on to Snetterton and Tom faces a balancing act to try and find some testing time and complete his studies.

He added: “I would love to say that I am off testing in this gap that we have before Snetterton, but as it currently sits. I will probably turn up for the first practice session before the weekend, so will be going into the event with less experience than the other drivers – oh well. The break gives the team time to completely take apart and rebuild the car, whilst checking all the key components like wishbones, suspension, uprights, new engine oil, new gearbox oil etc. So my car will be ready to go and put through the paces.

“It’s quite hard at the moment trying to fit in racing, training, testing and studies. As I am currently taking my AS level exams as well as trying to do 2 NVQ’s at college at the same time. As I am aiming at a career in motorsport that has to come first and so, I put in the necessary work for school to keep me in and get the grades, meaning that I have more time for my racing. After Brands Hatch, the Monday after I had a Business Exam and so I was revising between sessions.

Tom has been working with Advance Facilities Management and he has added a number of new sponsors coming on board, something he is grateful for.

He said: “At the moment we are working with Glenn and Advance on the future, there is a lot going on in the background that is trying to secure some big investments to get me going places.

“For this year though both my dad and Glenn have been working on getting sponsors onboard just for this year, but I have Glenn working on some very big deals with some very big widely acknowledged companies for the future. As well as sponsors, Glenn has opened some business doors and contacts for me and I’m currently working on some business propositions for the foreseeable future that could mean some very big returns. So currently more working on the future than this year, but still giving a huge amount of effort, time and money up for this year.”

“I would like to welcome onboard new sponsors: Bulldog And Drummond, Metamark and EMAGE and more to come soon…….”

“Check my website out at www.tomjacksonracing.co.uk or follow me at @TJacksonRacing”

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