Tom Jackson netted two top ten finishes at his home track in the latest round of the Formula Four Championship at the weekend.
It represents another positive weekend for the young racing driver who is racing in a single seater series for the very first time this season, and shows just how much progress he has made in such a short space of time.
Speaking exclusively to Kent Sports News after the racing concluded at Brands Hatch, Tom said: “It is definitely a positive step especially with my family here at my home race. It is certainly good for the championship as I think I have climbed up another place.
“My aim at the start of the season was to get consistent top ten finishes and over the last three rounds I have been consistently getting those finishes. I am going in the right direction and I am looking to improve it and move into the top eight and top six sixes.”
The two races at Brands Hatch saw him mixing it with the likes of Will Palmer and Sennan Fielding and more than holding his own against them.
He added: “In the last couple of rounds I have been handed a few places by keeping the car on the track, obviously I have still had to work hard for it.
“This weekend I have had to grit my teeth and really fight for every position, and hold off some of the front running guys like Will and Sennan. I had to show them that I am not a walkover and that I would defend my positions.”
In the final race of the weekend Tom went into the final lap in 13th place but finished the race in tenth place, and he was the beneficiary of an incident as he explains.
“There was an incident at Hawthornes between Palmer and Lima which is a very quick corner to go off on, and I hope they are ok. I think Mayer got a bit distracted by that and I was just able to get my nose in front and hold the position and bring it home in tenth.”
There are two rounds left in the season and Tom is hoping that he can push on and challenge for top five finishes as he has experience of the tracks in question.
He said: “I will be looking to finish in solid top tens, but in qualifying I need to push to be in the top six, I have the pace I just need to hook the lap up. I would also really like a podium now, so I will be looking at trying to achieve that in the next two rounds.
“Snetterton we have already raced there so I should hopefully be able to go well round there and Donington we did a winter test. I am looking forward to it and hopefully I can be consistent in finishing in the top ten and on the podium.”
Qualifying is always a bit of a challenge and hooking up that perfect lap is easier said than done and it is something Tom is targeting to work on.
He added: “When you are in a junior formula like this, it is about getting that experience for when you get into the higher categories you can get that one lap. At the moment it is keep driving as fast as you can until the session ends. Hooking one of those laps up is an area that I need to work on and if I get that down then lap times will come down and qualifying will improve as a result.
“I think that the qualifying can change your whole weekend and if I can get a good qualifying position then I can have a great weekend from there.”
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