00:00 And I'm joined by Jake now. Jake, thank you very much for being here with us. Welcome on to the
00:04 programme. First of all, let's look back to the first round of the British Touring Car Championship
00:08 season. Two podiums for yourself at Donington. Brilliant start. Absolutely. You know, it's
00:15 always a challenge racing at the highest level in British Touring Cars and you never really know
00:21 what sort of package you're going to have until you get to round one. You know, there's lots of
00:26 variables. You don't know what other teams have been up to, what other drivers have been up to in
00:30 the off-season and what sort of strides forward they have made. But we were fairly confident in
00:35 our package at Laser Tools Racing and, you know, it proved to be a good one. You know, we ended up
00:42 with two third place finishes and a fifth place in the reverse grid draw. So, yeah, overall,
00:47 I'm extremely happy with how the first round went. And you mentioned the variables there. One of them
00:53 was, of course, the rain. It kind of sent the weekend into a bit of a rearrangement. What's
00:56 that like for you as a driver when you're ready to go but then plans get changed at the last minute?
01:01 Yeah, it's actually the first time we've had or I've had such a delay, you know, in my time in
01:08 British Touring Cars. I mean, you know, wow, we didn't get going until sort of half one and normally
01:12 the first race is at around 11, which I know doesn't sound a massive difference, but we were
01:17 the first race, you know, whereas normally there's lots of races all starting from 9am. So it was an
01:23 awful lot of rain. A huge thank you to all the fans that attended and all of our partners because,
01:29 you know, it could have been a very easy excuse to stay at home. But I'm glad everyone came out
01:35 and, you know, we managed to put on a good show for everyone. That was the main thing. But
01:38 it definitely, you know, upset the day in terms of rhythm. Normally you have a set time in between
01:45 races to get yourself prepared, you know, even silly little things like eat and drink the right
01:50 stuff, talk to partners. And unfortunately, you know, all of that sort of went out the window
01:56 a little bit and we had to just go and do it on the fly. So, but still, we were good, we were
02:01 prepared. And like I say, you know, we came away with three strong results. Absolutely.
02:05 Brands Hatch next, of course, back to your home Kent circuit. What's it like coming back to Kent?
02:11 Obviously, last time out at Brands Hatch was the season finale and you got to win.
02:16 I did. Yeah, I won the last round, round 30. And, you know, finally my first win
02:21 on the GP circuit at Brands Hatch in a touring car. So I'd won there in my lower categories,
02:28 but it was a fantastic end to what was a good season last year. But I'm extremely excited to
02:34 go back to the Indy circuit. You know, as you say, it's my home circuit. I'm a Kent boy through and
02:39 through and I absolutely love it there, you know. So I'm really, really excited to see how we get on.
02:44 We're making big strides again with the car. Donington was an amazing learning curve for us
02:48 with effectively our new 3 Series BMW. And I'm super excited to get to Brands now. Can't wait.
02:56 I wanted to ask about the car actually, because it's your third season in the BMW
03:00 and it's brought you some real success. I mean, third in both of the previous seasons.
03:04 How do you feel about, what was the potential of converting that into your first championship?
03:10 Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's always the aim, you know, I mean, to be honest,
03:14 especially since we've driven for BMW. Yeah, that was one of the big reasons for moving to BMW,
03:19 simply because it gave me the opportunity to potentially win a championship. And,
03:23 you know, for the last two years, I've finished in third place in the championship, which is
03:27 obviously pretty strong, but we want to go one step further and try and win this thing once
03:31 and for all. So hopefully we can, as I say, Team BMW and BMW UK themselves have put a lot,
03:38 a lot of effort into this year's car. We've got a new engine, we've got massive chassis upgrades,
03:44 and we've got a complete sort of aero/facelift going on with our 3 Series BMW bodywork as well.
03:50 So there's a lot of changes with the car. It really does feel like a new car and that's why
03:56 we're still sort of learning it. But I must say, something straight out of the box, it's pretty
04:00 good. And as is such the life of a racing driver, it's not just the BMW you've been riding recently,
04:07 you were also at Goodwood a few weeks ago riding that Mustang. What was that experience like?
04:12 Yeah, returning to Goodwood members meeting, it truly is my favourite historic racing meeting
04:18 that I do. You know, I have such a big career now in historic racing, it's not just British
04:23 touring cars. And I always love being invited and going back to Goodwood. It's such a pleasure.
04:28 The circuit is beautiful. Everything about the event is amazing. And this year we were
04:32 lucky enough to drive a 1966 Mustang in the All Mustang race, which was just an absolute blast.
04:39 There were some amazing drivers in it. And obviously the cars are pretty cool themselves.
04:43 And I also returned into my Jitan Ford Capri as well, my 3-litre Capri. So yeah, overall,
04:51 it was a fantastic weekend and we managed to score a third place with the Mustang as well. So
04:57 another fantastic start. And just to go off track slightly, since last season,
05:02 you and your partner have had a baby. You're now a dad. What's that life treating you like?
05:06 It's fantastic. I mean, I'm sure everyone who's had children always say it's the best thing that
05:14 happens to you. There is a slight sleep deprivation, I must say, for the first few
05:19 months. But we're getting over it. And yeah, it's a real joy. I love having him at the races. He
05:24 came to Goodwood and to Donington for the first round of touring cars. And it's really special
05:30 to have him there and to have your family there now. It's an amazing feeling, really. But yeah,
05:35 overall, me and Hannah are well and little baby Jude is great. So yeah, I can't complain, really.
05:41 Life's pretty good. No, it's good stuff. Now, we'll wrap up in just a second. But I just wanted
05:46 to ask, when you think about your career, it's your 11th season in the BTC now. Do you see
05:51 yourself kind of looking back more or looking forward into the future more?
05:56 Definitely still looking forward. I mean, I've had an amazing career so far. I mean,
06:02 I've been doing it, best part of 14, 15 years now racing cars. So for sure, my career is quite long
06:09 already. But I still feel like I'm absolutely in the prime. And also, there's so many really good
06:16 things to look forward to. I mean, hopefully, trying to win a championship in the British
06:20 Touring Cars is obviously rule number one and goal number one to try and achieve. But I'd love
06:25 to go and do some sports car racing and try and get into endurance racing in the future.
06:29 But for now, I'm extremely happy with touring cars and there's still a lot of life left.
06:34 Good stuff. And we look forward to celebrating it all here on the program. Thank you very much
06:38 for joining me, Jake, and best of luck with the rest of the season.
06:40 Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Comments