Jack Hawksworth had arguably already done enough to cement his reputation as a star-in-the-making with pole position and a brace of front-running performances on his car racing debut in the 2010 Formula Renault UK Winter Series at Snetterton – but three further poles and a clutch of podium finishes in the second and final outing at Pembrey inarguably marked him out as one of the favourites for British title glory in 2011.
Having left observers’ mouths agape with his sheer pace and prowess at Snetterton – belying his complete lack of prior experience in single-seaters, unlike the majority of his adversaries – Jack travelled to Pembrey in South Wales vowing to be more aggressive in the races and to achieve the kind of results his potential clearly merited. He would not disappoint – and a sublime double pole position in a wet-but-drying qualifying session on Saturday was an excellent start.
“I had no aims as such,” the highly-rated young Bradford speed demon confessed. “I just wanted to learn a bit more and gain some further experience, and after qualifying so well at Snetterton, I wanted to make sure my racing was a bit better at Pembrey – something that I can take into next year. I knew we would be quick and would have a decent chance of being near the front in qualifying because the car was really good, but I didn’t expect to get pole again – that was a bit surreal. It was unbelievable – we were just over-the-moon with that!
“The track was drying throughout the day, and by the time of the first race, whilst the left hand-side – where the even-numbered grid positions are – was completely dry, unfortunately the right hand-side was still wet. That made it really tricky for me at the start – the slippery conditions on the inside line made it very difficult to minimise the wheelspin. The drivers on the other side of the grid got away cleaner, and I was third into the first corner, which I actually wasn’t too disappointed about because it could have been a lot worse.
“After that, I think it was just about the craziest race I’ve ever been in! We did two laps and then the safety car came out, and then another three racing laps before it was red-flagged. I took the re-start from third and didn’t really have the pace to challenge the top two after that, but I just settled into a rhythm and established quite a decent gap back to fourth, so I always felt comfortable. It was my first podium in cars, which was definitely something I had never expected to do in only my second-ever meeting!”
Race two was looking set for an even brighter outcome as Jack composedly led the first ten laps, maturely keeping his head under pressure and once more looking every inch the seasoned car racing veteran until a clout from behind at mid-distance sent the Cullingworth ace into a spin and left him a frustrated and entirely unrepresentative tenth at the chequered flag, musing that ‘it was a real shame, because I felt confident in my pace and we could definitely have had another podium’.
A brief scare in Sunday’s qualifying session saw Jack languishing all the way down in 14th place – “I had literally just gone out and was building myself up to set a quick time when they red-flagged the session,” he explained – and under significant pressure to pull a lap out-of-the-bag with only five minutes remaining once it had re-started. That he did so to make it an incredible four pole positions from six races spoke volumes.
“I knew I had to get the job done pretty quickly,” he recounted, “so I went out of the pits straightaway and made sure I found myself some space on the track and then just set a perfect lap. I kept seeing ‘P1’ on my pit board every time I went past after that and I was thinking, ‘how is this possible?!’ I would never have believed we’d be on pole so many times – it’s just crazy!
“Unfortunately, that side of the grid was wet again for the race and Richie Stanaway got past me at the start, but I just managed to keep Josh Hill behind. Josh was quite threatening over the first half, but I knew I had a good balance in the car so I was feeling confident and more concerned about trying to catch Richie in the lead.
“As I needed to make up ground, I think I was maybe a bit more forceful in making my way through the traffic in the closing stages than he was – that was my opportunity, and I knew I had to take it. I got really close at the end, but I was still extremely happy to finish second – it was probably the best race I’ve driven in cars so far, because I was consistent and felt like I didn’t make many mistakes.”
His second rostrum finish in as many days, Jack’s decisiveness in traffic – not something he has any great experience of from karting – was eye-catching indeed, and had he only been on the better line at the start, it may well have been him spraying the victory champagne instead.
Unfortunately, in the excitement of having set pole position again in qualifying, the 19-year-old had made the mistake of forgetting he needed to produce a second quick lap time for race two, meaning he ended up a lowly tenth on the grid – but a supremely bold and gutsy start swiftly elevated him into more accustomed territory.
“I just wanted to go out there and enjoy myself,” he reflected. “We’d already had a good weekend, so I saw the last race as an opportunity to get some wheel-to-wheel experience – I’ve not had too much of that in cars yet to be honest, because I’ve always been starting near to the front!
“I managed to gain three places around the outside into the first corner, which put me seventh. It was really slippery initially, but the track gradually dried and got quicker-and-quicker as more grip became available. That made it all about having the confidence to push the car a little bit harder every lap, without pushing over-the-limit and spinning.”
It was a tricky balancing-act that Jack managed to perfection, passing several of his adversaries with some brave moves in the treacherous conditions and going on to chase down the top two in the championship – Alex Lynn and Ollie Millroy – overcoming the latter for sixth place on the penultimate lap and being very close to demoting the former for P5 when the chequered flag fell.
“It was good fun to be putting some moves on more experienced drivers,” he acknowledged. “It was definitely good to get one over on Ollie when you consider all the experience he has – and to send a warning his way for next year! It was just great to end the weekend with such an exciting race. I really felt like I was racing at the same level as the other guys and my overtaking was good – I didn’t feel out-classed at all. At Snetterton, I just hadn’t had the confidence to throw my car down the inside of somebody, but now I can do that.”
What’s more, the result secured Jack a magnificent third in the final championship standings, a truly phenomenal achievement having entered the series as a comparative unknown. With an average qualifying position of 2.7 – by some margin, the best of any of his competitors – and having challenged for the podium in five of his six races, the Yorkshire hotshot looked like he had been doing it for years, not barely a fortnight. With palpably no fear of reputations, to be regularly taking the fight to – and beating – drivers with up to three years’ more experience in cars than he has, is nothing short of extraordinary.
“It’s just amazing!” he enthused. “It couldn’t have gone any better – if somebody had offered me that two weeks ago, I would definitely have taken it! The whole experience of racing in the Winter Series has done me the world of good – it’s given me a lot of confidence. I treated it as a learning curve because the other guys out there are the best young drivers around in car racing – but it’s all serving to motivate me for next year.
“Before this, I was debating whether to do Formula Renault UK or the older BARC class in 2011, but the kind of results we’ve had mean the decision isn’t really that difficult now, so I’ll just try to learn as much as possible over the winter and will be a lot stronger for next season to be able to go for the title – that’s the target!”
On the evidence of what he has displayed so far, who would bet against him, but one final thing he is keen to point out is just how much of a role his team, Mark Burdett Motorsport, has played in his progress to-date – and with his ultra-experienced engineer Andy Miller affirming that ‘the most important thing is, Jack listens and takes everything in’, that appreciation is clearly mutual.
“It’s a great team and I’m really happy there – you can’t fault them,” underlined the former Trofeo Margutti and Kartmasters winner. “Andy, the driver coach Robbie Kerr and all the guys have been fantastic – they’re the real key to my success, because I’m able to learn so much from them. It might not be the biggest team in the paddock, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the best. It’s a really good environment, everyone gets along, they’ve all got so much knowledge and they want to win as much as I do!”
“Jack has excelled,” adds team principal Burdett. “He’s still on a very steep learning curve, of course, but for a complete car racing novice, his results speak for themselves. We’re very impressed with him, and he has a lot of potential for next year. His qualifying record proves his speed, he has achieved two podiums and in the last race at Pembrey he showed that he can overtake and compete with the best.
“He’s gaining experience all the time and improving with every session he gets in the car – he’s working very well with the team, and it’s all going in the right direction. To finish third overall is absolutely fantastic. He’s looking in very good shape and with a proper winter testing programme behind him, I have no doubt that Jack can go for the championship next year.”
