with breakthrough Formula Renault car victory at Croft
Jack Hawksworth enjoyed what he described as an ‘absolute dream’ debut with his new team in the fifth outing of the 2011 Formula Renault UK Championship on ‘home’ turf at Croft, by storming to his breakthrough car racing victory – a result that he admitted left him feeling somewhat ‘overcome’.
Off the back of a relatively successful start to his maiden full campaign of car racing competition with Mark Burdett Motorsport – claiming a brace of podium finishes from the opening eight races – Jack switched camps to Atech Reid GP following Oulton Park, with his primary motivation stemming from the desire to have a fast, experienced Formula Renault UK front-runner to gauge himself against inside the same team.
“From having observed them during the season, I liked the way they worked and their approach to everything,” revealed the highly-rated young Bradford-based speed demon, palpably impressed by Atech Reid GP’s facilities and professionalism. “They had been consistently up there and on the pace right from the opening round, and the main thing really was having the opportunity to measure myself against Tio Ellinas.
“My team-mate at Mark Burdett was a quick guy, but he didn’t have the experience in Formula Renault, whereas Tio is quick and does have the experience – on average, he’s been the championship leader’s closest competitor this year. When there are two drivers always at the front, you can push each other along and learn and improve from each other; one of you might be doing something better in one corner, the other in another.
“There were a few nerves on Friday at Croft – I knew a lot of people were questioning my move and that if I didn’t pull it off, that was me effectively done-and-dusted – but in general, I settled into the team pretty quickly, I think. They’re a really good bunch of lads at Atech Reid GP.
“During practice, it was just really a case of getting to know everyone’s names and how they all worked. It took me probably the first day to get my head around everything and there were inevitably some small teething issues with a car that hadn’t been run for quite a while – but once we had ironed them out, we managed to improve its performance and when we all got onto the same page in terms of working together, we felt ready for the next day.”
Whilst Croft – a tight, twisty and technical track close to Darlington in North Yorkshire – may be Jack’s ‘local’ circuit of sorts, it is far from his favourite, but still that did not prevent him from utterly dominating a wet opening qualifying session in which car control and raw talent truly came to the fore to claim a superb pole position, his first of 2011 and a crucial advantage given the difficulty of overtaking in Formula Renault UK.
Laying down a marker early on in the session, the Cullingworth-based hotshot then went and lowered the benchmark again to put pole beyond doubt, and praising a ‘perfect’ car, he felt he could have gone even faster still. Unwilling to count his chickens too soon after similarly looking to be on-course for the top spot at Oulton Park only to be pipped by just a few hundredths of a second right at the close, this time Jack would not be denied, as none of his rivals could get to within a third-of-a-second of his scintillating effort.
“It was dry for race one, but I wasn’t worried as I knew I had track position and a decent car underneath me, so it was all about making sure I kept my head and got the job done,” he maturely reasoned. “I’ve got a lot of experience in racing and I knew I was on top form, so I wasn’t really fazed by any of it – it was up to the others to take the risk to try to pass me.
“I got an absolutely storming start off the line, and Tio leapfrogged Alex Lynn to move into second. I was under a little bit of pressure through the opening corners, but I managed to keep it all under control. The car felt awesome, and over the first few laps, I was able to build up a small gap back to Tio and I felt like I was dictating the pace.
“It did get a little more difficult over the second half of the race, as I picked up a bit of understeer when the tyres went away. That enabled Tio to close in again towards the end, but it’s so hard to overtake in these cars, and I just had to concentrate on not making any mistakes and making sure I got good exits from the corners.
“I was nervous for the last few laps – I kept wanting the pit board to say just one to go – and when I came across the line, it was a sense of relief more than anything. I worked so hard for this season and set my targets high; I had wanted to get the win earlier than this, but to finally take that step from podium-challenger to race-winner was a huge boost and lifted the pressure off my shoulders instantly.
“It was definitely a risk pitching myself against Tio the way I have done, but it was great to be able to pinpoint myself as one of the strongest drivers in the championship. I was a bit overcome with it all up on the podium – it felt brilliant! I couldn’t have asked for a better debut with Atech Reid GP than getting pole by almost a third of a second and then winning my first race with the team, with Tio making it a one-two. The guys were all over-the-moon – they did a great job and they deserved the result. It was just perfect – an absolute dream start.”
That it indubitably was, and the victory – in only Jack’s 15th car race – established the 20-year-old as one of just three drivers to have triumphed in Formula Renault UK this year, with fastest lap making it even sweeter. Unfortunately, traffic issues and a touch of unexpected understeer scuppered his efforts to make it two pole positions out of two in the second qualifying session, but convinced he still had the pace to challenge right at the front, he set his sights on a rostrum finish from sixth on the grid.
“I got a good start to move up to fourth by the first corner, but then I caught a damp patch coming out of the chicane and ran wide onto the grass, which dropped me back to sixth,” recounted the former national and international karting star. “I had to be quite brave in my defence to not lose another position, but our pace was really good after that.
“I got up to third, and then the rain began to fall and the conditions worsened. I was so much quicker than the driver in second – I was actually lapping the fastest of anyone at the time – and I was pushing like hell to try and catch him, but then I made a fatal error at the chicane, hit the kerb and the suspension collapsed. It was a bad mistake and I won’t be making it again – I was just pushing too hard for the conditions because I was so determined to get second place.
“Looking back now, I should have settled for third, but hindsight is a great thing – and it’s difficult to tell yourself to calm down when you’re out there on-track and rapidly closing in on the driver ahead! I felt like I could definitely have had a go at him. I was disappointed with myself for making that mistake – I want to be the perfect driver and not put a foot wrong anywhere – but otherwise, it was a really good weekend.”
That much is indisputable, and Jack was in fairness one of many to get caught out by the elements in what he conceded was an ‘absolutely crazy race’. The second-fastest lap time – beaten only by the winner – was further evidence of his potential, and the Yorkshire ace now heads into the summer break sitting fourth in the title standings, just ten points adrift of third place and – on dropped scores – 37 shy of second. Better still, next up is Snetterton, scene of his car racing debut last November – and an outstanding pole position first time out.
“I had been treating Croft just as a gelling weekend with the team, to be honest,” he confessed, “so that we could go into the seven-week summer break and return at Snetterton in-shape to really hit the ground running and start winning some races – but it ended up being a massive success. It was a bit of a surprise to win so soon, obviously, but credit to everyone involved, and also to Mark Burdett Motorsport – I couldn’t have done it without all the knowledge I gained with them in the Winter Series and over the first four rounds of the season.
“I’ve settled in nicely and I feel really comfortable at Atech Reid GP already, and we’re all working together well. We’re only going to get stronger-and-stronger, and now I feel we can go to Snetterton and continue this form and keep on going for wins.”
