3rd November 2007


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“This is why we chose to race in the Eurocup and not in the British series, because there are some drivers out on the track today who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic!”

Following on from his recent European successes, where Jon had won his last six races in succession for SG Formula, Jon returned to the UK to join up with David Hayles and the Hitech Junior Renault team, to take part in the two venue (Donington Park and Croft) Formula Renault Winter Series.

He demonstrated his European pace on Thursday during testing by heading the time-sheets, but come timed qualifying on Saturday morning, when he had been heading for a potential front row start position, he was “deliberately” taken off the track.

“This morning was just stupid,” he said once he had returned from Race Control, where he had gone with his new team boss to chat about the antics of the Brazilian driver Buzaid. “We were just completely Fortec’d if I'm going to be honest. He just pulled over to the right-hand side of the track all the way down the back straight, and waited until I got into the braking area, when he anchored left and put me straight off the track. This guy is either half quick or in the wall, you know…

“It was amazing! I didn’t know that hugging the right-hand side down that part of the track, was the new racing line approach into the chicane? I’ve been racing all year and never realised how much quicker I could have been using that line..! Having said that, I have just looked at the data, and up to that point when he took me out, I was 3/10ths quicker up to that point than I had been on any other lap. It would have been P1, or P2 at least, no question. And I still had a few laps left to, just as the car was getting better and better.”

The incident left Jon with ‘only’ grid 12 for race 1, and grid 10 for race 2, but he was unperturbed. “I reckon it is going to be fun!” he said with a smile. “Where I start does not really bother me too much, because I am here both as a favour to Dave, but to also help him to try and promote his team for 2008. It would have been nice to have given him a couple of race wins, but it has been taken out of my hands.”

And the weather? “It doesn’t faze me at all. It’s the same for everybody. Either way though, wet or dry, I’ll be quick. The pace was easily there this morning and the car can only lap quicker, so being 10th or 12th is not representative of where I should be at all. Just so long as I do not get punted off at the first corner I should be able to make up a few places.”

As events turned out the first race did not quite go as planned when Jon’s Renault engine faltered away from the dummy grid. By the time he brought the engine back to life he was last away from his position, and rather than take back his position on grid 12, the rules dictated that he should have stayed at the back of the enormous 30+ car grid. 

His start from the green light was little short of tremendous, the Hitech car completing the opening lap in the top six, until officialdom came calling to deliver a drive-through penalty for his indiscretion. Jon duly drove through the pit-lane, re-starting last, before hauling back his opponents hand over fist in the laps remaining to climb to 17th place.

Race two should have been higher for the reasons stated, but Jon settled into grid 10 for the start, discussing where the timing beam was with his race engineer, to avoid any possibility of making a false start. And once again Jon’s start was faultless, although by not starting at the front where he belonged, his task was soon evident at the end of the first lap, when he came past in an excellent seventh place, a similar number of seconds adrift of the leader. Over 18 laps it is a gap that even the quickest driver in the race is going to have problems overcoming.

Jon nevertheless got his head down, reached fourth place, and was closing on third place for a podium position, when the flag appeared. But once again his pace was unquestioned, with a fastest lap around 2/10ths faster than his nearest rivals. The Hitech crew were pleased with their new charge’s efforts and made this clear to Jon upon hi return to the pits.

The day was not without humour though, even if Jon was seemingly so laid back he was almost horizontal. Before coming back to the UK the SG Formula crew and applied their own version of Gallic humour. Knowing that Jon was from “up north...” in the UK, being of Leeds residency, and so must be of the flat cap and whippet brigade, he had been given his very own ‘truly’ personalised pit-board, sporting a helmet-sprinting whippet! It was enough to prompt David (Hayles) and fellow Hitech colleague Martyn Pott into fits of laughter, as they played with Jon and the board back in the Hitech pit bay.

Overall, however, Jon was “happy with fourth place, especially from where I started. It was funny at one point because I came across Buzaid, who tapped the side of his helmet as if to say ’think’ as I easily overtook him and pulled away. It was quite funny really…”

The final rounds of the Winter Series races are next weekend at Croft in North Yorkshire, so it will be the shortest distance Jon will have had to drive throughout 2007. He will then be going to Macau to spectate at the prestigious F3 race, as he starts to make final plans to take part in the Euro F3 Championship in 2008.