Team aka’s James Jakes (Cullingworth, West Yorkshire) is the latest front-running driver to confirm his entry into next month’s Formula Renault UK Winter Championship with Michelin – and the teenager is highly confident he stands an excellent chance of winning the title.
The 17-year old, who made his single-seater debut during the 2003 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship with Team JLR, enjoyed a good season this year although he readily admits both he and his father’s Team aka outfit were disappointed not to have achieved a podium during their first season.
As runner-up in the inaugural ‘Graduate Cup’ to Canadian driver Sean McIntosh, Jakes certainly underlined his ability with a brace of fourth place finishes to his credit during round 12 at Croft Circuit and round 16 at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. He also achieved five other top 10 finishes en route to 13th position overall in the driver standings.
Speaking ahead of his second winter campaign, Jakes commented: “I suppose considering we were new to Formula Renault this year things didn’t go too badly but we were very disappointed not to have finished on the podium at some point as that was our original aim.
“I admit I made a few mistakes myself but when you look back on it, we certainly didn’t shame ourselves and we did have some good results. As far as the winter goes, I think we stand a fantastic chance of winning the championship and that will be the aim ahead of a full campaign next season.”
Jakes added: “I think it’s a realistic target for us to win the Winter Championship. We’ve been quick at Pembrey and Croft during testing and if everything goes well, and I get the best out of the car, we’ll be right up there challenging for race wins at both circuits.
“It’s been a busy year combining Formula Renault UK with Eurocup races but we’ve unlocked a few things during testing which we think will help us move forward and I’m highly confident we can put up a real challenge – we’re aiming for nothing less than the title.”
Jakes’ racing career began in the 2002 BRSCC T-Car Championship where he contested five rounds before continuing in the category throughout the following season, eventually finishing runner-up in the standings by just five points and taking seven race victories. From there he raced in the 2003 Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy before switching to Formula Renault.
For all the latest Formula Renault UK Winter Championship with Michelin news visit the official Renault UK Motorsport website www.renaultsport.co.uk built by Racecar
