Hawksworth Pushing For More Wins
After securing his maiden win on his ‘dream’ debut with the Atech Reid GP team, Bradford youngster Jack Hawksworth is determined not to stop there, targeting more wins in the Formula Renault UK championship.
After a relatively successful start to his first full single seater season with the Mark Burdett Motorsport team, Hawksworth made the switch to the Atech Reid GP team after Oulton Park, in a quest to push for wins.
“From having observed them during the season, I liked the way they worked and their approach to everything,” revealed Jack.
“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.
On what turned out to be a ‘dream’ weekend on his debut with his new team, Jack started the weekend by taking his first pole position in a soaking wet qualifying session, after only a limited period in the car on Friday, taking the pole by over three tenths of a second. As the race beckoned, the track tried. But this didn’t deter the 20-year-old and he took a lights to flag victory, leading hope team-mate Tio Ellinas, and taking the fastest lap in the process.
“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,”
“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.
“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.
“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.”
After the high for the pole and race win, Race Two was somewhat of a disappointment for Hawksworth. After placing his car in fifth in qualifying round ten of the championship would take place in mixed conditions on Saturday afternoon. After initially running strong, Hawksworth later span and did not finish, but this hasn’t dampened his spirits after a hugely encouraging weekend.
“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 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 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.”
Formula Renault UK now heads to Snetterton and Hawksworth hopes to carry the momentum from his debut weekend with Atech Reid GP and challenge for further honours.
“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.”
Mike Trusler
