James Tucker Racing

After the disappointment of the RPM Scholarship not ‘paying up’ for a full Year in Formula Renault UK, the UK’s premier junior rank of motorsport.

I managed to secure a last minuet deal with long-term sponsors Superseal.co.uk and BgPrinters.co.uk to enter into the furious stock car scene.

I will be running and preparing my own car #263, the number my Grandfather, Nigel Bailey, raced in National Hot rods in the late 60s early 70s, in the Rebels Racing Championship. Where all competitors run the same cars to make for close racing, to further to the spectacle the highest ranked drivers in the championship start at the back and contact is allowed. This leads to plenty of spills and thrills for the spectators across the 26 race meetings from various short circuit ovals, including Hendsford Hills Raceway and Birmingham Wheels Raceway. 

Burntwood racing driver James Tucker tried something different as he made his stock car racing debut at Northampton International Raceway on Sunday 3rd April.

The 22-year old swapped his regular Formula Ford single seater for an 850cc Rebels Racing car in order to gain experience for a possible move onto the short oval raceways for the 2011 season. Starting his hired car at the back of a big grid of around 25 of the small but spectacular Reliant-powered machines, James predicted he would find the going tough and was soon involved in a back straight tangle as he tried to move up the order in his first heat.

The second heat ran better and again starting at the back he was able to move through to finish a fine 15th, ahead of several experienced Rebels drivers. This result moved him a little further up the grid for the main event of the day, the Midland Championship, but sadly a broken wheel bearing curtailed his progress early on.

James still enjoyed his first short oval experience hugely and hopes to race on the ovals again soon as he tries to raise the budget needed for another season on the circuits having won the inaugural Revolution Performance Motorsport scholarship over the winter.

He will be back out in another Rebel at Northampton on Monday April 25th.

Report courtesy of Dave Goddard.

A Quick Post New Year Update

With the increasing exposure of myself through the racing season the Porsche Human Performance Center chose me to help with the filming for a selection of their promotional videos, which are played in Porsche show rooms across the UK, as well as their websites and promotional DVDs. The Porsche Human Performance Center is the UK’s top training facility for motorsport, with clients such as Formula One’s Mark Webber. In return for my help Porsche have given me one to one training sessions at Whittlebury Hall and a personal training plan, to keep me in peak physical condition for motorsport.

BESs

For the second year in a row I was invited to compete in the Racing4Charity’s David Brabhams Celebrity Karting Challenge, raising money for the charity Starlight. This year I was selected to race for the Aston Martin Racing team, with three Aston Martin Works drivers. I was chosen to do the final stint in the kart overtaking 20 karts, to finish 6th in the race and setting a lap time only 2 hundredths off the fastest lap of the whole event.

Photo by Mike Hoyer - Jakob Ebrey Photography

Hi,

I know everyone think that the racing season ends in October and doesn’t start until April, but as a driver the season starts in October the day after the final race!

So for the last few months although I haven’t been busy racing cars, I have still been busy. Over the winter is where your plans for the next season are set, what class to race in, who with, how and for others winter testing has already started in preparation for next season! Not to mention keeping yourself in the gym so you’re race ready.

For me my main focus has been on sponsor searching, as with any young driver; no budget means no race. Along side that I have been setting my plans down, with another year in Formula Ford being my favored route for next year with a slim possibility of other options.

When I know more I will let you all know, but until then I whish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

James

On November 6th and 7th, I will be competing in the Walter Hayes Trophy. 

This is a huge meeting with over 100 competitors already entered with time still left for more competitors to give it a go.

As you can imagine I am very excited to be racing in a meeting with such a large number of competitors and depth of field, with having Formula 3 race winners and champions,  for me to pitch my skills agains.

I am racing in the National College for Motorsport's 1992 Van Diemen RF92, car previously raced by GP3 racer Josef Newgarden, who brought the car home in 6th place. The car will be prepared and ran by the students at the college. Although it is still a Formula Ford, it is to different specifications to the car I have been racing this year (old specifications) running a less powerful engine and different multi purpose tyres. Where the car I ran this year ran Slicks or wets depending on the weather conditions. So i have a fair bit to learn about the car in practice, which is always fun.

My first test in the car will be this coming Thursday. So untill then I will be clock watching like an excited child waiting for christmas.

August Bank Holiday I raced at the blustery Norfolk circuit, Snetterton.

Aim going into the weekend was to qualify in higher than I had before and finish higher in the races than I had before.

Anyone that knows Snetterton will understand how important slipstreaming is to qualify well, as there is one huge straight. Due to this we (the JTR team) decided it was best to work as a team, toeing each other round to set our fast laps, however this meant you had to give up 2 laps for 1 quick lap. This didn’t work well for me, with me making mistakes on what should have been my quick laps, I think the pressure got to me. Nearing the end of the session I miss judged my braking into the Esses causing me to run wide on the exit and losing 5 seconds and the slipstream effect from my teammates. I thought that was it my qualifying over, but I pushed on regardless. Somehow this seemed to benefit me, maybe as the pressure was off, and I managed to slowly put faster and faster laps in. As the chequered flag dropped for the end of qualifying I had got up to 7th, my best qualifying of the year so far.

Race 1 came along with the rain. This made an interesting opener to the race, as although there had been wet testing it was only ever damp and drying, not fully wet. Even on the green flag lap a front-runner, Antti Buri, spun off down the start finish straight and into the Armco, putting him out of the race. As the race started I only managed to keep my position unsure of the conditions, with the 2nd year drivers much more confident in these conditions. However as the race went on I gained confidence and closed down on the front pack making a pass for 5th, on the penultimate lap, diving around the outside on the brakes into the Esses, however the move open the gap back up to the next car halting my progress. This equaled my best race finish to date, going all the way back to the 1st round at Oulton Park.

The track had dried when it came to race 2 with me starting 9th on the grid. Straight from the off I was stuck in a 10 car battle for the lead with no one being able to make a break. This continued in the opening laps, until lap 3 when a clumsy attempt by Josh Hill, where he ht my rear wheel flinging him up into the air and out of the race, damaged my suspension. This made the car unpredictable and different round every corner, consequently I dropped of the leading pack managing just to hold my position. Lap 7 and lightning stroke twice as I picked up a puncture from the debris left from Hill’s crash. This forced me to bring the car into the pits for a tyre change. I went back out a lap down but managed on my own to set the 5th fastest lap of the race despite being on my own, with no slipstream effect, and bent suspension wishbone and push rod.

Even with the bad luck of race 2 I still achieved my aims and I am very much looking forward to the race this weekend at Brands Hatch, supporting DTM.

I would like to thank the team, JTR and also my sponsors; Superseal, BG Printers, Mobile Telephone Services and Sue-Sew for all their help and support.

Hi everyone,

I know it has been over a week since the race meeting at Silverstone, on the 14th and 15th of August, but this has been the first chance I have had to sit down and write up a blog.

My aim going into the weekend was to qualify in the top 10 for all 3 races and have 3 top 10 finishes.

Qualifying started very well with me running in the top 6 for the first 3 flying laps, but as the session progressed people started toeing each other around down hanger straight, this gave them around a 3 tenth of a second advantage. As this happened I dropped down to 9th quickest by the end of the session, with 3 very consistent laps, this gave me 2 9th place qualifications and 1 8th. This was my highest qualification so far this year; with all being in the top 10 my first aim was complete.

Race 1 was perfect conditions for me, with a damp track that was to dry for wets. Due to my confidence in these condition, from practice in similar on the Thursday test sessions, I called slicks very early in the assembly area, leaving many other drivers panicking about tyre choice right up to the formation lap. This perhaps meant I was a lot calmer than the other drivers at the start and I capitalised on this by driving through from 9th to 4th on the 1st lap. A few laps later and I had passed Josh Hill, at Abby for 3rd and pulled an advantage. Unfortunately, just 2 laps from the end of the race, the conditions that gave me this opportunity for my first podium caught me out, at Vale I slid wide onto a damp patch causing me to go wide onto the wet astro turf at Club instantly diminishing my gap and I was swallowed up by the pack, dropping back down to 6th.

Race 2 never really got going due to an early safety car that took up over half of the race. I had managed to get up to 7th before the safety car period, but an error on the restart caused me to drop 3 places into 10th.

Finally it was here Race 3, my highest ever grid position. I got a great start from the inside of the grid, the slippy side; this allowed me to gain 2 places straight away. At the end of the 1st lap the safety car boards had been put out due to a first corner incident. The restart and straight away Emi Bernstorff, Silverstone lap record holder, made his way past me followed by Finish driver Anti Burri. The race for me was very much a case of follow the leader from then on for me until the last lap. On the last lap the pack was split by contact between the 2 championship leaders, I thought this was my time to strike but I was only able to re pass Burri into Bridge, however investigation into the last lap are still on going.

This meant that I had achieved my 2 goals, with 9,9,8 in Qualifying and 6th, 7th, 10th in the races.

This is the first time I have done this so please tell me what you think.

Hi everyone, Just back from my first race meeting, in a Mygale chassis, at Rockingham Speedway, in Northampton. Which to my surprise stayed dry, for my time on the track, with all the weather forecasts prior to the weekend showing rain.

My aim going into the weekend was to finish qualifying in the top 10 and have two top 10 finishes.

I had a hard qualifying session, with a red flag causing a pause to my progress as I settled into the session; at this point I was running 14th. However when the session was restarted I managed to claw some more speed out of the car and up until the last lap was running 10th, being beaten back into 11th by just 1 thousandth of a second. At the end of qualifying I was 11th for race 1 and 9th for race 2, which I was happy with as I felt that averaged out to reach my goal.

I made a poor start on Race 1 from 11th on the grid, due to never making a practice start in the Mygale, as it uses a different clutch system to the Van Diemen, this left me in 12th by the end of the first lap. I then spent the majority of the race fighting, with the likes of, Josh Hill down, son of World Champion Damon Hill, and Nathan Freke, the 2006 MSA Formula Ford Champion. I finished the race despite the fighting still in 12th, which disappointed me, but really showed me the importance of a good start.

Race 2 and this time I made a much better start, with me not losing nor gaining any places. After fighting for several laps, the pack settled down into an order with me up to 8th. I spent the remainder of the race Chasing Down Josh Hill once more, but never making any headway, as when I managed to up my pace so did he constantly maintaining the gap.

This meant that I had kind of achieved my goals, in one way or another, and had learnt about this different chassis and how it should be driven. I would like to thank the team, JTR and also my sponsors; Superseal, BG Printers, Mobile Telephone Services and Sue-Sew for all their help and support.

It's been confirmed.

After a great test last Friday where I ended the day only a couple of tenths off the pace of the championship leader. I will be racing at Rockingham in the JTR team in a Mygale Chassis. 

The Rockingham circuit is held in an american styled oval, with an in field section, similar to that of the old Indianapolis Formula 1 circuit, boasting a 140mph banked first corner.

So if you are around please don't hesitate to come over and say hi.

Here is a quick video from the Rockingham test its not great but hey have a look.