Peterborough race ace James Gornall from Werrington has been busily preparing for his opening race in the Formula Renault UK Championship this coming Easter weekend at Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

James who has been testing with his team JA Motorsport throughout march, following securing a sponsorship deal with Staffsmart UK, has been getting to grips with his new car for the 2004 season. His times have been steadily improving at each circuit, and at the last test at Croft, he posted times in the top 5 and was registered as the fastest car through the speed traps in a field of 35 cars.

Local Renault dealer Smiths of Peterborough, have recently painted the car for James and in the last few days, Peterborough based Isigns (Industrial Signs) have supplied all the graphics for the car, much to James’ delight. “Isigns have helped me for a number of years, from when I raced in karts, supplying graphics of a very high quality, for which I am very grateful” said James.



When asked about the impending first round of the Championship James said “I am both excited and a little nervous at the same time. We had an exceptionally good year last year, in my first year in cars, in fact winning the BARC Formula Renault Championship. This UK Championship is however a big step up. It is the most competitive and largest single- seater category in the UK attracting drivers from all over the world, some of which are already on Formula One contracts! This is the series Kimi Raikkonen won in 2000 and went straight into F1 the year after. We are aiming to compete this year on a much smaller budget than most at the moment, but hope to do well. Its not clear how far up the field we can run yet, but we will get a better feel for this after Thruxton. The cars have been upgraded this year, and they are now nearly as fast as F3 cars! It would be good to be in the top 10 straight away and build from there, but we will have to see!”
As always, James, who was the recipient of the Peter Collins memorial Trophy in February as ‘The most promising new driver in the UK’ will be aiming for a good result.



The Championship runs alongside the TOCA British Touring Cars and as a result receives massive media coverage via press and TV. James is keen to attract further sponsors, especially within Peterborough and is currently looking to attract funding for race insurance at £700 per round. Should you be interested in supporting our very own next F1 star then do contact Ian on 07889 226225 or email: jigracing@hotmail.com.