Jack Drinkall’s pre-season test day at Silverstone earlier this year was used for the purpose of getting footage for the first of my many programs filmed by Skatta TV alongside getting to know the car and circuit.
The first clip is compiled as a showwheel from the day and the first program will be broadcast soon.

“This really is good to see some of the footage up and feel Skatta TV has done a brilliant job.”

With thanks to Practical Vehicle Hire of Exmouth, we travalled in luxury up to Silverstone on Thursday night and  slept in the 7 berth motorhomes they kindly let us use. We arrived in the late hours ready for Friday’s testing.

It was an early start Friday morning and after signing on with race control, we met Tricia and Zac and the rest of Skatta TV’s film crew who were there to record Jack Drinkal’s first episode. Sponsor logo’s were also placed on the car which included Mystic Adventures.

The day started of cold and windy and after the usual seat fitting and car adjustments and was not long after this that 1st practice was underway:

“It felt nice to be back in a single seater, especially nice in the Duratec Formula Ford”

1st practice went well for Jack Drinkall with him getting to grips with the car and capabilities really quickly and after a few adjustments, Jack Drinkall’s lap times around Silverstone began started dropping. Jack Drinkall performed so well that by 4th practice, he was beating the previous years qualifying times by 2 tenths, an almost impossible task in the cold and windy weather conditions. Some really good film footage was captured during the sessions with Skatta TV and Vibrant Pulse moving around the track to get different angles of the car.

“I found this car and team really enjoyable to work with, the changes made helped and worked the way I thought. I had a bit of a moment just as I was going through Cops with a Formula Renault but managed to keep on track while seeing the Renault go off. The car was predictable and I felt a part of it!”

The 1st race is Easter weekend ,so not long away. We will keep all posted prior to this event.

I would like to give a big thank you to Skatta TV, Mystic Adventures and Vibrant Pulse for there support.

Jack Drinkall is starting the season off with the first set of test days at Silverstone this weekend. He will be driving with the works Ray Sports team in the Formula Ford Duratec race car whilst filming for the first episode of the documentary being made about Jack Drinkall by Skatta TV.

This will be the first Jack Drinkall has driven a Forumla Ford Single Seat since the festival back in 2010.

“I am looking forward to getting back into the car after the time driving with team Lotus UK which was a great experience and success driving in a race version road car. This will be a great start to the season back in the single seaters.”

Trisha and Zac, directors with Skatta TV are going to be at the first test day this weekend as they are keen motorsport enthusiasts. Jack Drinkall is very grateful for the support they are giving along side Dixie Dean from Mystic Adventures who have supported Jack with Puma racewear/trackwear.

Yesterday was an exciting day for Jack Drinkall after a trip to BBC Television centre in London.

We are pleased to say that Jack Drinkall has now signed with a professional fitness and team building company Mystic Adventures prior to his commencing 2012 race season.

Dixie Dean, director at Mystic Adventures said

“I am delighted to have signed this young, up and coming rising star and really excited to work with this dedicated driver. I look forward to working with him in his future careeer to the top of the racing ladder!”

The excitment does not end there however. Jack Drinkall is also pleased to announce the launch of his new, Jack Drinkall TV channel with SkattaTV. Signed at BBC TV London yesterday. The new channel will be showcasing the struggles and strains of a young racing driver and will be following Jack Drinkall during training sessions through to race meetings over the coming year. More details will follow.

In the mean time, Jack Drinkall would like to say a huge thank you to all the support from family, friends and fans.

This was the first time Jack has raced at Snetterton and we were on a uphill battle from the start to learn the track in a short time but Jack proved his worth and came storming home in third.

Practice was in the wet on the Saturday second session which was the first time Jack had drove the Evora in the wet but the track dried out in time for qualifying that afternoon. Despite this, Jack was the quickest GT4 on the track and third quickest out of the GT3 and GT4’s in the wet, a stunning performance which shows the trust in the car and natural driving ability.

The race was on the Sunday and was a big stepping for Jack with the race lasting 2 hours meaning Jack and Olly in 1 hour stints. Fitness was a huge part in this to keep up the concentration levels to maintain consistent lap times. Jack said “Towards the end of the race, the tyres were falling away from me which made the car harder to drive and required massive concentration from me”.

The race highlights for Jack was doing superb piece of driving avoiding a GT3 Ferrari exploding in front of him with a rain of oil spreading over the track and the battle with the new Avon Tyres that were not proving to last the race distance. Jack had to battle with the tyres giving way from him caused by a hard wearing track which was proved by the canvas showing at the the race finish.

At the end of the race, the team commented that Jack did a remarkable job given the difficulties with the tyres. The team are now going to be testing with the setup and tyres before the next race at Brands Hatch.

Jack is looking forward to racing at Brands hatch as it is his favourite track, first place is not the aim. Jack is pleased to be third at Snetterton.

[View with PicLens]

2 Videos from the impressive racing at the 2011 Oulton Park British Avon GT Championship. These 2 videos show the incredible driving from Jack Drinkall in the Lotus Evora. The first video shows Jack catching the pack half a lap ahead of him after a technical issue caused him to pit.

Click here to see the Channel 4OD coverage as broadcast on Channel 4 last Saturday of the Oulton Park GT races 2011 as part of the British Avon GT Championship. I got a great interview shown and look out for me at the end of the show on the podium!

For a full write up please click here.

Due to unforeseen technical issues, the first race was somewhat of a disappointment with an electrical issue. This means that unfortunately, Jack Drinkall and Oliver Jackson posted a did not finish result.

The second race at Oulton park proved to be somewhat a success, with limited experience in the car, Jack and Oliver Jackson, came in third overall with both drivers performing well with the brand new car.

Team Lotus UK were incredibly pleased with Jack’s performance with consistent lap times and have been singing his praises with the talent this rookie driver has consistently shown.

We are all looking forward to the next round of the Avon GT4 Championship at Snetterton in May. See the rest of the race fixtures here.

Being the first time racing in the Avon GT4 championship, jack did not really know what to expect and was surprised with the amount of media attention he was given by TV crews and other media. Jack would also like to say a huge thank you to all the crowds that came over to support him and the team.

Jack would also like to say a really big thank you to Gary Alyes, the crew, the team and team mate Oliver for a fantastic first and second race in the GT4 Championship. The only thing left to do now is post a race win next month.