Rebecca Jackon on her life in motorsport
Rebecca Jackon on her life in motorsport
Entrepreneur. Racing driver. Journalist. For many of us, landing just one of these jobs would be a dream come true. But Rebecca Jackson proves that once you’ve begun to realise your ambitions, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.
She splices her time between running her business, RJ Prestige Cars, writing for The Telegraph and racing seriously fast cars – which she confesses is where her true passion will always lie.
Rebecca grew up surrounded by cars – even as a baby, her father brought her to the racing circuit in her pram when he raced in the Birkett 6-hour Relay Race at Silverstone. You can’t help wondering just how much influence that early exposure to the intense trackside atmosphere had.
‘I didn’t come up through the traditional Karting ranks’ she explained. ‘I did grass track racing, autotests and track days, but I was itching to be a proper racing driver and go circuit racing.’
Rebecca also went to university to study business, going on to establish her own car sales business. To make it a success, she had to know her stuff, so bought guides for how to shop for a used car, educating herself about how to identify flaws and issues.
Showing her marketing savvy, Rebecca began to create and present video reviews of her cars on YouTube. Her enterprise didn’t go unnoticed – she was discovered by AutoExpress, and went on to present their CarBuyer videos for two and a half years.
But all the while, she was impatient to get into the driving seat. So she worked hard in her business, bought a 35-year-old Porsche 924 and went club racing. ‘The 924 was a great little car to drive, but it wasn’t very pretty.’
But looks aren’t everything; she proved herself in it, achieving five podiums and a race win in her second season of club racing. ‘And that was in torrential rain’ she adds.
It was in 2013 that she first established Project Le Mans, her four-year plan to get to ‘arguably the most prestigious racing event in the world.’ But to secure sponsorship, she had to be proactive.
‘I pitched to anybody and everybody who would listen. I set up meetings, I cold-called stands, and raised £15,000 of parts to turn a road-going Boxster into a race car.’
She embraced the power of social media to get exposure, too, explaining, ‘I got the project into The Sun newspaper by chatting them up on Twitter.’
In her second year of the project, she attracted her first cash sponsor. Then, household name Turtlewax came along, offering her three years of support.
‘There’s so much business in racing’, she advises, ‘if you can deliver on what you’ve promised, they’re [sponsors] more likely to work with you again.’
The following year, Rebecca raced a Porsche 911 in the GT Cup. ‘Each year was a step up in driver development, media exposure and sponsorship.’
In her last year of Project Le Mans, Rebecca raced a KTM all over Europe in the European GT Series. An opportunity came her way to compete in the Road to Le Mans support race.
‘I went to the Paul Ricard circuit to test it in a V2V race before racing it at Le Mans. I remember walking into that garage and seeing this incredible machine and thinking: “Wow – it’s little me that’s going to drive that!”’
‘And after they made my seat and I’m driving down the pit lane and onto the circuit, my heart rate goes down. I’m wildly in my comfort zone in a racing car – it’s my natural habitat. So I thoroughly enjoyed it, raced at Le Mans, fulfilled my dream and hope that it inspires other people to follow theirs.’
Dare to be Different is an initiative designed to help make careers in motorsport and the wider automotive industry accessible to girls and women of all ages. A series of events take place throughout the year, creating opportunities for girls to connect with industry leaders like Rebecca and be inspired.
