You know the type of person you are about to meet when they step out of a black BMW M3, further accentuated by the fact it was equipped with a racing spoiler. However an even more distinct bell goes off when that BMW M3 was manufactured for the specific purpose of meeting racing organizers homologation requirements to allow a car to compete in the European touring car series.
So was the case today when I met Mr. James Thomas, an ex-patriot from the Jaguar Formula 1 racing team. During his time with Jaguar Mr. Thomas traversed the globe meeting with and aiding journalist on behalf of Jaguars Formula 1 effort. This brought out a number of intriguing stories including the time he hired a fleet of 125cc shifter karts to go together with a Jaguar road car media test day. For anyone who knows about the raw speed of a shifter kart (read: ability to seriously hurt and maim unqualified drivers) will understand why James expected it was the last day of his employment with Jaguar. Apparently shifter karts (with journalists attached) left the tracks at speeds ranging from 3 miles per hour to 103 miles per hour and chaos ensued.
After riding a train from High Wycombe we sat down at the Rose & Crown an upscale British pub in the city of Warwick. Opposed to all the warnings I had received, the British food at the Rose & Crown was fantastic. We ate a vegetable soup as well as what looked to me a fantastic fish ball pie. The proper menu name was ‘fish cake,’ and it was good.
My conversation with Mr. Thomas was very interesting and moved around from his time at Jaguar Formula 1 to the times he worked with Reeves Callaway of the Callaway car company (the gentleman who introduced us). Although he has been out of the racing scene for a few years, he is still very connected and provided me with guidance on the European racing scene as well as a number of contacts in the sporting media.
Perhaps the most intriguing points he made during our meeting had to do with the magnitude of my goal. He made mention of the dedication of Ayrton Senna and Rubens Barrichello who shared an apartment near Silverstone to save money. More importantly than anything he was very supportive of my direction and aspiration. Coming from someone who has been to F1 and survived to tell the story this is a major boost in confidence.
After lunch Mr. Thomas dropped me off at the train station with a page long ‘to-do’ list which I got started on straight away during the hour long train ride back to High Wycombe. More than having a new friend an ally in the UK, I feel like I have found a real mentor who has the expertise and contacts to help me on my journey.
Tomorrow I will be meeting with the directors of the British Formula Ford Championship and as you can imagine I am certainly excited to hear what they have to say.
I hope you all are doing very well and I wish you the best.
Sincerely
Michael
So was the case today when I met Mr. James Thomas, an ex-patriot from the Jaguar Formula 1 racing team. During his time with Jaguar Mr. Thomas traversed the globe meeting with and aiding journalist on behalf of Jaguars Formula 1 effort. This brought out a number of intriguing stories including the time he hired a fleet of 125cc shifter karts to go together with a Jaguar road car media test day. For anyone who knows about the raw speed of a shifter kart (read: ability to seriously hurt and maim unqualified drivers) will understand why James expected it was the last day of his employment with Jaguar. Apparently shifter karts (with journalists attached) left the tracks at speeds ranging from 3 miles per hour to 103 miles per hour and chaos ensued.
After riding a train from High Wycombe we sat down at the Rose & Crown an upscale British pub in the city of Warwick. Opposed to all the warnings I had received, the British food at the Rose & Crown was fantastic. We ate a vegetable soup as well as what looked to me a fantastic fish ball pie. The proper menu name was ‘fish cake,’ and it was good.
My conversation with Mr. Thomas was very interesting and moved around from his time at Jaguar Formula 1 to the times he worked with Reeves Callaway of the Callaway car company (the gentleman who introduced us). Although he has been out of the racing scene for a few years, he is still very connected and provided me with guidance on the European racing scene as well as a number of contacts in the sporting media.
Perhaps the most intriguing points he made during our meeting had to do with the magnitude of my goal. He made mention of the dedication of Ayrton Senna and Rubens Barrichello who shared an apartment near Silverstone to save money. More importantly than anything he was very supportive of my direction and aspiration. Coming from someone who has been to F1 and survived to tell the story this is a major boost in confidence.
After lunch Mr. Thomas dropped me off at the train station with a page long ‘to-do’ list which I got started on straight away during the hour long train ride back to High Wycombe. More than having a new friend an ally in the UK, I feel like I have found a real mentor who has the expertise and contacts to help me on my journey.
Tomorrow I will be meeting with the directors of the British Formula Ford Championship and as you can imagine I am certainly excited to hear what they have to say.
I hope you all are doing very well and I wish you the best.
Sincerely
Michael
