Faster, Jacques, Faster!
Marham youngster shakes hands with Hamilton, burns rubber and lands sponsor deal with Flux
Jacques Morley, one of Norfolk’s rising young motorsport stars, realized a lifetime ambition recently when he shook hands with Lewis Hamilton. More importantly, the eleven-year old from Marham is continuing to make his mark on the racing circuits in the Formula Kart Stars Championship, which is now directly affiliated with Formula One. And the icing on the cake came with the news that local sponsors Adrian Flux Insurance Services has agreed to continue to support Jacques this year.
"I was invited to meet Lewis at the launch of the 2009 Stars Championship in February, when Bernie Ecclestone announced the official tie-in with F1," says Jacques. "It was really exciting, as it means we’ll be getting much more TV and media attention. But the best thing was meeting Lewis."
Gerry Bucke of Flux agrees that the F1 tie-in is huge news for the sport. "It will give Jacques a much bigger profile, especially if he carries on doing well," he says. "We’ve sponsored him for a couple of years and are delighted that the support has helped him develop his talent. From a marketing point of view, the extra coverage makes Flux’s sponsorship even more worthwhile."
"Jacques has made a great start to the year," says Jacques’ mum, Claudia. "He’s racing against as many as 68 other drivers off the grid and consistently finishing in the top ten. There isn’t a driver in the championship that he hasn’t beaten."
At the recent cadets meeting at Whilton Mill, Northants, Jacques had no less then three top four finishes in the heats, coming first, third and fourth. In the final he started in pole and led the race till another car clipped his wheels just 200 yards short of the finish. "It was a real shame but that’s racing," he says.
Jacques is looking forward to working with his hero Hamilton, who cut his motorsport teeth in the karting championships. As part of the official tie-in, the F1 champion intends to help young stars like Jacques develop their talent. “I enjoyed my time in karting massively and, more importantly, learnt a huge amount," says Hamilton. "Hopefully I can give them some good advice, the most important of which is not to neglect their education in their drive to succeed in motorsport. It’s all about keeping pushing and continually trying to be the best in every way.”
Find out more about Jacques Morley and follow his progress at www.jacquesmorley.com
To contact Adrian Flux Insurance freephone 0800 505 3000, email the company at quotes@adrianflux.co.uk, or see the Flux homepage on www.adrianflux.co.uk