James Jakes News
James Jakes Race 1 Report - Round 1 F3 Euroseries, Hockenheim
14 April 2008James Jakes finished the first race of the F3 Euro Series in a frustrating 12th position as traffic prevented him from showing his true pace on Saturday.
Despite the British racer's fastest lap being quicker than some of those who finished in the points, James was unable to put his speed to good use after a losing places at the start of the 40-minute race.
"My start wasn't very good, I just had too much wheelspin," said the 20-year-old. "After that the pace was good when I wasn't having to overtake people. The car feels really good, but the team seems to get a lot of bad luck in the opening round."
James' team-mates also had a difficult race, and he was in fact the only ART Grand Prix driver to make the finish. All four of the French team's cars could have ended their day on the sidelines though, were it not for some quick thinking from Jakes in the closing stages.
"At one point I was in a battle and we were three abreast into the Mercedes arena, and I was on the inside," he said. "I had to back out of it and take to the grass, if I hadn't it would have caused a massive accident.
"The car wasn't bad at all in the race though, so tomorrow will be a bit of a banzai. We have nothing to lose, so I'll just have to try and overtake as many cars as possible."