Adrenaline Queen
“The name’s Hawkins. Jessica Hawkins.”
Last week you learned about a female making history in F1, Lella Lombardi, so this week let’s explore another historic day in motorsports; the first female to win a touring car race in the UK, and my favorite female driver.
Fierce competition in the tour cars division–BTCC– took place at the Oulton Park Circuit last year on a gorgeous British Saturday. Jessica Hawkins, the lone girl on the grid, was up against a familiar field of all boys. Not only did she work her way elegantly through the field to first place, but she held her own against Max Hart, multiple race winner, beating him by three-tenths of a second to take the win when the checkered flag was thrown.
When asked what it meant to “beat the boys”? Hawkins replied.
"I just see everyone as equal," she explained. "Don't get me wrong, it was nice to walk away with being the first female to win a touring car race in the UK, but it wouldn't have made any difference if I was racing all women or all men. It felt good either way."
Born on July 14, 1995, in Louth, Lincolnshire, Hawkins began her racing career, as most do, in karting at a young age and quickly showcased her talent. She achieved success in the Super 1 National Rotax Mini Max Championship, finishing as the vice-champion in 2007.
“I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't seen a kart track in the distance when I was playing golf with my dad about 20 years ago – I begged him to take me and let me have a go.”
By 2010 her karting career was flourishing as she moved up through the ranks where she caught my eye. She had become a Rotax kart racing sensation, who competed on a shoestring budget, similar to myself, due to a lack of funding all while defeating some of the globe’s most heavily funded & talented karting drivers, including 2009 World Champion and reigning European Champion, Ukyo Sasahara from Japan.
That same year Hawkins transitioned to car racing, competing in the Ginetta Junior Championship. She had an impressive rookie season, finishing 12th overall and being the second-highest-placed female driver in the championship. The following year, she continued to impress by finishing 7th overall in the championship standings.
In 2012, Hawkins made her debut in the British GT Championship, driving a Ginetta G50. She competed in the GT4 class and achieved several top-ten finishes throughout the season. Her performance attracted attention and opened doors for further opportunities.
2013 marked a significant milestone in Hawkins' career when she became a member of the BRDC (British Racing Drivers' Club) Rising Stars program. This recognition further solidified her status as a promising talent in British motorsport.
Hawkins expanded her racing endeavors and participated in various disciplines. In 2014, she competed in the VW Fun Cup, a one-make endurance racing series, and also took part in the European VW Scirocco R-Cup. Her versatility as a driver was evident as she adapted to different cars and racing formats.
In recent years, Hawkins has gained recognition for her involvement in the W Series, an all-female single-seater racing championship launched in 2019. She participated in the inaugural season, finishing 9th overall in the championship standings. The W Series aims to promote gender diversity in motorsport and provide a platform for talented female drivers to showcase their skills.
The biggest respect I have for Jess is her consistent advocacy work. Throughout her career, Hawkins has spent significant time pushing for increased female representation in motorsport and breaking gender barriers. She has been actively involved in mentoring aspiring female racers and promoting inclusivity within the racing community.
“It's definitely a numbers game. If we increase female participation at the grassroots and junior single-seater level, then we increase the pool of female talent and the chances of finding women who can go all the way to the top of the sport”
“Right now, there isn't a female racing driver who's good enough to compete at the front of the F1 grid. That's for many different reasons: there are women who haven't had the funding or backing to develop their talent and climb up the pyramid to F1.”
“There are loads of drivers out there who haven't been given the chance to race in F1, even though they've got the talent and put in the hard work. Can we definitively say that the drivers on the F1 grid are the best drivers in the world? We can't. We can't even say with certainty who the best driver on the grid is because the cars are different.”
During the first season of the W Series, one standout moment came in the season's third round at Misano, Italy. The field of female drivers was stacked with talent. Hawkins made a remarkable charge through the field, steadily overtaking her rivals with skillful maneuvers and demonstrating her racing prowess. Despite starting from the 16th position on the grid, she fought her way up to finish in an impressive 5th place, making significant progress and gaining valuable championship points.
Hawkins' performance at Misano demonstrated her ability to remain focused and composed under pressure, while also highlighting her overtaking skills and strategic decision-making. It was a testament to her determination and racing talent, and it undoubtedly left a memorable mark on her W Series campaign.
A campaign that included racing against her partner, Abbie Eaton, as she is currently in a relationship with the British racecar driver. When asked who she wishes to win–herself or Abbie–Hawkins responded;
“She would probably say the same thing – I’m in it to win, and equally so is she, but at the same time if I win, I want her to finish second. I know I can’t always be that picky! So first and foremost I have my best interests at heart, but equally, if she’s doing well, it makes me feel warm, and I’d like to think she says the same thing. It’s nice to go through the ride with each other, but we’ve said we’ll leave that at the track, and as far as we’re both concerned our career comes first.”
While Hawkins's racing credentials are impressive, her life outside the track is more exciting.
In 2019, Jess was awarded the Guinness World Record for having the World’s Fastest Lawnmower from 0-100mph. The result–6.29 seconds– was the average of two runs completed within one hour of each other, one in each direction, with the help of Honda and Team Dynamics (UK).
Social media, by way of a Facebook post looking for females to perform car control, is responsible for sending Hawkins on her stunt driving career.
“I’ve been very lucky,” she says. “I stopped racing because I ran out of money, basically. But I stopped racing for an opportunity to get into the stunt driving business that I thought I was way under-qualified for.”
“I was lucky enough to get the job, but I think it was my rate of progression that got me the job, because [I] picked it up really quickly — as I guess you would expect someone who drives cars a lot to do. But I got the job over some already extremely established people within the industry, which was really heartwarming actually.
“I got three months of intensive training. Literally, my 9-5 job was drifting cars, learning stunts for a live action arena show, and honestly it was the most incredible experience of my life. You genuinely could not pay for the training that I had, or if you could, it would take a long time and be extremely expensive!”
“I’ve always said it’s the same set of skills used for racing but just used in a completely different way, and I had to relearn but I was lucky that I picked it up. It’s given me another string to my bow, and while I was extremely sad to be walking away from racing at the time, I had no future in racing because I had no budget.”
“So I made the decision to go down the stunt route, and it’s really W Series that has brought me back into racing. They’ve given me a second opportunity, but equally I’ve got the stunt driving to fall back on.”
Hawkins has been featured in blockbuster movies such as Fast and Furious Live, The James Bond film No Time to Die, Jurassic Park Dominion, and Infinite.
She is certainly not one to blow her own trumpet, but as a racing driver and a stunt driver, she gets to do cool stuff and call it “work”, including her current gig: F1 Aston Martin ambassador. With Aston, she combines her advocacy & driving talents to support the team, gaining a front-row seat to the big circus.
Watching Jess succeed all while shouldering massive responsibility is impressive; my admiration is altitudinous.
Th adrenaline-seeking Hawkins took part in an absurd driving challenge to launch Land Rover's new Range Rover Sport; below is a quick 6-minute video of the event. The challenge involved driving up a 90-meter-high spillway in Karahnjukar, Iceland, which releases 750 tons of water per minute.
"There's no barrier. This side there's life, that side there's death," Hawkins said as she prepared to take on the gargantuan challenge. "This is crazy, to the point where we don't even know if it's possible. I kid you not, there was a split second — probably longer than a split second — where I genuinely thought that I was dead,"
That’s one bad-ass British driver in my book.