Jann Mardenborough, 2011’s European GT Academy winner, heads into this weekend on the back of a very unusual year indeed.
Jann won GT Academy at the age of just 19 and an autumn of intense driver training prepared him for his ultimate prize – a seat in the 2012 Dubai 24 hour race in January.
Following a podium finish in that race, Jann’s 2012 has been a year to remember.
Driving the RJN Motorsport Nissan Nismo GT-R GT3 in two separate championships, the Blancpain Endurance Series (partnered with Alex Buncombe and Chris Ward) and the British GT Championship (partnered with Alex Buncombe), Jann’s managed his first GT3 pole position – at the Nürburgring, on his first ever visit – and his first GT3 race win – at Brands Hatch in the closest finish in British GT history. He’s even found the time to pair up with 2009 winner Lucas Ordoñez to tackle a second 24 hour race – at Spa-Francorchamps!
In August, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) added Jann to their list of BRDC “Rising Stars”. The BRDC is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, counting just about every Formula One champion for any British team in the last thirty years amongst their 850 members – the Rising Stars programme including Lewis Hamilton and IndyCar Rookie of the Year Alex Lloyd in their past ranks.
This Sunday marks both Jann’s 21st birthday and the penultimate round of the British GT Championship at Silverstone. The RJN duo currently sit in third place in the table, just 2 points behind the leaders with two rounds to go and will start the race from 9th on the grid – with their major championship rivals also in the top 10.
The race starts on Sunday at 10:40 GMT, and you can follow the action on Twitter @BritishGT. GTPlanet and the UK GT Academy finalists have been invited to cheer them on!
Images courtesy of Red Square Images and BritishGT.com.
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Whos the man? Janns the Mann (Jam) Happy Birthday bro.
Good stuff.
I think Jann is joint 3rd in the drivers championship. And is 4.5 points off the lead!
I think an off-centre wheel is my lucky mascot on GT5 haha! Anyway, from what I saw, the RJN team began well, moving through the pack to hold 2nd position. However, they received a few penalties and had what I think was a braking issue that pushed them down the order somewhat. Let’s hope the team can have a strong finish to the championship, the academy is proving itself out on the track now with Jann and the other winners progressing brilliantly in motorsport, I and many others hope to emulate this success!
Lol that wheel got worse and worse as the day went on! Well done! How was the pit walk?
It really did get worse, after my first lap the wheel had moved significantly to the right and when I returned later in the day it had moved left, but I got away with it! The walk was great, it was really buzzing on the grid and the cars sounded and looked stunning on up close. We managed to get as many photo’s as we could to remember the day. Thank you to Jardine International and Nissan!
Good Fortune to you ShaneUK.
Thank you!!!!
Great job and congratulations to JanntheMan
He has a bright future!
Who won the time trial comp? What track/car/tyre was it based on please?
Shane ward won it! Setup was tsukuba, 370z gt academy tuned, sports hards, SFR, tc at 5..
Congrats on his success!
RJN finish in 8th place!
:(
Good luck and happy birthday!
Go Jamb, time my new lewis hamilton!
Best of luck!
22 hundredths of a second?! Either I forgot or I didn’t know that til now. I can only imagine how much adrenaline that gave him, since he’s so new at this.
Good luck, fellas!
Thousandths, my bad. I read up on that race on BritishGT.com and confused the two.
Go Jann go!
Wow impressive. Won gt academy at 19. I havnt even got my license yet