There is something about climbing into your truck, closing the door and hitting the road. A sense of freedom, a sense of journey, a sense of purpose… then you throw in another 20 trucks all scrambling for the same piece of road at race tracks around the country! The British Truck Racing Championship is like nothing else – with Britain’s biggest racing series set to haul into Hampshire this weekend for Convoy Thruxton.

On the road for the very first time is Jakes Evans – who is racing through his first season in Division 2. We caught up with the Staffordshire driver as he explains how he got started and how his remarkable first season is going.

“When we were younger, we couldn’t afford to go circuit racing at a fairly high level and raise the money and budget for cars, so we turned to trucks – an industry that we are in already and made practical and commercial sense. We built this truck ourselves and we raced it as a team for another driver.

“We sat out 2024 and whilst on the sidelines I wanted a new challenge. We had run the truck for a number of years without a huge deal of success – there was a competitive Division 2 when we last ran it. I was itching and bored – looking at different ways to get out and do something. I looked at car racing like MINIs – but when you have the truck sitting there, it was too tempting to get behind the wheel of it myself. The whole rolling assembly was there, truck and trailer, and we worked hard to bring our previous sponsors and some new ones onboard and put a package together to do a season together.”

But it’s not just a simple case of building or buying a truck and going racing, you have to properly train and go through several important steps for safety and progression as Jake explains.

“There’s a couple of ways into it. I already had my Class C truck DVLA licence through work – something you need to have before you start and then you can apply for your ARDS licence. Once that is completed you apply for a National Truck licence from Motorsport UK. What you can’t do is compete with it without a letter from a circuit manager to prove you have tested somewhere for a minimum amount of hours. Those hours have to also be under tuition of a Division 1 driver. Bradley Harvey and I have started this year, and we went to Pembrey with Dave Jenkins for two days and we did all our tuition and we were signed off there. That’s the only way for a novice now. It’s been really beneficial for me as we wouldn’t have had the same level of confidence coming into Brands Hatch without that time and knowledge from someone like Dave.”

First weekend and it’s straight in at the deep end at Brands Hatch. How was Paddock Hill in a truck then?

“That first weekend at Brands was a strange experience for me. I have never done any circuit racing before. I had never driven the truck before the pre-season test at Pembrey to get my licence signed off. Brands Hatch was an eye opener as Pembrey was nice and flat, but going into Paddock in a truck was something else. When you feel that weight transfer as you go down into the compression and up again it’s a phenomenal experience.

“Being a bit higher up – you get a decent perception of the corner – you have that better viewpoint than you would say in a car, but when you are in a race, door-to-door two sometimes three wide – ideally two wide it’s a bit nerve-racking. We have a fair set of drivers in Division 2 – despite a few of us being novices, the standards are high and you feel safe when out racing.

You mentioned a Division 2 truck. For those new to truck racing – what’s the difference to a Division 1 truck?

“The Division 2 truck is a more basic beast. The Division 1 trucks are lighter, more powerful, with different springs and dampers. The regs allow them to be higher performing components than we are allowed. Division 2 used to be, but not anymore as things move on more of a road derived tractor unit come racing truck. Now there is a little more flex. We built this ourselves from two chassis rails up. We have a Division 1 style subframe – trying to make it the best of what it can be. The engine and gearbox are heavy which makes it a Division 2 truck.”

Jake leads the Division 2 standings with a strong 49 point margin as the series prepares for Thruxton. What was the opening round of the season like?

“Brands Hatch was all about getting my feet under the table and getting consistent results and seeing where we are against the competition and then start winding more and more from there. Mechanical reliability, reducing driver errors and trips to the gravel, and not breaking things are all on the mind every race. We took two wins on the opening day and that has given us the confidence to be able to challenge for the championship this year. I would have never believed it had you told me that would have happened. We might not be the quickest everywhere – but this year consistency is the key.

“I have never done Thruxton – that’s going to be some experience! Never done Snetterton or Le Mans so that will also be new. I did my ARDS at Donington so that will help a little. An absolute baptism of fire this year, but if we can have good weekends like the start of the year – then it’s all good and hope Thruxton will be the same.

This weekend the British Truck Racing Championship speeds into Thruxton for five heavyweight bouts around the Hampshire speed bowl. You can purchase you tickets to see the giants live at https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/racing/british-trucks.