The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) is set to gain an additional female driver at the Snetterton round in June.
Jess Hawkins, the W Series racing driver and Guinness World Record holder, will take the Motorbase seat of Andy Neate.
It marks the second BTCC stint for Hawkins, who drove for the Power Maxed Racing team at the Norfolk track in 2020.
A second shot at success
Hawkins described her BTCC debut in 2020 as being a “dream fulfilled”, having come close before to competing in the touring car series. As a mid-season entrant to the championship, Jess had to contend with maximum success ballast being added to her car.
Despite this, she still returned respectable results at Snetterton, moving up the standings for each of the three races.
Having won numerous karting competitions when younger, Hawkins came second in the Pro class of the 2017 Mini Challenge UK.
Her stunt driving has seen her work on the James Bond film, No Time to Die. She has also set the Guinness World Record for driving the fastest-accelerating lawnmower.
Heading back to Norfolk
The second chance for Hawkins comes as regular Motorbase driver Andy Neate has “personally taken the decision to take a short sabbatical from the BTCC at Snetterton.”
Neate was involved in a dramatic first corner crash in the second of the season-opening rounds at Thruxton. He was penalised for causing the incident, which removed Jade Edwards and Glynn Geddie from the race.
The stewards found that Neate drove in “a manner incompatible with general safety or departing from the standard of a reasonably competent driver”. This saw him fined £2,000, and given three penalty points on his racing licence.
Hawkins was surprised to receive the call from Motorbase. But, she commented that she was: “extremely excited to be making a return to the BTCC at Snetterton after my debut there in 2020.”
The Snetterton rounds of the 2021 British Touring Car Championship will take place on Sunday, 13 June.
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