Scott Sumpton has been announced as the latest driver to join the JAS Motorsport Driver Development Programme, with the 18-year-old from Essex becoming the fifth driver to join the programme for the 2023 season.
Officially launched in 2020, the Driver Development Programme is a comprehensive package aimed at preparing the next generation of young racers for the rigours and challenges of life as a professional competitor.
The programme focuses on developing each young driver’s on- and off-track skills in a variety of areas with expertise and coaching provided by JAS Motorsport’s team of technicians and managers plus experienced drivers from within the Honda Racing family.
Areas of focus include disciplines such as managing tyres and fuel, pitstop training, optimising compromised set-ups for co-drivers, effective engineer and team communication, using data to impact car behaviour and working with customer teams.
Having achieved wins in the X30 karting category in the UK and podiums in Benelux series, Scott made his car-racing debut in the UK’s Junior Saloon Car Championship in 2020 but saw his season hampered by the effects of the global pandemic.
After a full campaign in 2021 he graduated to TCR UK last year, where he drove an Essex and Kent Motorsport run Hyundai i30 N TCR, before going on to join Restart Racing for the 2023 season to race the JAS-built Honda Civic Type R TCR. This will be his main programme for the year.
Scott joins Italians Leonardo Moncini and Mattia Raffetti, Swiss Axel Gnos and Danish racer Philip Lindberg on the Driver Development Programme.
Scott Sumpton said: “I’m thrilled to join the JAS Motorsport Driver Development Programme as I never dreamed I could be a part of a scheme like this. I attended the FIA Motorsport Games last November to support Restart Racing and was able to see first-hand how much somebody like [DDP graduate] Jack Young has benefitted from being a part of it. To be able to learn from the engineers, the management and from one of the world’s best touring car drivers in Nestor Girolami is hugely exciting and I intend to make the very most of this opportunity.”
Riccardo Incarbone, JAS Motorsport Driver Development Programme Manager, said: “It is very good news to welcome a new JAS Motorsport Development Driver and in Scott Sumpton we are delighted to be working with a very promising young talent who already has experience of racing the Honda Civic Type R TCR and who has the determination to succeed in the intense environment of professional motor racing. With the help of the Driver Development Programme we can help to nurture him to become the complete racer on and off the track that he wants to be.”
For more information about the JAS Motorsport Driver Development Programme, please visit the JAS Motorsport website at: https://jasmotorsport.com/welcome
To find out more about the TCR UK Touring Car Championship visit https://www.tcr-uk.co.uk/ for more info and how to get involved.
