John George (racing driver)

Last updated

John George
John George.jpg
George at the 2009 BTCC Festival in Edinburgh.
Nationality Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British
Born (1961-03-22) 22 March 1961 (age 63)
England
Previous series
2004, 0711
2003, 05–06
2001–03
2000
BTCC
Britcar
Renault Clio Cup
BRDC Formula Ford 1600
George driving the TH Motorsport Honda Integra at Snetterton during the 2008 British Touring Car Championship season. John George Honda 2007.JPG
George driving the TH Motorsport Honda Integra at Snetterton during the 2008 British Touring Car Championship season.

John Alfred George (born 22 March 1961) is a Cornish mobile phone entrepreneur and race car driver, best known for driving in the British Touring Car Championship.

Contents

Racing career

Early years

He raced in the Elf Clio Renaultsport UK Cup for Mardi Gras in 2002 [1] and 2003, [2] without much success. He also did some EERC Endurance races for them in 2003/2004 winning the saloon car class. He also did Britcar in 2005 [3] winning his class in the Britcar/Silverstone 24hr and coming 2nd in 2006.

British Touring Car Championship

Mardi Gras Motorsport (2004)

George at the 2009 BTCC Media Day at Rockingham. George Honda Integra BTCC.jpg
George at the 2009 BTCC Media Day at Rockingham.

George made his British Touring Car Championship debut in 2004, his entry for Mardi Gras was notable as the first car to use Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel. [4] He drove both a Honda Civic Type-R and a Peugeot 406 during the season. A 2005 ride for Vic Lee Racing fell through when Lee was jailed for drug-dealing.

TH Motorsport (2007–2009)

In 2007 he returned to the BTCC claiming the TH Motorsport team's first ever BTCC points, with a top finish of 8th, and two pole starts in the reverse grid format, driving an ex-Matt Neal Honda Integra for the TH Motorsport team.

The Integra was becoming outdated by 2008, and with only one point, George finished 21st in the championship. His season ended with a spectacular crash during the final round at Brands Hatch. George was battling with Darren Turner as they approached Surtees for the first time. Turner made contact with the rear of George's Integra and it cannoned off into the barriers which launched the car into a series of rolls, before landing on its side. He suffered bruising but no broken bones, but spent 2 nights in hospital as a precaution. [5]

He struggled in the 2009 season, finishing 25th in the championship for TH Motorsport.

Tech-Speed Motorsport (2010–2011)

He has moved to the Tech-Speed Motorsport team for 2010 and finished 13th in the Independent championship in what he has described as his most competitive season alongside team-mate Paul O'Neill. His best result was a ninth place at the opening race at Thruxton, however the team and George both expressed hopes that they would be back out for 2011 and realise a potential for more points-scoring finishes.

George stayed alongside O'Neill in 2011, driving an ex–Silverline Chevrolet Super 2000 Chevrolet Cruze. [6] He collided with one of the barriers at Croft and tore the tendons in his right hand. He was able to participate in the following round at Snetterton while on painkillers and was fully healed by the time of the Knockhill round. [7] Despite not scoring points in the main drivers' championship, he scored five points in the independents' trophy to finish the season 22nd in class.

He is coached by John Pratt, who has previously worked with Andy Priaulx. [8]

Personal life

George was head of JAG Communications, an independent mobile phone retailer. He has been active in the UK mobile phone industry since its early days. [9] He also competed successfully in pistol shooting before it was banned in the UK. He is married to Sue, and has a daughter Kailey and son Kevin, plus grand daughters Katelyn, Holly and grandson Leam. He is teetotal and lives in Guernsey.

He is also a keen aviator and currently[ when? ] owns Perranporth airfield in Cornwall as well as flying most days in his Cessna Citation Mustang light jet based in Guernsey and also holding an American ATP jet rating. In February 2013, George put Perranporth airfield on the market for an asking price of £1.5million. In September 2019 George legally changed. [ citation needed ]

Racing record

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)

YearTeamCar123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930DCPts
2004 Mardi Gras Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R THR
1

15
THR
2

13
THR
3

Ret
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

DNS
BRH
3

DNS
SIL
1

17
SIL
2

20
SIL
3

Ret
OUL
1
OUL
2
OUL
3
MON
1
MON
2
MON
3
24th0
Peugeot 406 Coupé CRO
1

17
CRO
2

Ret
CRO
3

15
KNO
1

12
KNO
2

13
KNO
3

13
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

Ret
BRH
3

Ret
SNE
1

15
SNE
2

16
SNE
3

17
DON
1

Ret
DON
2

DNS
DON
3

DNS
2007 TH Motorsport with JAG Racing Honda Integra Type-R BRH
1

19
BRH
2

16
BRH
3

19
ROC
1

14
ROC
2

10
ROC
3

Ret
THR
1

Ret
THR
2

DNS
THR
3

12
CRO
1

17
CRO
2

9
CRO
3

Ret
OUL
1

15
OUL
2

11
OUL
3

Ret
DON
1

Ret
DON
2

Ret
DON
3

19
SNE
1

13
SNE
2

13
SNE
3

17
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

NC
BRH
3

10
KNO
1

8
KNO
2

12
KNO
3

Ret
THR
1

16
THR
2

13
THR
3

13
19th7
2008 TH Motorsport with JAG Racing Honda Integra Type-R BRH
1

17
BRH
2

19
BRH
3

12
ROC
1

15
ROC
2

16
ROC
3

Ret
DON
1

Ret
DON
2

DNS
DON
3

DNS
THR
1

20
THR
2

NC
THR
3

12
CRO
1

17
CRO
2

17
CRO
3

Ret
SNE
1

17
SNE
2

16
SNE
3

10
OUL
1

17
OUL
2

Ret
OUL
3

Ret
KNO
1

14
KNO
2

20
KNO
3

19
SIL
1

19
SIL
2

15
SIL
3

14
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

15
BRH
3

Ret
21st1
2009 TH Motorsport Racing with JAG Honda Integra Type-R BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

Ret
BRH
3

14
THR
1

18
THR
2

15
THR
3

Ret
DON
1

17
DON
2

14
DON
3

17
OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

DNS
OUL
3

16
CRO
1

14
CRO
2

14
CRO
3

12
SNE
1

13
SNE
2

16
SNE
3

11
KNO
1

13
KNO
2

14
KNO
3

14
SIL
1

16
SIL
2

17
SIL
3

17
ROC
1

17
ROC
2

Ret
ROC
3

13
BRH
1

16
BRH
2

15
BRH
3

Ret
25th0
2010 sunshine.co.uk with tech-speed Honda Integra Type-R THR
1

9
THR
2

17
THR
3

Ret
ROC
1

16
ROC
2

Ret
ROC
3

15
BRH
1

Ret
BRH
2

DNS
BRH
3

Ret
OUL
1

12
OUL
2

Ret
OUL
3

DNS
CRO
1

15
CRO
2

Ret
CRO
3

12
SNE
1

12
SNE
2

Ret
SNE
3

12
SIL
1

17
SIL
2

14
SIL
3

Ret
KNO
1

Ret
KNO
2

13
KNO
3

12
DON
1

12
DON
2

16
DON
3

12
BRH
1

19
BRH
2

14
BRH
3

14
20th2
2011 GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed Chevrolet Cruze LT BRH
1

14
BRH
2

15
BRH
3

17
DON
1

Ret
DON
2

12
DON
3

11
THR
1

17
THR
2

15
THR
3

16
OUL
1

Ret
OUL
2

Ret
OUL
3

Ret
CRO
1

Ret
CRO
2

14
CRO
3

17
SNE
1

19
SNE
2

Ret
SNE
3

Ret
KNO
1

17
KNO
2

Ret
KNO
3

Ret
ROC
1

17
ROC
2

19
ROC
3

22
BRH
1

14
BRH
2

20
BRH
3

20
SIL
1

14
SIL
2

20
SIL
3

22
27th0
Sources: [10] [11]

Britcar 24 Hour results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarCar No.ClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
Ref
2007 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg TH Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ken Lark
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Saunders
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nick Starkey
Volkswagen Golf Diesel 79451913th1st [12]
2010 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mardi Gras Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Desmond Smail
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Osborne
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Kevin George
Honda Integra (fourth generation) 914488DNFDNF [13]

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References

  1. "Mardi Gras Motorsport: Last Season". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  2. "Mardi Gras Motorsport: Last Season". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  3. "Serverware Racing - Britcar June 2005 Photos". Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  4. John George – Putting his foot on the gas!
  5. Autosport. 23 September 2008 http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70791/.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Cruzes for O'Neill & George". British Touring Car Championship . TOCA. 23 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  7. "George repaired for Knockhill". British Touring Car Championship . TOCA. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  8. http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=181429&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231065&contentPK=20480926&folderPk=108034&pNodeId=231071 [ dead link ]
  9. "Mobile Business Magazine - John George - JAG Communications". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  10. "John George Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  11. "John George race results". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  12. "Britcar 24 Hours – Provisional Result". DailySportsCar. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  13. "Silverstone 24 Hours 2010". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 24 December 2022.