Adam Jones (racing driver)

BTCC driver
Name = Adam Jones


Nationality = flagicon|ENG
Car number = 21
Team = Team Air Cool
Car = SEAT Leon
Championships = 0
Wins = 0
Podiums = 6
Poles = 0
Fastest laps = 0
First year = 2006
First win = -
Best position = 9th in 2008
Last season = 2008
Last position = 9th (119 points)

Adam Jones (born 9 August 1980 in Birmingham) is an English auto racing driver. He competed successfully in Formula 3 and Formula Renault in France, before switching to GT racing. Three years of irregular drives in both the FIA and British GT championships where followed by a stint in the Le Mans Endurance series alongside Sascha Maassen, winning his class at the Nürburgring. In 2005 he raced historic cars as well as the Britcar 24 hour race at Silverstone, in which he finished 3rd alongside Tim Harvey.

He moved to the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for 2006 driving a Lexus IS200 for Xero Competition. His only point came in round 6 of the season at Donington Park.

Adam contested 7 meetings of the 2007 BTCC season in a SEAT Toledo Cupra prepared by GR Asia, in the car also used by Tom Coronel in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). He was competitive in the first round but missed the next three meetings, before being among the frontrunners in round 5. In round 6 at Donington Park he qualified 7th, before charging through the field in the first race to finish 2nd for his first BTCC podium [http://www.btccaction.co.uk/results/2007/rd16.php] , and the first ever for a non-works SEAT. At Brands Hatch the team also ran Gavin Smith in a newer SEAT León, but Jones had the better of him, finishing 7th race one before running 2nd in race two. Contact with Colin Turkington dropped him to 6th, but the reverse grid gave him pole for race 3. He made a poor start before a long-running battle with Tom Onslow-Cole, which ended in a big collision eliminating Jones.

The team runs full-time for 2008. Jones took a third and a fourth in round 2 at Rockingham, and another podium in round 5 at Croft. In the Independents Trophy he has been among the first 3 finishers in 11 of those 15 races, giving him the class lead - aided by many races having intermediate wet-dry conditions which did not suit the BMWs of his leading rivals Colin Turkington and Mat Jackson. His season ended with a lucky escape at Brands Hatch, less than 2 months after Craig Jones (no relation) had been killed in a World Supersport race at the track. His car speared off the track at Clearways, narrowly missing armco posts which had been bent by a huge crash involving John George earlier in the race. There is every chance that the car could have been launched onto the marshal's post or even into the crowd had he struck these. He ultimately finished 3rd in the class and 9th overall.

External links

* [http://www.adam-jones.co.uk Adam Jones]
* [http://btcc.net/html/driver_detail.php?id=94 Profile from btcc.net]