Hawthorns Motorsport Driver retires from Racing
Discussion
It is with great and considerable regret that Hawthorns Motorsport today announces the retirement from racing of Jan Persson on health grounds as in his opinion, his current health issues are likely to effect his ability to drive safely and with the care and attention that he has always displayed as a conscious competitor.
Jan has been Rod Barrett’s co driver for the last 13 years and has been a key player in all the various race series and cars that the team has been involved in since 1998. Jan started his racing career in TVR Tuscans and after nearly six years of Tuscans, he followed the team to British GT racing a BMW M3 Coupe. The BMW was not quite on the pace so the team purchased a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup car which Jan co drove with Rod Barrett in British GT and latterly along with Rod and Jay Shepherd in the Britcar GT series until last year. This season the three man team moved up to a 997 GT3 and Jan has enjoyed every minuit he has had in the car but unfortunately,with the health issues making racing more and more difficult for him, he has rightly decided to hang up his boots in the interest of safety for all that compete and to maintain an unblemished record of always being considered as a careful and skilled driver. He will be sorely missed by the team and no doubt by the many competitors that he has raced with during his many years participation in Motorsport.
The team now has the almost impossible task of finding a replacement driver with the temperament, skill, friendliness and commitment that Jan brought to each and every racing weekend, his regular pit walks to chat to other competitors will, we are sure, be missed as much as his father Christmas like laugh.
Thank you Jan for all the years of great racing,you will always be a team member even in retirement, cheers old mate
Jan has been Rod Barrett’s co driver for the last 13 years and has been a key player in all the various race series and cars that the team has been involved in since 1998. Jan started his racing career in TVR Tuscans and after nearly six years of Tuscans, he followed the team to British GT racing a BMW M3 Coupe. The BMW was not quite on the pace so the team purchased a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup car which Jan co drove with Rod Barrett in British GT and latterly along with Rod and Jay Shepherd in the Britcar GT series until last year. This season the three man team moved up to a 997 GT3 and Jan has enjoyed every minuit he has had in the car but unfortunately,with the health issues making racing more and more difficult for him, he has rightly decided to hang up his boots in the interest of safety for all that compete and to maintain an unblemished record of always being considered as a careful and skilled driver. He will be sorely missed by the team and no doubt by the many competitors that he has raced with during his many years participation in Motorsport.
The team now has the almost impossible task of finding a replacement driver with the temperament, skill, friendliness and commitment that Jan brought to each and every racing weekend, his regular pit walks to chat to other competitors will, we are sure, be missed as much as his father Christmas like laugh.
Thank you Jan for all the years of great racing,you will always be a team member even in retirement, cheers old mate
Edited by Racing Rod on Friday 26th August 21:50
Jan you really are a great character. One of the best and nicest persons I have met in all my time in motorsport. I would love you to work with me as a Clerk. Nobody could argue with you when you gave them a penalty as by the time we had all stopped laughing they would be out of time. Even if you are no longer racing stay with us, it is people like you that make us volunteers give up our time.
A wise decision I am sure but not the end of your involvement
Ever thought of becoming a commentator
Tony Watts - Clerk of the Course
A wise decision I am sure but not the end of your involvement
Ever thought of becoming a commentator
Tony Watts - Clerk of the Course
Rallycross Clerk said:
Jan you really are a great character. One of the best and nicest persons I have met in all my time in motorsport. I would love you to work with me as a Clerk. Nobody could argue with you when you gave them a penalty as by the time we had all stopped laughing they would be out of time. Even if you are no longer racing stay with us, it is people like you that make us volunteers give up our time.
A wise decision I am sure but not the end of your involvement
Ever thought of becoming a commentator
Tony Watts - Clerk of the Course
A wise decision I am sure but not the end of your involvement
Ever thought of becoming a commentator
Tony Watts - Clerk of the Course
Really nice, its a shared view all over the britcar paddock. I have being lucky to share a lot of time with Jan and Rod. Both are my heroes totally. They are tru racers in the car and the best possible chat outside the car. If Manuel and I are racing in Britcar is only because of them, and we are very thankfull for that. We will miss Jan at the track, but I cant agree more with Tony. Would be a great clerck, a very funny commentator and to add to that we can keep his usual and loud laugh at the britcar paddock! Roll on to that!
Many thanks for the kind words, and I agree that he would indeed make an excellent C of C or at a stretch, a commentator 
I'm sure Jan has been reading them.
Cheers guys
For the full details please click on the link below
http://www.hawthornsmotorsport.co.uk
I'm sure Jan has been reading them.Cheers guys
For the full details please click on the link below
http://www.hawthornsmotorsport.co.uk
From my perspective, interviewing Jan was always a nightmare - you knew you were never going to get a straight answer, and every crazy word, spoken with an ever-increasing grin, was merely a build-up to that sensational laugh !
Jan is a lovely, self-effacing character, serious about racing, but never taking it too seriously, and a great driver too; my mind goes back to that first snowy race at Silverstone a few years back, where Jan's Scandinavian talent came into its own in the blizzard conditions, and lest we forget, the man is a former Britcar champion and 24hr class winner.
A brilliant character, and a brilliant driving career - well done Jan !
Jan is a lovely, self-effacing character, serious about racing, but never taking it too seriously, and a great driver too; my mind goes back to that first snowy race at Silverstone a few years back, where Jan's Scandinavian talent came into its own in the blizzard conditions, and lest we forget, the man is a former Britcar champion and 24hr class winner.
A brilliant character, and a brilliant driving career - well done Jan !
I do hope that does not mean we won't see the Laughing Swede around the circuits! I enjoyed his sometimes quite close company in Tuscan racing where he was very fair and have not seen so much of him or indeed Uncle Rodney since they moved on to GT and Britcar racing. There is fun and mischief wherever Jan goes which lightens up a days racing when some of us take it too seriously so we do need our fix of Jan even if he is not going to be putting his romper suit on anymore.
Many thanks once again for taking the time to send Jan your regards, he has seen the various posts and is pleasently suprised by what people are saying about his time in motorsport.
I have a feeling that he may look at a possible role as an official
for he quite likes the idea of remaining involved in the sport in one way or another so we'll see what transpires !!
If he does take up a C of the C position, I think he would make a very good one, I'm making this statement now so if it does happen and he pulls me up for a "chat", I may be in his good books right off the bat
I have a feeling that he may look at a possible role as an official
for he quite likes the idea of remaining involved in the sport in one way or another so we'll see what transpires !!If he does take up a C of the C position, I think he would make a very good one, I'm making this statement now so if it does happen and he pulls me up for a "chat", I may be in his good books right off the bat
Just an update, Jan goes in for his eye operation later this week and the prognosis has improved over the original, somewhat pessimistic, appraisal. They now think that they can achieve a 100% return to normal sight including peripheral vision. If this turns out to be true, he may be able to re-consider his recent decision to retire from motorsport but in truth it will be a few weeks before he will know for sure.
He is finding the prospect of retirement from the sport that he is so passionate about, a somewhat bitter pill to shallow, so with that in mind, he has opted for the full Monty on the eye operation front. This is based on the premise that if it all works out fine, he will be restored to 20/20 vision rather then some compromise that although a safer option,( less risk of something going wrong) may still restrict what he can do or not do. Typical of Jan to be totally committed by adopting an attitude of in for a penny, in for a pound.
Fingers crossed
He is finding the prospect of retirement from the sport that he is so passionate about, a somewhat bitter pill to shallow, so with that in mind, he has opted for the full Monty on the eye operation front. This is based on the premise that if it all works out fine, he will be restored to 20/20 vision rather then some compromise that although a safer option,( less risk of something going wrong) may still restrict what he can do or not do. Typical of Jan to be totally committed by adopting an attitude of in for a penny, in for a pound.
Fingers crossed
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