Questions?

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Permalink Reply by JJ on June 10, 2008 at 9:41pm

Jonathan, please let us know what's happening with your racing! What series are you in right now?

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Summerton on June 10, 2008 at 9:42pm

I am in the Cooper Tires Atlantic Series in the USA. Atlanticchampionship.com or check out my website to see the info about my results.

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Permalink Reply by JJ on June 10, 2008 at 9:51pm

I don't know anything about that series - can you tell us more about it?

Is your goal still Formula One?

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Summerton on June 10, 2008 at 9:54pm

Yeah sure. It was the junior series for the Champ Car series and now it is a stand alone series which is one of the strongest in the USA. The cars have 300hp and have tons of downforce. The cars lap within 4 seconds of the Indy car drivers and also are a ton of fun to drive. It's very competitive series and is really good racing.

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Permalink Reply by Racing for Safety on June 10, 2008 at 10:05pm

Jonathan, I have a question for you. What attributes do you think a successful racing driver needs these days?

Driving and racing ability is a given, of course. Then there is phyisical fitness. (What do you do to maintain your fitness? That would be interesting to know).

I've seen you being interviewed and you are an extremely personable young man :)

How important is this? And how important is it to keep your sponsors happy? It seems to me that racing today is 50% driving ability and 50% PR. Is this really the case?

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Summerton on June 10, 2008 at 10:10pm

Well really if I had to say what the driver had to do with making it to F1 now, I would have to say that you know driving ability is about 40% then probably 20% goes to who you know then the rest would go to how personable, focused, determined, and how appealing you are to the market. It is a harsh world but for me well worth all of it and am determined to make it there as an American. I work out about 2-3 hours 6 days a week and this is about 1-1 and half of just pure crdio then the other would be weight training. There are odd days yes here and there that I will do just an hour or so and then some days I go all out and do about 4 hours but these are all different exercises so I don't get bored with the same old thing. lol :) I know that you have to be able to market yourself to people and know that it is important to be very personable and u have to appreciate your fans as they are who support and help you get to where you want to be. The more people talk about you and buy your sponsors products the better it is for me. I hope this helped a little.

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Permalink Reply by JJ on June 11, 2008 at 9:28am

That's interesting Jonathan. I think what you said about fans is very true. I think sometimes that some drivers forget that.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Summerton on June 11, 2008 at 9:50am

I would never forget my fans. I know I was one once and when someone won't sign your autograph or won't just say hi it is very annoying and it kinda hurts. My fans are my family and fans are the most important people in my career. I appreciate every single person who supports me.
Thanks

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Permalink Reply by JJ on June 11, 2008 at 11:10am

That's a wonderful response, Jonathan. I know it's hard to make it in racing and it's great that you have that attitude.

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