James Jakes is a name you might not recognize, but he’s in his third year racing in the IndyCar Series. His first two years were spent at Dale Coyne Racing partnering up and soaking in valuable information from race car veterans Sébastien Bourdais and Justin Wilson. This year he’s found himself at Rahal Letterman Lanigan alongside Graham Rahal. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan team is not having an exceptional year, but Jakes is currently having his best year sitting in the 18th position in the driver’s championship with 215 points – already topping his rookie points campaign and closing in on last year’s mark of 232 with six races still to go.

Jakes’ entry into IndyCar was not typical as he moved up the Formula One ladder through Formula Renault, Formula 3 and into GP2 and GP3. All along he was hoping for a Formula One seat, but when Dale Coyne Racing called to test him at Barber Motorsports Park – the game plan changed. Jakes performed well at Barber and found himself with a great offer to drive full-time in the IndyCar Series. Jakes knew that his decision to go to North America would most likely burn his bridges in Europe, but he was up for the challenge.

Jakes always loved the United States and Canada, so coming from overseas wasn’t a big culture shock. His parents call Oakville, Ontario (32 kilometers south of Toronto) home for half the year, so Jakes fit right in. The Toronto scene reminds him of back home with tons of fashion, nightlife, and the multicultural atmosphere, so he had a blast on his stay during the Honda Indy Toronto.

Another stop that he now looks forward to is Mid-Ohio. A big reason for that is the fan group, Jakesy Nation, founded in Columbus, Ohio, not too far from the Mid-Ohio track. Jakesy Nation started up in 2012 and has rooted Jakes on via Twitter, through their website and at certain race tracks during the calendar year. They come out in full-force at Mid-Ohio and they will all be there this weekend to support Jakes and celebrate his birthday. 

It was a slow start for Jakes as he was a late signing by the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team. Jakes only had one practice test before the season began, so he’s had to work on the setup of the car and get adjusted to the new team as the season has progressed. His best showing of his career came at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit finishing tenth in the first race and a career-best second place in the second race giving Jakes his first podium finish. 

With some time and more races under his belt, we could be seeing Jakes elevate his game during the final stretch of the year that is predominantly filled with street course races. Jakes has found himself in an enviable position on a team being mentored by the legendary, Bobby Rahal. After finishing second in Detroit, Jakes now knows he can be successful at the IndyCar level and the best might be yet to come for the young-Brit and we could be seeing the name Jakes on a few more podiums in the years to come. 

To get an up-close and personal look at James Jakes, here are some questions we asked for you to get to know him a bit better.

James Jakes