After producing by some margin his finest performance of the year to date to take a well-deserved podium finish at Oulton Park, Cullingworth's Jack Hawksworth has warned his Formula Renault UK rivals that he is now ‘back on it’ and more fired up than ever to claim his breakthrough victory.

Following a solid start to his maiden campaign of car racing with third place at Brands Hatch and a brace of fourths at Donington Park, Jack endured a torrid time of things in round three at Thruxton, with a litany of errors contributing to what he described as a ‘terrible’ showing.

Happily, there was then a five-week break before Oulton Park – time to get his head together and get to the bottom of precisely what was causing his early-season malaise.

“Thruxton was just shocking,” the talented young Bradford speed demon candidly confessed. “We weren’t quick enough full stop, and I think I could probably have counted about 20 mistakes that I made in each race.

"From a personal point-of-view, it was the worst performance that I can remember. Psychologically, I wasn’t 100 per cent, and I needed the time off to just sort myself out, to find out why I hadn’t been driving the way I expected of myself – so in that respect, it was the ideal time for a break.

“Oulton Park is a true drivers’ circuit - one of the few in the country that still has real character – and it’s more of a challenge because of that.

"Every circuit requires you to do a good job, but I think Oulton commands just that little bit more respect.

"I was anxious to make sure my performance was back at the level I thought it should be, but as soon as I hit the track on Saturday morning, I knew I was back and ready to rock!”

Confessing to being ‘really pumped-up for the first qualifying session’, Jack was pipped to pole position by a scant six-hundredths of a second by championship leader Alex Lynn, denied the top spot only by a small mistake on his final lap and re-affirming his conviction that he was ‘driving a lot better than in the first three meetings’.

The race would underline that even further.

“I was all over Lynn around the opening lap, but there was nowhere I could go,” explained the 20-year-old car racing rookie.

“Tio Ellinas was right on my rear bumper too, so I couldn’t really move out anywhere to try to get the cut back on Lynn, as Ellinas would have dived up the inside of me.

"I pushed as hard as I could for the first four or five laps to try and force Lynn into a mistake, but I could never get quite close enough to attempt a lunge.”

Taking the chequered flag just 1.7 seconds in arrears – and well clear of the chasing pack – the runner-up spoils were well-deserved indeed for a drive that Jack reasoned was ‘the most competitive I’ve been this year by a long way’.

Fired-up to go one spot better in race two, the Cullingworth-based hot-shot was hindered from the outset by throttle issues in qualifying that left him 14th and plum last on the grid when he could have been on pole.

“I was soon right up with the two drivers battling over eighth,” recounted the Mark Burdett Motorsport ace.

“I was so much quicker, but every lap they just kept defending. I was desperately trying to find an opening, but there was no way through.

"Eventually, coming out of the hairpin, I got a brilliant run down towards the chicane; the driver ahead stuck to the inside, so I just thought, ‘I’m going right the way around the outside here’.

"I nearly made the move stick, but I couldn’t quite slow the car down enough to make the corner and I spun.

“If I had the race again, though, I would go in with exactly the same attitude. I’m not here to finish tenth, and there’s no point in just sitting behind someone – I knew how quick I was, and I was determined to at least make a go of it.”

An eye-catchingly feisty effort and the third-best lap time, despite completing barely half the race, clearly pointed to what might have been, and heading next to Croft on ‘home’ turf in Yorkshire, Jack is ready to fight back.

“From my own performance point of view, I was ecstatic,” concluded the ultra-successful former national and international karting star.

“The improvement from the first three rounds was huge. I felt revved up for it and I hadn’t had that much adrenaline going through me for some time.

– I really felt like I was enjoying racing again – and if we could have got pole both times, we could have won both races.

“We definitely didn’t get what we deserved points-wise, but the other half of me is over the moon. I was really sharp and felt like we had the pace to win all weekend, and it was the first time I’ve had that feeling all year – it was the first meeting of the season where I feel I performed to my potential.

"I’m a different driver now to what everybody had seen beforehand this year. I’ve finally found my feet and I’m back on it again – and I just want to carry that momentum forward.”