Rebecca Jackson is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

, and former

motor dealer A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maint ...

Early life

Jackson was born in 1982 in

Horndean Horndean is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, north of Portsmouth. The nearest railway station is southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle. The village had a population of 12,942 at the 2011 Census, and shares the semi ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. Her

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

father restored classic cars and competed in the annual Birkett 6 Hour Team Relay Race at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

race circuit, and her mother is a

driving instructor A driving instructor is a person who is hired by a new driver who is learning how to improve their skills - often for an upcoming practical test. Different countries have different rules regarding permits and other regulations. Driving instructors ...

."Rebecca’s At Home Behind the Wheel"
''The News'', Portsmouth, 19 November 2012. Retrieved on: 5 August 2013.Jordan, K. (2013)
"Racer Set for Le Mans 24 Hour Endurance Challenge"
''Get Reading'', Reading, 25 June. Retrieved on 5 August 2013. Jackson learned to drive in a farm in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, with her first competitive motorsport a precision driving

autosolo AutoSolo in the United Kingdom is a form of Motorsport-based around the principles of autotesting, the main differences being that the tests are run in a forward direction only and are usually slightly faster and more open than traditional Autotes ...

competition which she won. She passed her

driving test A driving test (also known as a driving exam, driver's test, or road test) is a procedure designed to test a person's ability to drive a motor vehicle. It exists in various forms worldwide, and is often a requirement to obtain a driver's l ...

aged 17 after two months of lessons. and purchased her first car – a

Peugeot 205 The Peugeot 205 is a supermini ( B-segment) car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1983 to 1999. It was declared "car of the decade" by '' CAR Magazine'' in 1990. It also won '' What Car?s Car of the Year for 1984. The 205 was int ...

1.4 GR, continuing to use farmland to practise precision driving. Jackson studied natural science for a year at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

, before changing institution to

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The insti ...

, graduating in 2004 with a 2:1 degree in

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, ...

Career

Motor trade

Jackson set up a used car business called RJ Internet Showroom in 2007, started with £300 and a

Vauxhall Cavalier The Vauxhall Cavalier was a large family car that was sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The fir ...

,"Rebecca’s on Fast Track to Success", ''Get Reading'', Reading, 29 March 2013, p. 10. selling budget cars for under £1000.Jones, A. (ed.) (2013) ''The Nth Degree Club Book'', vol. 01, no. 1, Spring 2013, p. 64. Jackson then set-up and managed RJ Prestige Cars, based in

Rotherwick Rotherwick is a village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. Extent and layout It is briefly limited to the east and the west by the Whitewater and the Lyde, both tributaries of the Loddon. A curved lane, becoming Rea ...

near

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

, Hampshire, with Andrew Arkley.''RJ Prestige Cars''
2013. Retrieved on 5 August 2013. Jackson sold the business in 2016.

Media

Jackson presented video reviews for CarBuyer with co-presenter Mat Watson reviewing features of new cars. In August 2014 she moved to Telegraph Cars,Dennis Publishing
"Car Videos"
''Carbuyer''. Retrieved on 5 August 2013. and then to WhatCar. Jackson writes a motoring blog for the Girlracer website."Rebecca Jackson"
''Girlracer Group'', 2013. Retrieved on 5 August 2013. Jackson and Watson presented the

ITV4 ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a line-up that consists of sports, cult classi ...

consumer show ''I Want That Car'' in autumn of 2013."I Want That Car – Coming Soon to ITV4"
''Carbuyer'', 14 June 2013. Retrieved on 5 August 2013.Anderson, K. (2013)
"Daisybeck Rebrands, lands "I Want That Car" Order"
''Brunico Communications''. Retrieved on: 5 August 2013. It will involve the presenters finding and reviewing cars for the buyers as well as negotiating a selling price."Be On TV"
''ITV'', 2013. Retrieved on 5 August 2013. During the 25th season of

Fifth Gear ''Fifth Gear'' is a British motoring television magazine series on Discovery+. It is a continuation of the ''Fifth Gear'' format originally broadcast on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, afterwards moving to Discovery Channel in 2012, and then in ...

, Jackson served as a "Guest Presenter" on the sixth episode where she and

Tiff Needell Timothy "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951 in Havant, Hampshire) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of '' Top Gear'' and '' Fifth Gear''. Biography ...

took part in the Exeter Trial.

Motorsport

Jackson is a member of

British Racing and Sports Car Club The British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) is one of the major organisers of motorsport events in the United Kingdom. The club currently runs around forty track racing championships for cars as diverse as Caterham, BMWs and Mazda. Formed in B ...

."Results"
''Porsche Racing Drivers Association'', 2013. Retrieved on 5 August 2013.

Project Le Mans: 2013–2016

Autosport International Autosport International is a four-day motorsport event that includes a two-day trade show for industry professionals and a two-day public show. It is held at the NEC, in Birmingham, United Kingdom and operated by Motorsport Network, usually i ...

2013, Jackson launched Project Le Mans, her four-year plan of competing in the endurance race. This plan involves winning the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) Porsche Production Boxster class championship 2013, which she subsequently won, out of the four drivers in her class. In 2014, year 2, Jackson planned on competing in the higher Race Spec

Porsche Boxster The Porsche Boxster and Cayman are mid-engine two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche across four generations—as a two-door, two-seater roadster (Boxster) and a three-door, two-seater fastbac ...

class and in year 3, the

Porsche 911 GT3 The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...

Cup Challenge. The plan for 2016, the final year of the project is to be racing in the

Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain is a multi-event one-make motor racing series that takes place in the United Kingdom for the Porsche 911 GT3. Being the fastest and most successful single marque GT championship in the UK, the Carrera Cup ...

and 24 Hours of Le Mans.Jones, J. (2013) "Jackson Aims to be Boxster Thrilled as She Begins Road to Le Mans", ''The News'', Portsmouth, 30 January, p. 37."Round the Bend with Rebecca Jackson", ''Motorsport News'', January 23, 2013, Teddington, p.9.

BRSCC Porsche Championship 2011

Jackson debuted in 2011 in the BRSCC Porsche Championship with

Porsche Racing Drivers Association The Porsche Racing Drivers Association motor racing championship was started in 1991 by Jeff May. The 2-litre, front-engined Porsche 924 cars were augmented in 2010 by the 3.2 litre, mid-engined Boxster models with the opening Boxster champions ...

without prior experience of rear wheel drive racing in a 35-year-old white

Porsche 924 The Porsche 924 is a sports car produced by Porsche in Neckarsulm, Germany,from 1976 until 1988. A two-door, 2+2 coupé, the 924 replaced the 912E and 914 as the company's entry-level model. Although the 928 was designed first, the 924 was the ...

and finished 8th of 16.

2012

Racing in the Porsche 924 class for the second season, Jackson finished 4th of 20. Race event 2 at Snetterton is where Jackson achieved her first

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also ...

win.

2013

For the 2013 season, Jackson progressed to the Porsche Production Boxster class, driving a red

S. She won the class by a large margin with 201 points, where there were 4 in class, coming 19th overall.

GT Cup 2015

Jackson joined ex-BRSCC Porsche racer Mike Sellar to co-drive his 997 Cup in the GTB class of the 2015 season of Porsche GT Cup.

World Record

On 9–10 June 2015 Jackson and fellow Telegraph motoring correspondent Andrew Frankel set a new

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the highest number of countries visited by car using a single tank of fuel in an

Audi A6 The Audi A6 is an executive car made by the German automotive industry, automaker Audi. Now in its fifth generation, the successor to the Audi 100 is manufactured in Neckarsulm, Germany, and is available in saloon and Station wagon, estate configu ...

: the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Hungary. The event was supported by

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The o ...

and the RAC; the pair travelled a total of 1159 miles at an average speed of 49 mph.

Personal life

Jackson also teaches and performs

salsa dancing Salsa is a latin dance, associated with the music genre of the same name, which was first popularized in the United States in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga and rumba, as well as Am ...

. She sits on the Steering Group of Global Dance Network and has judged competitions."About Us"
''Global Dance Network'', 2013. Retrieved on 5 August 2013. The regular salsa dancing along with gym workouts and hot yoga are used by Jackson to maintain fitness for races. Jackson also goes

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

and purchased a

Mazda RX-8 The Mazda RX-8 is a sports car manufactured by Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda between 2002 and 2012. It was first shown in 2001 at the North American International Auto Show#2001, North American International Auto Show. It is the success ...

to use for track days. On 20 December 2018, Jackson announced she was pregnant with twin babies. She gave birth to a boy and a girl in February 2019.

References

External links

Official profile at Electric GT
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Rebecca 1982 births Living people Alumni of Bath Spa University Motoring writers British television presenters People from Horndean