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136 Steve Jacklin, from Denton, Manchester. QUICK FACTS: AGE: 41 OCCUPATION: Company Director STATUS: Single AND AVAILABLE, 3 boys Alex, Sam & Robert HOBBIES: Stockcar racing, Scuba diving, cycling, playing guitar HIGHEST GRADE TO DATE: Blue Top Steve is the younger of the two brothers, He lives in Denton, Manchester and he first saw Stock car racing when his dad used to take him and his brother Andy to Belle Vue when they were little, in 1984 Steve raced a Morris Oxford banger at Buxton Raceway, he then raced Saloon Stox also at the Buxton track. He recalls the weather one day out racing at this chilly track as being sunny! but he soon got used to the constant rain and wind that Buxton is popular for, he won a race in a mk3 Cortina when he used to be a banger driver at the old Belle Vue stadium on Hyde Road in Manchester. Steve raced 'Saloon stox' at Buxton (Brrr!) Steve was 24 when he first had a go in an F1 Stock car, which he describes as 'fantastic', he chose to race F1 because he thinks it is the best form of oval racing there is, his favourite closed track was Bradford, and his current fav is Skegness which he says is better now it is Shale, and his all time favourite F1 drivers are Stuart Smith, John Lund and Frankie Wainman. At the moment only death would make him give it all up, apart from the odd bad crash that is, talking of bad crashes, he did an injury at Long Eaton in 1996 where he managed to barrel-roll the car, after the meeting Stuart Smith said 'That was a big one!' Not only that, but he was also T-Boned at Sheffield Stadium which knocked him out for a while, he was grateful to Steve Botham who came to his aid very quickly. Again at Sheffield in 1999 he had hit the fence in the ex Phil Hague car which totally destroyed it. The first stockcar was self built with his brother Andy, it had a small block Chevy 350ci engine, the design was copied off John Wrights car which now belongs to Phil Stockdale, it was sold in 1996. (Phil Stockdale then sold to Kev Unsworth?) Second car was an ex Matt Bennett / Mike Close car which was bought in 1997 and sold the same year. Third was the ex Phil Hague car which was acquired in 1998, however it didnt last long as it got destroyed at the end of 1999 whilst racing at the Sheffield track. Steves latest car is a brand new self built car with help from Carl Baker, it was ready for the mid 2000 season but in 2001 Steve decided that the roll cage/cab needed altering as there wasnt enough room inside to be comfortable, a new cage was put into place with the design taken from Andys car which is a Wainman chassis. Cost If you compare the cost of F1 to any other formula, the garage rent and petrol and diesel are nearly all the same, but in F1 you get start money which is currently around £39 which helps, and also slightly better prize money. The initial cost of a car is very expensive but remember, most bangers cost around £100 each and might only last ONE race, or one meeting. Steve believes that he races very cheaply, but only because he has to, if he had a bottomless pit like some drivers things would be very different. The current car stands Steve around £1300, which in todays costs of F1 Stockcars is very cheap, so now you see, Steve really is a budget racer who can stir up the motor every now and then to try and win the occasional race or grade award. For the future, a big sponsor would be nice, in addition to the ones he already has at present who help him out in one way or another and to whom he is very grateful. But it really is a 'chicken and egg' situation - no sponsors no race and also no race no sponsors so he plods on with what he has, but he is always open to offers both large or small, whether it is advertising on the car, or a proper sponsorship deal, just get in touch if you are interested and the best of all it doesnt cost as much as you would think!