Motorsport ace Cane hopes to find the right Formula

The speed ace from Middleton turned 16 a few weeks after the 2017 season had begun, meaning he had to wait to compete with his rivals in the British Formula 3 class – but he soon made up for lost time.

Some in the industry now make him favourite to win the class next year – but, with an eye on his longer-term future, he has yet to decided if he will race in a different competition.

As reported in the Observer, aged 14, in 2015 Cane broke numerous records in the United States, becoming the youngest-ever British racing driver to win in a single-seat race car anywhere in the world.

In 2016 he became the youngest ever on the podium in the Mazda Road to Indy Programme but 2017 brought a sterner challenge as he moved into the highly-competitive and respected British Formula 3 series.

Once again his age saw him miss the first opening rounds and six races – but four days after his 16th birthday, Cane became the youngest ever to race in British F3 and the following day he astounded everyone and took his first victory on his debut weekend – setting another record as the youngest-ever winner in the history of the very competitive series.

Cane went on to secure another four podium places, including two more victories in the remaining races – impressive as the field was dominated by second and third year drivers.

He said: “It was an amazing start to the season. To get the win on my debut was amazing. We had some issues pre-season and I switched teams to Douglas Motorsport two weeks before my first race which was far from ideal as we hadn’t time to do any testing, but this proved the right decision.

“The first round at Snetterton I was confident we could do well but I was very nervous. Everyone I was racing against was older, more experienced, had done far more testing in the car and they had already started the season, so I was playing catch-up.

“Starting race two from pole I knew I needed a good start and to get to the first corner in the lead. Fortunately I did and from there just concentrated on minimising mistakes.

“By the end of the race I had opened up a large gap and from the outside it looked a comfortable win but to be honest I was shaking on the podium.

“The following three rounds did not go to plan. At Silverstone I got taken out in the first race, at Spa we had engine issues and at Brands I got taken out again. We had to re-group and we wanted to show in the remaining races what we could do.

“I think we did a decent job finishing the last six races with a further two wins, a second and a third place. Only Enaam Ahmed, who won the championship, scored more points in the last two rounds.”

He finished eighth but feels he could have been as high as fifth with a full season of races.

Cane has been earmarked as the British F3 title favourite for 2018 by several motorsport publications should he return for another season, but Cane and his support team are now mulling over his plans for the year.

He has headed to Catalunya, Nürburgring and Spa testing the Formula Renault 2.0. This series is widely regarded as the most competitive series in the world, and should he commit to it he will race next year at those venues plus Hockenheim, Red Bull Ring, Monza, Silverstone and – during the F1 weekend – two support races at the iconic Monaco Grand Prix.

Cane said: “It’s a difficult decision to walk away from the very realistic possibility of being a British champion. Douglas Motorsport have been great and I would have no hesitation racing with them again next year, but we have to consider what is better for my longer-term career.

“I know that sounds strange as I am now only just old enough to go into my first full season of racing, but motorsport is extremely expensive and although I am very fortunate to be racing at the level I am now, to progress further I need to attract support from either manufacturers or from sponsors.

“To get that backing you need to race at the highest level, race against and beat the best, to be honest we might struggle to be able to afford to compete in Formula Renault. We are trying to get sponsorship but it’s not as easy as people think.”

It should be an exciting year whatever Cane decides to do. His dad Grant said: “Hopefully he will gain the support he needs to continue his path. Regardless, what he has achieved so far is remarkable, not only being younger and less experienced than those he is beating but doing it with very little testing and budget compared to the big race teams with unlimited budgets.”

To find out more about Cane and his career, and to get in touch to discuss sponsorship opportunities, see www.jordancane.com, www.facebook.com/jordancaneracing or follow @jordancane2Bn1 on Twitter.