Jacob Jukes, 13, of Bingham, to feature on new Amazon Prime series Driven Dreams later this year

A 13-year-old racing driver has been chosen to feature in an upcoming documentary series about motorsport.

Jacob Jukes, a year eight student at Toot Hill school in Bingham, will feature in the Amazon Prime series “Driven Dreams” later this year.

The docuseries will follow young drivers over the course of the 2022 season as they compete in the national Junior Kart Championship.

“The Driven Dreams opportunity came completely out of the blue and I’m grateful to the production team for giving me the chance to showcase my skills on such a huge platform,” said Jukes.

“To have the chance to show potentially millions of people around the country what it takes to compete at this level is amazing.”

Jukes began karting four years ago at his local championship, Stretton Circuit and won the cadet championship in 2020 before stepping up to the junior level two years earlier than would be expected.

He shocked those in the paddock by taking a heat win in his first-ever junior meeting and finished the event fourth overall, narrowly missing out on a podium.

That race was enough to convince a race team to sign him up for the following season.

In 2021 he finished runner up in his first attempt in the Junior Kart Championship and won the novice trophy on numerous occasions at Motorsport UK level events.

In 2022, Jukes said he aimed to go one better and take the championship itself.

“The target for this year is to go one better and win the championship,” he said.

“It won’t be easy as there are so many talented drivers on the grid but I’m confident in what I can deliver, missing out last year was painful but I want to use that experience to push even harder this time around.”

Production team member Matty Street said: “Jacob is a true grassroots driving talent and has competed in a number of championships over the last few years, always fighting at the front even with limited resources.

“Being the youngest in the class last year was no disadvantage to him and it really allowed his talent to show by beating older and more experienced drivers. We selected Jacob for the show not just because of his talent, but also because of the sheer commitment both he and his family put into his driving career.

“When others chose to avoid the rain or have a session or two off, the moment you hear an engine fire up you just know it will be Jacob.

“Being out in the kart two to three times a week is a huge commitment and this is exactly what we wanted to show.”

Jacob hopes to continue to climb up the motorsport ladder and has already been out testing in a BMW racing car courtesy of the X-Kart karting to cars program.

After tasting what it’s like he’s keen to make the move to cars as soon as possible.

“ loved every minute of testing the One Series, having 200bhp under my foot was a little bit surreal at first but once I found the balance of the car I didn’t want to get out,” he said.

The series aims to show the dedication required to progress to the higher levels of motorsport from both a driver’s and family’s perspective.

Sixteen drivers of various ages will be followed around the country, taking a look at both the on-track action and the lesser-seen work that goes on behind the scenes.

For now, though, it’s back to karts.

Next weekend Jukes competes in the Ultimate Karting Championship at Whilton Mill for the first time before getting the Junior Kart Championship underway in April.

You can follow Jacob’s races by searching on YouTube for Junior Kart Championship as all races are streamed live via the AlphaLive channel.

Driven Dreams will air in late 2022 on Amazon Prime TV.

For more, visit www.drivendreams.co.uk