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About Me

I'm Jack Iliffe, a karter from Austin, Texas. My goal is to become a Formula One World Champion and follow in the illustrious footsteps of Mario Andretti and Phil Hill. I've worked hard over the past 6 years, winning the biggest karting series in the United States. Now I'm racing in Europe, spending lots of time away from home pursuing my dream.

Racing History

I started karting when I was 5. It was Dad time. We would go away for the weekend and camp at the track in our RV. I started off in Kid Kart, a beginner class. I wanted to beat my older brother and often did. In 2018 we met Charlie Swayne at the Iron Rock Motorsport team. Charlie is a passionate racer and took my brother and I under his tent. In 2018 we raced across Texas, my Dad was my mechanic, and I learned to drive a cadet kart. Charlie persuaded my Dad to do some national races…

2019

My first year racing nationally in the United States. I’d never raced at this level and each track we visited was my first time there. In my first SKUSA Pro Tour weekend in Los Angeles I came away with a 2nd place. I won the next two rounds in Utah. After the final two rounds in Indiana, I was crowned the SKUSA Pro Tour national champion in Micro Swift. I also came 4th in the United States Pro Kart Series.

2020

My final year in Micro Swift, and my goal was to retain my SKUSA National title and win the United States Pro Kart Series. The season was heavily disrupted by COVID, but I had a dominant year winning the two most significant series in the United States. I also raced in my home state of Texas, where I was crowned Texas Sprint Racing Series Champion.

2021

In 2021 I moved up a class to Mini-Swift. I competed in the SKUSA Pro Tour and I finished on the podium in every round. I finished 2nd in my first year in the category. Over the summer I competed in 5 races in Italy, with the Parolin team. To close out the year, I won ROK Vegas at my first time of trying!

2022

I split my time between racing in the US and Italy. In the US, I competed on the SKUSA Pro Tour in Mini Swift with the Iron Rock Motorsports team. A strong start in New Orleans and a double win in Utah set me up for my 3rd SKUSA Pro Tour National title. I finished 7th out of 115 participants in the ACI Italian Karting Championship. I also competed in the WSK Champions Cup, Super Masters Series and WSK Open Cup in Mini.

2023
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I graduated to OK Junior and raced across Europe in the FIA European Karting Championship, the FIA World Championship, RGMMC Champions of the Future, and WSK. I had a decent rookie year, with numerous heat wins and a Pole position in WSK.

2024
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2024 will be my senior year in OK-Junior, and I'll be racing across Europe. This year's schedule covers 19 races, taking us to Valencia, Spain; Val D’Argenton, France; Slovak Karting Center, Slovakia; and Kristianstad, Sweden. The World Championships will be held at PFI in the United Kingdom.

"My goal is to become an F1 driver. Thousands of kids kart throughout the world and there are only 20 seats on the grid. I know I have to work hard and win. I’m inspired by the challenge and every day I work hard to make my dream come true."

Winning doesn’t start at the track, it starts in the preparation. When I’m back home I enjoy swimming, running, circuit training, playing soccer and skiing in the winter. I try and kart every week, if I can, to stay sharp. I really enjoy the data side of karting. I love to go through and find those extra few tenths and work with my coach and mechanic to extract the most out of my kart and time on track. I have a busy schedule, but school is really important to me. I attend Pearson Online Academy. I try and get ahead so that when I’m in competition, so I don’t have the added pressure of school.

 

This year I’m going to be racing in OKJ. It will be my first full season in the category, and I’ll be racing across Europe in WSK, RGMMC Champions of the Future, the FIA European Championship and the FIA World Championship.

European karting the pathway to F1

Getting to F1 is about winning at every level. As an American karter, I could go through the American ladder system that leads to Indy Car, but the jump from Indy Car to F1 is difficult and rare. I hope that in the future, that barrier will be removed because there is so much talent and passion for racing in the US.

 

At this time to get to F1, American karters need to race in Europe. The karting classes differ in Europe from the US. European classes follow the FIA system.

 

  • Mini - Open engine class. I raced in Mini from 2020 to 2022.

  • OK-J (Original Kart - Junior), a direct drive, water-cooled 130kph / 80mph 29hp engine class for 11-15 year-old drivers.

  • OK, is faster, producing approx 39hp and lap times 1.5s faster than OK-J. OK is for drivers aged 14 years+

 

Karters typically move to formula cars at 15, starting with F4, then F3, F2, before graduating to F1.

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