James Jakes to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for 2013 season

BROWNSBURG, Ind.– Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that the team will enter a second full-season program in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series for James Jakes, 25. Acorn Stairlifts, the maker of the number-one selling Stairlift in the world, will sponsor Jakes’ entry.

James Jakes

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

“I wanted to put myself in a position where I could get results that I believe I am capable of and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is a good fit for me,” said James Jakes. “If you look back at the results and the product that Bobby and the team have put on the track, he’s always got a car that is running up front and the team does things first class. I had negotiated with Bobby when I first came to the series but we weren’t able to put a program together until now. It will be great for the team to have two full-season cars to move ourselves forward and push us to where Bobby and the team want us to be – at the top of the grid.”

Jakes began racing in 2002 in the British T-Car series where he finished second. He graduated to the British Formula Renault Series in 2004 and finished 12th in the standings and second in the rookie chase. In 2005, he returned to the British Formula Renault Series, finishing second in points after seven podium finishes and two poles. That year, he was also named a Rising Star by the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club and was a McLaren Autosport Award finalist. He progressed to the British Formula 3 Series and on to the Formula 3 Euro Series (2007-2008) where he won the Pau Grand Prix from pole in 2008 and set the fastest race lap. He earned two podiums in the GP2 Asia series (2008-2009) and a pole and two podiums in GP3 (2010) and finished eighth in series standings despite missing four races because of injury. In 2011, he moved to the IndyCar Series after a test with Dale Coyne Racing.

“Acorn Stairlifts is extremely excited to have James representing us as our driver for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No. 30 car,” said Don Shapiro, CEO of US Operations for Acorn Stairlifts. “James worked extremely hard over the past two seasons for us, is highly competitive and will run at the front in 2013. We look forward to our first of many seasons with Bobby and his team.”

“I am really pleased that James is joining our team,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. “I have seen him run competitively on numerous occasions and have felt all along that given the environment we can create for him, he can achieve the success he has sought in Indy car racing. He and Graham get along and communicate well and I think that is important for the team. We’re pleased to have him and we think it will be a good combination.

“For us to be a two car team is a natural progression,” added Rahal. “A year ago we restarted the team to really build toward this time. We positioned ourselves in Indianapolis to take advantage of everything the open wheel industry can provide us with and obviously, as was proven last year, a one car team can be competitive. But there is no doubt in my mind that a two car team is a much more efficient and productive way to go racing. There is twice as much information, twice as much everything, and that helps you progress that much quicker. James is obviously an aggressive, competitive driver and I think that having both he and Graham on board raises the performance of the team as a whole.”

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing