- Name? James Drake
- Nickname? Jimmy
- Job Title? Marketing & Communications Manager
- Location? Caterham Dartford
- When did you start at Caterham? May 2006.
- What’s the best thing about your job? Hearing positive things about products that I was involved in creating.
- What’s your most memorable moment since joining Caterham? The Stig telling me that he really rather liked the R500 whilst we were filming with Top Gear. He said it in less words and in a less family-friendly way though. It rhymed with “This car is clucking epic”. Also, getting to drive on track alongside one of our F1 cars during a filming day at Jerez. If you think the cars are loud from the grandstand you want to try having one overtake you a few feet away. It was pure mechanical fury.
- What is your favourite car that isn’t a Caterham? The Porsche 911 is amazing when you look at its history and how dominant it has been for so long. I’ll take mine in 997.2 GT3 flavour with a side order of RS 4.0 please…
- What is your favourite Caterham? I know I shouldn’t be so specific, but our famous white-and-orange “R500 CC” press / demo car is my favourite. I was there when it was started for the very first time, I was more or less the very first person to drive it and I have spent more time behind the wheel of that car than more or less anyone – by some margin I’d imagine too. I’ve had some amazing times in it and it isn’t just my favourite Caterham – it is by far the best car I have ever driven.
- Who is your hero? My default answer to this used to be Lance Armstrong. I’m not sure I have one any more… He’s ruined it for me!
- Do you have any hobbies? I’m a bit of a thrill seeker and I like anything that goes fast, gets me outside, makes my heart rate go up and/or scares me. I’ve been described as having “more hobbies than sense”, but I’m an avid…no, obsessive mountain biker which is my favoured way of going fast / getting outside / making my heart rate go up and scaring myself! Saying that I recently went sky diving for the first time. If you haven’t done it, you simply have no idea how exhilarating it is to step out of an aeroplane at 15,000 feet. Seriously, you’ve got to try it…
- Tell us an interesting fact about you. I once had to fill in for a certain member of the Top Gear cast whilst they were filming one of our cars for an upcoming episode. Some say that I can’t mention who it was but I did have to wear a costume…
James Drake, July 2011
