The In The Spotlight series returns with Neil Jay and Jordan Bannon, who form the passionate team who are taking their love for racing from 2 wheels to 4!
We chat to Neil and see how the team was formed and what his ambitions are with the switch to cars.
DT: Firstly, for the readers, introduce yourself, who are you and what form of motorsport do you take part in?
Neil: Welcome to Team LARR Motorsport, it consists of myself Neil Jay and my co-owner Jordan Bannon. We both derive from a two-wheel race discipline and 2023 sees them embark on a switch to four wheels in the highly competitive EnduroKA Series. We are based in Chester and taking on the challenge with the view to land top ten finishes across the race calendar with the support of many local companies.
The switch came about after a chance conversation with Jordan back in late Autumn 2022 and knowing he was looking for another motorsport challenge we settled on purchasing a semi prepared Ford KA. The Winter then saw many cold days preparing the car in a very cold storage barn before we were ready to roll out for our first test at Oulton Park in March. Which id say is my favourite circuit, not only because it’s on my doorstep, but has to be one of the best to challenge drivers’ abilities.
DT: Making the jump from 2 wheels to 4 is no easy task, takes real commitment! Is there anyone else involved and helping you along the way?
Neil: The team consists of not only Jordan and I, we have a third driver who takes a seat on a regular basis, Duncan Mcbeth. He has a plethora of British Superlite Championship titles to his name and has taken to EnduroKA quickly.
Graeme Norris and James Bannon are our spanner and driver comms team during a race, plus Jess and Bev ensure all the team are looked after during the endurance race period.
We are fortunate to have a great range of sponsors who make it all happen, including Newton Garage, Chester / C&C Catering Equipment Limited / Aspire Joinery and Building / LAT Creative / Social Media Studios / Demon Tweeks Motorsport.
DT: Sounds like your team has enough racing experience to smooth the transition! Plus a solid surrounding team cannot be underestimated in any long term success. So take us and the readers back, how did you get into motorsport to start with?
Neil: For me, I have been a lifelong fan of anything with two or four wheels and have travelled far and wide to witness some fantastic events. Motorbikes, and in particular ‘Supermoto’ was my passion, and this is where I linked up with Jordan and sharing a team, me being involved in the occasional race, but mainly media and PR duties. And for Jordan, he was involved with motorbikes from an early age, coming through Enduro and then settling in Supermoto where he has many accolades to his name including the British Supermoto Title.
DT: It’s in your blood clearly, like us here at Demon Tweeks. What would you say is your biggest motorsport achievement to date?
Neil: I suppose being selected as co-team manager for the British Supermoto Team in 2018 where we took three top riders out to France to compete against the best supermoto riders in the world in the Supermoto Des Nations. This along with becoming a finalist in the BBC’s Top Gear Rally Quest are my claims to fame. For Jordan (speaking on his behalf) I suppose he would say clinching the British Supermoto Championship title, along with being selected to represent his country at the Supermoto of Nations.
DT: That’s seriously impressive! Some real achievements within your team from the sounds of it! Being so ingrained within motorsport must mean you have gathered some idols along the way. Who would you say they are and who inspires you?
Neil: This is just from my perspective as Jordan not here to comment, but idols include Sir Jackie Stewart and then Ari Vatenen.
F1 and Rallying were ingrained in my passion before I found bikesport and I do look back at the times when rallying in particular at its height in the Group B days, and I am supposing one of the lucky ones who have seen this at first hand. Nothing could beat an Audi Quattro S1 on full beans going through Kielder at night.
One who inspires me is Alonso, as he is showing that age is no barrier to running at the front in motorsport.
DT: We can totally agree here, the Group B era is nothing short of iconic. Taking a slight detour, how would you say the DT Sponsorship Scheme has helped this year?
Neil: We all know that motorsport can be expensive and even when pitched at an ‘entry level’ the cost soon adds up. No more than when you begin to buy all your safety equipment. For Jordan and I the sponsorship scheme certainly assisted the purchase of race suits, boots, gloves etc and since this time we have used it on visits for other items. I will add here the guys at DT are always helpful, great customer service and knowledgeable.
I’ve been using DT since their early days when they had a small shop in the Tattenhall High Street and have seen the business go from strength to strength which we now see today as a global Motorsport supplier.
DT: Glad to hear we have been able to help! What are your plans for the remainder of the 2023 season?
Neil: We are planning on competing in five rounds of the EnduroKA series and with one round already complete we are pleased with progress.
Round one at Silverstone saw Team LARR Motorsport land an 11th place finish after a gruelling 5 hour race. Out of 41 starters, we are delighted with this and going into future rounds we hope to land in the top ten.
DT: So you haven’t gone in and started small (not counting the size of car you’re using!), you’ve gone straight to endurance races… But of everything, why EnduroKA?
To be honest I stumbled across this in a search for an ‘Arrive and Drive’ series and took part in my first race at Oulton Park in September 2022. Under the GM Performance banner, myself and two other drivers formed the team for the six hour race. This gave me an insight into the workings behind the scenes, and the costs involved.
I was so impressed, I decided with Jordan to go and buy our own race prepared KA..!
It’s a well-run, professional series which at times does attract some top drivers from the likes of BTCC, so you can be lined up alongside a range of abilities, but all in all it’s about being involved and with some 40 to 50 cars on the grid then the fun factor is also quite high.
DT: With this in mind, what would you say is your lifetime goal, motorsport or not motorsport related?
Neil: Retire, win the lottery and buy myself a villa in Ibiza.
But in reality maybe I’ll be working until I’m 80, spend a fortune on cars and bikes and downsize to a bungalow as my knees and back won’t cope with stairs..!
DT: Not a bad thing if you enjoy what you’re doing! But if you were to win the lottery and money was no object, what vehicle would you buy tomorrow?
Neil: To be honest, I’m not a big supercar fan, so I wouldn’t be throwing money at a Lambo, McLaren or a Ferrari. Give me a MK1 Lotus Cortina and MK1 AVO Ford Mexico any day. I think my ‘fantasy Garage’ would consist mainly of 1960’s / 1970’S classics.
DT: Can’t go wrong with a classic! With that said, what do you prefer, Goodwood Festival of Speed or Goodwood Revival?
Neil: I’ve been to the Festival of Speed on numerous occasions, but last year was my first encounter with the Revival. Both are a motorsport heaven for fans, but I must admit based on the cars and the racing it has to be the revival for me.
DT: So with all said and done, is there anyone you’d like to thank?
Neil: Of course, all our sponsors, but I think this is an opportunity to say a BIG thank you to the ‘Orange Army’ who not only volunteer their services, but stand out in all weathers to make sure we all stay safe on track. Always remember without them our passion to take to the track would not be possible.
DT: Do you have a website, or contact details, where can people go to follow your story?
Neil: At present our website is under construction but we do have a presence on Social Media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Facebook – Team Larr Motorsport
Twitter – @larrmotorsport
Email – [email protected]
Website – www.larr-motorsport.com
Want to be next in our #TeamDT In The Spotlight series? Get in touch with us on email or social media via the links below:
Email | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Find out more about the Demon Tweeks Sponsorship Scheme and what we can do to help you succeed here.
Read more of our #TeamDT series: